Year-Round

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 spring-fed swimming pool the size of 1.75 acres that stays a constant 72 to 76 degrees year-round and is so clear you can see straight to the bottom at 25 feet deep. The pool is home to endangered species including the Comanche Springs pupfish and kids can snorkel alongside them. The San Solomon Springs Courts offer motel-style rooms right on the pool deck. Recently renovated and reopened after years of construction.

A three-acre natural spring-fed pool in the heart of Zilker Park where the water holds a constant 68 to 70 degrees year-round. Kids can swim laps in the main pool or splash in the free shallow wading area at the upstream end called Splash. On a hot Austin summer day there is simply no better place to be with kids and the grassy hillside is perfect for picnicking between swims.

The crystal-clear San Marcos River flows through this park with three small drops known as Rio Vista Falls that kids treat like a natural water park. The river is spring-fed and stays a refreshing 72 degrees year-round. Families can tube from City Park upstream and float down to Rio Vista in about an hour. The park is free and has restrooms and easy river access from grassy banks.