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Photo: The original uploader was Hephaestos at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Nothing beats the heat on a hot afternoon like a dip in Barton Springs Pool. This natural spring pool is fed from an underground aquifer, keeping the water between 68°F and 72°F (20°C-22°C) year-round. It is one of Austin's most unique attractions: a beautiful spring-fed pool over 3 times longer than a football field, nestled in the heart of the city at Zilker Park. $3 entrance fee for the whole day. If you are short of cash or have a dog, head downstream just on the other side of the fence and find more clear beautiful water.
Barton Springs Pool is a recreational outdoor swimming pool in Austin, Texas, that is filled entirely by natural springs connected to the Edwards Aquifer. Located in Zilker Park, the pool exists within the channel of Barton Creek and uses water from Main Barton Spring, the fourth-largest spring in Texas. The pool is a popular venue for year-round swimming, as its temperature hovers between about 68 °F (20 °C) and 74 °F (23 °C) year-round. The pool's grassy hills are lined with mature shade trees.
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Austin's city park, near downtown, it is the home of Barton Springs Pool, Zilker Botanical Garden, Zilker Hillside Theatre, Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum, and soccer fields which, in October, host the annual Austin City Limits (ACL) festival. Undoubtedly Austin's favorite park. Amazing location on the banks of Town Lake with several miles of hiking and biking trails.
Rent a kayak. Zilker Park Boat Rentals is along the Barton Springs Creek. Just paddle down to Lady Bird Lake and see great views of Downtown Austin. Turtles are common in the lake and creek. Paddle over to the southern part of the Congress Ave. Bridge and hear the squeaking noises of the bridge's 1.5 million resident bats (don't hang out under the bridge-- bat guano is a problem).
Zach Scott
Dave Steakley is artistic director. If you are looking for solid musical theatre, this is your venue. They also have a lock on Christmas plays.
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
Yes, that's right, bats. Austin's Congress Avenue bridge is home to about 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats. This is the largest urban bat colony in the world and one of the largest Mexican free-tailed bat colonies in North America. The bats are generally active at dusk every evening between March and November. In years when there has been a drought, the bats leave early (when there is still light), and can be a quite impressive sight. In years when there has been plenty of rain, they leave so late it is difficult to see much. Best place to see them is near the Austin American Statesman's parking lot, or you can pay for boat tours to see them from underneath the bridge. Towards the end of bat season, when the colony's young are flying for the first time, pedestrian crowds can become rather dense. Try to arrive at least an hour before dark if you want to have a good, unobstructed view.
Bridge decorated with hundreds of mosaic tiles to honor the legacy of beloved Austin radio dj. Designed by artist Stefanie Distefano, the tiles were made to look like radios, cassette tapes, ceramic portraits, and dozens of other representations of Monroe’s life and career, including replicas of his signature ‘’Segway’’ license plate and a replica of the logo featured on his website, designed by artist Sam Hurt. The bridge features tiles depicting vinyl records with names of artists and songs that represent the range of music that Monroe enjoyed as well as tiles containing lyrics by a few of the musicians whose music he played, including a 22-foot musical score from the Townes Van Zandt song "To Live is to Fly". Friends of Larry and guest musicians meet at the bridge annually, near the end of August, the anniversary of Larry's birth, to perform and celebrate his life.