The Pennybacker Bridge, also known as 360 Bridge, is one of Austin's most notable landmarks and a…read morerequired stop for anyone visiting or living in Austin, TX. The bridge is located at Lake Austin along Loop 360 (the Capital of Texas Highway), the bridge combines a unique structure with sweeping Hill Country views. It is simple in structure yet spectacular when combined with the Lake Austin water views, which never gets old. Today we simply wanted to be one with nature. What a fanatstic starting point! No matter what you call the bridge, one thing that is certain is that you will likely admire the architecture of the rust-colored steel arch design. That weathered looks allows the bridge to easily blend in with the rolling hills and Lake Austin. It is an equally visually appealing structure whether you are driving across it or admiring it from afar. Parking is very limited along Capitol of Texas highway. What spectacular way to start your morning or end your evening!

A quintessential barely-a-hike excursion that is a must-see if in Austin, especially if its your…read morefirst time in the city. Despite it not being my first time here, I always enjoy coming here and taking friends who haven't been. Hiked up here in chanclas and a maxi skirt, so anyone can do this as its only a 0.5 mi hike, super chill. The view is gorgeous, you have the Pennybacker overlooking the river. Not quite as spacious on the trail or as shaded as Mt. Bonnell, but still very much worth a visit as it doesn't take much time at all to take in the views and then descend. There's limited parking at the bottom but there's a stoplight prior to this area so it wasn't hard to enter or exit prior to oncoming traffic.

The staff is incredibly friendly, and the check-in process couldn't be easier. The train cars are…read moreimpressively clean and well-kept, and we really enjoyed learning about the history behind the ride. It's a unique and nostalgic experience that takes you back in time. While I do wish the views along the route were a bit more scenic, the overall experience was still absolutely worth it and I would gladly do it again. If you're looking for something different to do around Austin, please support this train. It's a special kind of adventure you don't find every day.

Being a train enthusiast I was a bit excited to go on the "Noth Pole Flyer" out of Bertrum TX on…read moreDecember 13, 2025 with my two grandkids and thier parents, six people in total. So this is a grandparents perspective. Upon arrival to the depot area, there is no indication of event parking as the lighting was very poor at 6:15 at night. The web site mentioned free parking but had no maps of the area. What I saw coming from the east, was a long row of cars parked in a Hodge podge fashion along the tracks. We ended up parking by the library across the highway. (Short walk with a light to cross with). I'll mention this again later. I came across a small sign in the middle of a crowd that says "no alcohol, no weapons licensed or otherwise." Would be nice to know before this Texan shows up armed. So had to run back to the car to secure my weapon. Ehh, minor inconvenience. BTW, the rules are on the web site. We pick up our tickets at will call and wait. The train comes up and parks. The engine was a short haul/swicher unit, no steam, with very beautiful vintage passenger cars. My family's car just happened to stop right in front of us, #41. We boarded and it was like going back in time. We found our seats easy enough. However, keeping in mind, either people were a lot taller and thinnier back then, or they have tall tables and do like airlines and add extra tables. It was tight. Little wiggle room for an adult. If you are in the window seat, you get to look forward and to the side. You cannot turn around to see what is behind you. If you adjust your seat, you are bumping the person behind you. And trust me, every car is packed. Being a night trip, there is nothing to see outside. So bring stuff for the kiddos to do and snacks and drinks. The two hour trip is loud. Kids are loud, and you have adults talking over the kids. My train enthusiast self went on an exploring expedition through a lot of the other cars. Some like mine had 4 person tables, others 4 person commuter recling seats with no tables. Some had one bathroom available others had two. I stood between two cars and just watched the scenery go by. It was a refreshing change to the snot-monsters noise in my car. The endless coco was good. Very hot. Eventually a minstrel came out and started some interactive Christmas carols. Pretty good. Simultaneously, a balloon guy came out making hats and the sorts for the kids. Then out came the forgetable part, a story teller. Hard to hear, not well versed in the story and choppy in her reading. Alas, Mrs Clause with some very different tasting, highly addictive cookie for everyone, saved the day. The highlight of the adventure was Santa. The staff had his appearance very organized and orderly. Each table had a chance to take photos with the big guy. The most unimaginable gift was given. A wooden train whistle to about 15-20 kids, my own grandkids included. Imagine if you will, about 30 minutes left in the trip with the incessant "tweet-tweet-tweet" penetrating that one nerve that goes from your ears to your feet and makes your spine want jump out of the window. Now, after a engine switch from one end to the other delay, we headed into the depot. We didn't exit the way we got on. We got on the depot side (city side), and exited on the parking lot side. Well that's fine and great. But if you park on the city side, you are blocked by the train with only two ways to get to your vehicle. Oh yes, I said a bunch of nasty, nasty cuss words. You either wait for a full train to disembark and hope they let you walk through, or, you walk around the shortest part of the train and back to the crossing light I mentioned earlier. So that's the trip review. But now to the staff. Man those cats get 5-stars. Friendly, informative and in character. I can't imagin doing that trip 5-6 times a day. They made an otherwise blah trip much, much nicer. This is a one time experience with kids. Maybe, someday, my wife and I will try a romantic trip through hill country or something like that.

Easy peasy parking and access. Not sure why folks post the MetroRail is under utilized the parking…read moreis always full. They did switch Apps for purchasing tickets and viewing schedules and to keep this review PG it sux lemons. You need to order/pay for your tickets individually. In the past one person in your group to purchase the tickets for all. Trains are always clean, on-time, and everyone is friendly. Sure beats driving downtown!

This is the dumbest business design. I think Austin has ever came up with. They have one train that…read moreholds about four people every trip and stops about 1k cars passing through 10 or more major intersections. It literally causes traffic way worse

About five or so miles out of Manor on FM-973 lies this large well tended to cemetery. The first…read morething that struck me as odd was the fact that there are no trees on the property. This appears to still be an active cemetery as there are some recent burials here from the last few years and the most recent interment was from August 20, 2022. There's still plenty of room for more. Despite being surrounded on all sides by farmland, there is a new development in the area. This is a well laid out orderly graveyard with many family plot areas. Many of the names found on these stones are of German, Austrian and Swedish descent. There is no parking lot, but there is a gravel road perimeter that runs around the property. There is a decent size covered structure on the property capable of holding funeral services. There are a few graves from the late 1800s, but the majority are from the 20th-century. Two things I did not find are a Texas historical sign, and there were no CSA designated service member graves. Nor did I find any Woodmen of the world markers which are common in this area. I also saw no graves dedicated to the Pfluger or Boatright familys. If you desire to make this your forever home, you'll most likely have to contact the New Sweden Lutheran Church located in the vicinity, but not near the cemetery. The photos included in this review give greater insight.

I am a cemetery junkie, often walking cemeteries performing Find A Grave work and genealogy. Since…read moreI was in the area, I wanted to check out the grave of Sam Bass. He was a notorious outlaw in the area. Thankfully someone had attached GPS coordinates to his grave. I didn't know where his grave was, so I simply punched up the GPS coordinates and took a leisurely walk to where he is interred. Of course I took pictures and added updated GPS coordinates. There were a few other memorials I "worked" while I was out there. There is a slave portion of the cemetery. My mother and I paid our respects to one and all. Please check out this cemetery.

We mainly stopped by this cemetery because of the infamous Sam Bass gravesite. For those looking…read morefor it if you're standing out front of it...it's on the far left side near the chainlink fence. We weren't able to find AW Grimes here or at least Google didn't want to cooperate. There are many old gravestones dating back to the 1800s for those looking to see the carvings. This cemetery is pretty clean and the newer graves are closer to the front entrance. There sadly are some graves where the headstones have fallen down and broken and I wish some folks would come here to do cleanings of the stones but it is what it is. There's not much else to see here other than the historical area I mentioned before. Parking is a bit limited toward the front. It's all gravel, nothing is paved.

They've completely renovated the playground and the splash pad at Brushy Creek Lake Park! The new…read moreequipment is of such high quality, with separate playgrounds for older and younger kids. The splash pad has a dedicated fenced in area for the water fun, and a nice grassy area with tables and seating. Perfect for a picnic! I love taking walks with my daughters along the lake, admiring the views and enjoying the wildlife. If you're adventurous you can rent a canoe or kayak from the boathouse and take it out onto the lake as well. This park is a beautiful place to spend time on a weekend!

I've been coming here for a couple of years, and it's honestly one of my favorite spots in the…read moreCedar Park area. The main trail is wide and paved, which is great for biking, running, or just walking the dog. The lake itself is super peaceful--I highly recommend renting a kayak or bringing a paddleboard out on a weekend morning. If you've got kids, the playground and splash pad are fantastic, especially when it's blazing hot outside. There are also plenty of shady spots and picnic tables by the water to just hang out and feed the ducks. Just a heads up, parking can be a nightmare on Saturdays when the weather is nice, so try to get here before 9 AM if you can. Otherwise, it's a super clean, well-maintained park that never really gets old. Definitely worth checking out.

This place popped up on Google maps, but had no information so I thought I'd add a review and…read morephotos for the site. This columbarium is located directly next to the first United Methodist Church in Round Rock on Mays St. This columbarium appears to be fairly recent, as there are only a few interment of ashes at this site. This quiet introspective space consists of a nice labyrinth, benches and sculpture, although the noise of Mays Street keeps it from being the perfect quiet space. This space is tastefully designed to be the eventual home for some of the church members here.