It's worth the 20-mile drive out of town just to see the massive outdoor barbecue pits at this parklike place off Hwy 290. It's a bit of a tourist fave, but the crowd-filled experience still gets our nod. Hungry? Choose the family-style all-you-can-eat option (adult/child $25/9). Cash only and BYOB.
Salt Lick
Top choice
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Bat Colony Under Congress Avenue Bridge
12.31 MILES
Austin is known as the capital of Texas quirk, so it shouldn't be surprising that it's a city tradition to sit on the grassy banks of Lady Bird Lake and…
12.99 MILES
Completed in 1888 using sunset-red granite, Texas’ state capitol is the largest in the US, backing up the familiar claim that everything’s bigger…
10.84 MILES
This 350-acre park is a slice of green heaven, lined with hiking and biking trails. The park also provides access to the famed Barton Springs natural…
13.42 MILES
Whatever you do, don't call it 'Texas University' – them's fightin' words, usually used derisively by Texas A&M students to take their rivals down a notch…
Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
13.25 MILES
Big, glitzy and bursting with high-tech interactive exhibits, this showcase museum celebrates the story of the Lone Star State, from its earliest…
Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Library & Museum
13.95 MILES
Devoted to the 36th US president, who launched his political career in Austin, this museum is still attracting the crowds more than 50 years since he left…
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
3.38 MILES
Anyone with an interest in Texas' flora and fauna should make the 20-minute drive to the wonderful gardens of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center,…
16.2 MILES
How gorgeous is the pool beneath Hamilton Creek, which spills over limestone outcroppings just upstream from the Pedernales River? Let's just say…
Nearby attractions
1. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
3.38 MILES
Anyone with an interest in Texas' flora and fauna should make the 20-minute drive to the wonderful gardens of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center,…
2. Mary Moore Searight Metropolitan Park
7.5 MILES
Home to a disc golf course, tennis courts, a playground and hiking trails, this South Austin fave is just over a mile west of I-35 (exit Slaughter Lane).
9.78 MILES
An ongoing (and climbable!) backyard sculpture that turns one man's trash into everyone's treasure. Visitation is by appointment, by phone. Owner Vince…
10.84 MILES
This 350-acre park is a slice of green heaven, lined with hiking and biking trails. The park also provides access to the famed Barton Springs natural…
10.95 MILES
Pop into this South Austin gallery for rotating exhibits that spotlight Austin's live music and entertainment scenes, from the 1960s to the present. One…
6. Austin Nature & Science Center
11.14 MILES
In the northwestern area of Zilker Park, this center has exhibitions of native Texan mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and arthropods that have been…
11.14 MILES
These lush gardens cover 31 acres on the south bank of the Colorado River, with displays including natural grottoes, a Japanese garden and a fragrant herb…
8. UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum
11.25 MILES
If the weather's just too perfect to be inside a climate-controlled building, stroll the open-air UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum, located in the south…