Austin, Texas offers a variety of outdoor activities year-round, including music and arts events on Sixth Street, swimming in the Barton Springs Natural Pool, hiking Mt. Bonnell and the Barton Creek Greenbelt, bat watching on Congress Avenue Bridge, and water sports on Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan.
Austin, Texas is known for its broad mix of styles and people. There’s no shortage of intriguing outdoor activities in Austin, especially since the weather here is mild year-round. Whether you’re watching a concert on Sixth Street or swimming in the Barton Springs Natural Pool, you’ll always find something to do outdoors in Austin.
Austin’s Sixth Street is a great place for eating, dancing and bar hopping. It was formerly known as Pecan Street and has many different types of restaurants and bars. The music in these venues ranges from country, jazz, hip-hop, rock and more. Sixth Street is also known for its outdoor street concerts and arts and crafts shows. The west side of Sixth Street is great for browsing the unique shops and antique shops, as well as visiting the ice cream shop and bakery.
Swimming in the Barton Springs Pool is one of the most popular outdoor activities in Austin’s Zilker Park. The pool is completely natural but has diving boards. Thanks to its natural underground springs, the pool stays at around 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) year-round. Zilker Park is centrally located and, in addition to swimming, is also known for outdoor activities such as biking, volleyball, soccer, and hiking.
The hike up Mt. Bonnell is often considered one of the best outdoor activities in Austin as incredible city and lake views can be seen from its summit. The Barton Creek Greenbelt area is another popular area for hiking. Because the geography of Texas is so rocky, rock climbing is another outdoor activity you’re likely to see around Austin.
Surely one of the more unusual outdoor activities in Austin is bat watching. Downtown Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the largest bat colony in any North American city. The bat count here sometimes reaches one and a half million. The best time to see bats is said to be at dusk in late summer, when many bats are in the air foraging for food.
Water sports are a popular outdoor activity in Austin. Lake Travis is known for water skiing and fishing. Catfish and bass varieties are said to be quite abundant in Lake Travis. Lake Buchanan is a very popular largemouth bass and largemouth bass fishing lake. Sailing and kayaking are other common outdoor activities in the Austin lakes.
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