50 Fun Things To Do In Austin With Kids
Are you new to Austin, visiting Austin with kids, or have people coming to visit you that have kids? Or may you’re just in a rut and need some inspiration for some fun things to do with your kids. Here’s my list of 50 fun things to do in Austin with kids.
50 Fun Things To Do In Austin With Kids
1. Alliance Children’s Garden is our favorite local playground. If you come during the summer months, you can splash at the Liz Carpenter Fountain here as well.
2. Meanwhile Brewing is one of our favorite breweries with a playground. It has a beautiful beer garden, a playground for the kids, award-winning food trucks, and great beer.
3. The Thinkery is Austin’s only children’s museum and is fun for all ages (especially toddlers and younger kids). It’s right across from Mueller Lake Park, a great playground and fun place to walk/feed the ducks.
4. Hike Mayfield Park and visit the peacocks. Or try another local hike.
5. Play at Brentwood Neighborhood Park, then grab a coffee and bite to eat at the kid-friendly Brentwood Social House. They have a cool pirate ship playscape outside and even a kid-friendly indoor room for cold/rainy days.
6. Climb inside the green house at Katherine Fleischer Park.
7. Enjoy live music on the patio at Central Market while the kids play on the playground.
8. Visit the salamanders at Barton Springs (and jump off the diving board while you’re there)!
9. Hike out to a waterfall.
10. Swing on a rope swing.
50 Fun Things To Do In Austin With Kids
11. Bring a picnic to Zilker and stay to play on the playground and ride the new mini train, the Zilker Eagle (coming soon!)
12. Visit the Zilker Botanical Garden.
13. Stand under the waterfall inside the cave at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (and visit Fortlandia if it’s open).
14. Find a tree to climb (or at least hang out under).
15. See the Austin skyline or watch the sunset from Mt Bonnell.
16. Climb inside the treehouse at Pease Park.
17. Grab a pint at the kid-friendly Austin Beerworks.
18. Visit with the goats at Jester King Brewery.
19. Check out the Bullock Museum for some local history.
20. Slide into the sprinkles pool at the Austin Museum of Ice Cream.
50 Fun Things To Do In Austin With Kids
21. Even if you don’t live here, you must see the new Central Public Library!
22. Wander along South Congress and take your picture at the I Love You So Much mural.
23. Lady Bird Lake (or Town Lake if you’re a local) is a must-do in some capacity. You can SUP, kayak, canoe, drive a retro boat, or even pedal a swan.
24. See the bats emerge from the South Congress Bridge at dusk, either by standing along the bridge, or taking a bat cruise.
25. Take a tour of the Capitol.
26. Walk along the Ann & Roy Butler Hike & Bike Trail.
27. Dig for dinosaur bones at the Austin Nature & Science Center.
28. Hike the Barton Creek Greenbelt (most common trails are to Sculpture Falls, Twin Falls, Campbell’s Hole, and Gus Fruh.
29. Play upstairs in the children’s section of BookPeople.
30. Phil’s/Amy’s for burgers, ice cream, and a playground.
50 Fun Things To Do In Austin With Kids
31. Hike along Bull Creek.
32. Check out an Austin FC game.
33. Austin Bouldering Project has an entire kids section, perfect for a rainy day!
34. Play a round at Peter Pan Mini Golf and realize why our motto here is “Keep Austin Weird”.
35. Splash around at the upper or lower falls at McKinney Falls State Park.
36. Dine along the water at Hula Hut or Mozart’s.
37. Eat on top of the roof at Whole Foods while the kids play on the playground.
38. Grab some famous Austin breakfast tacos from Veracruz while the kids play on the playground at Littlefield’s (bonus: snow cones from Sno Ride during warmer months are a fun treat).
39. Pretend you’re in Honey I Shrunk The Kids while climbing through the tall grass at Waterloo Park.
40. Swim at the historic spring-fed Deep Eddy pool.
50 Fun Things To Do In Austin With Kids
41. Shop at a local farmers market.
42. Go to Home Slice for the locals’ favorite pizza (they give the kids balls of dough to play with while you wait!)
43. Play and hike at Walnut Creek Park (then eat at the family-friendly Santorini Café next door).
44. See Ocho, the giant octopus that lives at Jessie Andrews Park.
45. Try some BBQ at Metcalf (another restaurant with a playground).
46. Pinballz is an arcade where you can ride go-karts, throw axes, play laser tag, and more! Or check out Cidercade, an all-you-can-play arcade for only $10!
47. Shop for toys locally at Terra Toys or Toy Joy.
48. Indulge your sweet tooth at Big Top Candy Shop.
49. Take the preschoolers and toddlers to the cutest place in all of Austin: Pikopye’s Town!
50. Austin’s Park has everything you could ever possibly want to do with kids, both indoor and outside.
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If you’re looking to keep costs down, don’t sleep on our comprehensive guide to FREE fun for kids in Austin!
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