Fossils

One of the best-preserved caves in Texas staying a constant 72 degrees year round which makes it a brilliant beat-the-heat option on a blazing Austin summer day. Kids are wowed by the massive stalactites and stalagmites on the one-mile paved Adventure Tour and the guides pace the experience well for families with younger children. The cavern was discovered in 1963 during highway construction and still contains Ice Age fossils of mammoths and giant sloths which gives kids something genuinely cool to talk about afterward. Tours depart every 20 to 30 minutes so you rarely wait long.

A dramatic limestone gorge carved by a massive flood in 2002 that exposed layers of rock millions of years old along with real dinosaur footprints and fossils. Access is by guided tour only through the Gorge Preservation Society and kids who are into geology or dinosaurs will be absolutely riveted. The guides are knowledgeable and make the science accessible for school-age children. Tours require advance registration and fill up fast.

One of the only places in Texas where families can legally dig for and keep real fossils including 300-million-year-old marine specimens. Kids are thrilled to crack open rocks and find ancient crinoids, gastropods, and brachiopods that they can take home. No tools or experience are needed as the fossils are abundant in the exposed shale. This is a free outdoor activity that keeps kids engaged for hours.

This is the place where your kids can literally stand in real dinosaur footprints preserved in a shallow riverbed. The Paluxy River tracks are jaw-dropping for kids of all ages, and during warmer months the river itself is shallow enough for wading and splashing. Over 20 miles of trails wind through limestone bluffs and cedar forests, and the Junior Ranger Explorer Packs give younger kids a scavenger hunt to keep them engaged the whole visit.