Kayak Lady Bird Lake at bat time
Pulse 2/5
Austin's downtown lake, paddled at dusk to the Congress Avenue Bridge, where 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats pour out from March to October. The most-booked thing on the water in the city.
30° 16′ N · 97° 44′ W · From a jump door over Fentress to the Comal River · Ground 39
Austin & the Hill Country
Everything in Texas is flat.
Until you leave the plane.
The Hill Country is not high – its limestone hills top out a few hundred feet above the rivers – so Austin's thrills come from what people have built on it and from the water that runs through it. These grounds start at 14,000 feet over a cotton field outside San Marcos, drop to the longest zipline in Texas above Lake Travis, to the treetops at Wimberley and the pocketed limestone of Reimers Ranch, and end where every Texan summer ends: in a tube on a 72-degree spring-fed river.
1 · the view3 · sweaty palms5 · heart in your throat
Stop 1 · Tandem skydive · Skydive Spaceland, San Marcos
14,000FT · EXIT ALTITUDE
Fourteen thousand feet over a cotton field
Fentress is a grass strip between San Marcos and the cotton; the plane climbs twenty minutes to 14,000 feet. Then the door slides open, the Hill Country is a green map with the I-35 drawn through it, and you lean out.
Pulse 5/5 our editors' rating
- Exit altitude
- 14,000 ft
- Freefall
- 120 mph, then a 5-minute canopy ride
- Age & weight
- 18+; under 265 lb, surcharge from 220 lb
- Price
- $229–279 direct, by day and time
Direct only. Skydive Spaceland runs one of the busiest drop zones in Texas from Fentress, 45 minutes from Austin and an hour from San Antonio; neither GetYourGuide nor Viator lists a tandem here. Book prepaid for the lower rate. Photo: a tandem jump elsewhere, not Fentress.
↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling
The last of the five lines: two cables side by side, 2,800 feet across a cove of Lake Travis, from a platform 184 feet above the landing – the snack-bar roof. You reach it by hiking the equivalent of twenty flights of stairs.
Pulse 4/5 our editors' rating
- Longest line
- 2,800 ft – the longest in Texas
- Drop
- takeoff 902 ft, landing 718 ft
- Speed
- up to 65 mph
- Who
- 70–250 lb, no minimum age; $138 plus tax, 3 h
Direct only, and weather-dependent. Tours are booked on the operator's site; the boat shuttle across the cove is part of the trip. At full pool (681 ft) the lake surface is about 220 ft below the takeoff – but Lake Travis often runs far below full, so the water is usually further away than that. Photo: a zipline over water elsewhere, not Lake Travis.
↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling
Stop 2 · Zipline · Lake Travis Zipline Adventures, Volente
184FT OF DROP
The longest line in Texas ends on the snack bar
Stop 3 · Treetop ziplines · Wimberley Zipline Adventures
100FT OVER THE VALLEY
Ten lines over the cypress tops
Wimberley is the gentle version: ten lines from 200 to 900 feet, none of them terrifying, strung 20 to 100 feet over cedar and cypress with fifteen-mile views. It is the tour to take the nine-year-old on.
Pulse 3/5 our editors' rating
- Lines
- 10, from about 200 to 900 ft
- Height
- 20–100 ft above the ground
- Who
- 9+ and 65 lb; max. 250 lb men, 220 lb women
- Time
- 1.5–2 h, check-in to last line
Direct only. Wimberley Zipline sells its own slots; no platform lists it. Forty-five minutes south-west of Austin, on the way to the swimming holes of Blue Hole and Jacob's Well. Photo: a canopy zipline in Costa Rica, not Wimberley.
↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling
Reimers is a limestone band above a bend of the Pedernales, honeycombed with the pockets Texas climbers are raised on. The walls are short and steep enough that you feel every foot; the river is where you jump in afterwards.
Pulse 4/5 our editors' rating
- Walls
- up to about 50 ft, most routes 30 ft or less
- Routes
- 200+ bolted, 5.5 to 5.14
- Guided
- half day with gear, from age 9 on kids' days
- Where
- 40 min west of Austin; $10 per vehicle
The most-reviewed adventure in Austin is this one: 395 reviews at five stars for a guided half day with all gear. Summer sessions move to the shaded North Shore crags; the park closes at capacity on weekends. Photo: a sport climber on limestone elsewhere, not Reimers.
↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling
Stop 4 · Sport climbing · Reimers Ranch, Pedernales River
50FT OF LIMESTONE
Pockets, a river and 200 bolted routes
Stop 5 · River tubing · Comal & San Marcos rivers
0FT · ON THE WATER
Two and a half miles at 72 degrees
The Comal is the shortest river in Texas and the busiest: 2.5 miles of 72-degree spring water, a chute that shoots you round the dam, and half of San Antonio floating beside you on a July Saturday. One decision: bring the cooler?
Pulse 2/5 our editors' rating
- The Comal
- 2.5 miles from the springs to the Guadalupe
- Float
- 2–2.5 h; the Tube Chute is the rapid
- Water
- 72 °F year-round, spring-fed
- Who
- from age 4; life jackets advised under 8
- Austin: guided BYOB tubing on the San Marcos River$69per person
- New Braunfels: Comal River tubing with three chutes and shuttle$20per person
Most tubes are rented at the river, not online: Texas Tubes, Rockin' R and Landa Falls line the Comal in New Braunfels and rent for the day. The platforms carry a guided float on the San Marcos and one Comal outfitter. The Guadalupe next door has the only real rapid, Hueco Falls, Class III at high water.
↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling
Touchdown. Now build your day on these grounds.
Also on these grounds
Clear kayaks on the San Marcos
Pulse 2/5
Transparent kayaks on a spring river so clear you watch the turtles under your seat; glow lights after dark. Same river, calmer than the tubing crowd.
Hamilton Pool
Pulse 1/5
A collapsed grotto with a 50-foot waterfall half an hour from Reimers Ranch. No jumping, and swimming only when the bacteria count allows – but the reservation is worth it for the walk in alone.
Horseback in the Hill Country
Pulse 2/5
Trail rides on a working ranch north of Austin – the low-pulse way into the live oaks and limestone.
Twisted Trails, San Antonio
Pulse 2/5
Zip rails, ropes and a climbing wall an hour south – the family option if the kids are under Lake Travis' weight minimum.
The grounds in numbers
| Activity | Pulse | The number | Duration | From | Reviews | Bookable online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tandem skydive · Fentress | 5/5 | 14,000 ft | about 1 h on site | Skydive Spaceland | — | no – book direct |
| Zipline · Lake Travis | 4/5 | 2,800 ft line, 184-ft drop, 65 mph | 3 h | Lake Travis Zipline | — | no – book direct |
| Ziplines · Wimberley | 3/5 | 10 lines, 20–100 ft high | 1.5–2 h | Wimberley Zipline | — | no – book direct |
| Sport climbing · Reimers Ranch | Book now → | |||||
| Tubing · San Marcos / Comal | Book now → | |||||
| Kayak · Lady Bird Lake | Book now → |
Before you jump
How high is the skydive near Austin?
Skydive Spaceland San Marcos jumps from 14,000 feet at its Fentress drop zone, 45 minutes from Austin – about 60 seconds of freefall at 120 mph, then a five-minute canopy ride. You must be 18 and under 265 lb (surcharge from 220 lb). Prepaid tandems cost $229 on weekdays and $259 at weekends; it is booked direct, not through the platforms.
What is the longest zipline in Texas?
The Double Barrel Shotgun at Lake Travis Zipline Adventures: 2,800 feet across a cove of Lake Travis at up to 65 mph, the last of a five-line tour. The takeoff is at 902 ft elevation and the landing at 718 ft – a 184-foot drop – and riders must weigh 70–250 lb. The 3-hour tour costs $138 plus tax, direct.
Can kids zipline in the Hill Country?
Wimberley Zipline takes children from 9 years and 65 lb on ten lines 20–100 ft over the valley; Lake Travis has no age minimum but a 70-lb weight minimum. Under that, Twisted Trails in San Antonio has zip rails and a ropes course.
Where can you go rock climbing near Austin?
Reimers Ranch, 40 minutes west on the Pedernales: limestone walls up to about 50 feet with more than 200 bolted routes from 5.5 to 5.14. Guided half days with all gear are the most-reviewed adventure booking in Austin (395 reviews, five stars); park entry is $10 per vehicle.
How long does tubing the Comal take?
Two to two and a half hours for the 2.5-mile float from Comal Springs to the Guadalupe, in 72-degree water year-round, with the Tube Chute as the one rapid. Children from age 4; tubes are mostly rented at the river in New Braunfels. On GetYourGuide the guided BYOB float on the San Marcos is the most-booked option.
Is Hamilton Pool open for swimming?
Only sometimes. Travis County requires a reservation ($12 per vehicle plus $8 per adult) and closes swimming when bacteria counts rise after rain; the 50-foot waterfall and the grotto are open regardless. Jumping is not allowed.