How to Find Picnic Spots in Austin

If you'd like to picnic in a central spot in the middle of downtown, the State Capitol grounds are, crowds of tourists notwithstanding, a great place to go. Naturally you can't have a cook-out there, but you can certainly bring lunch in a basket or bag, find a shady bench or spot under a tree, and go to it. Just make sure and leave enough bread fragments for the squirrels.

Would you like to follow up your picnic with activity? Then check out Zilker Park, Austin's equivalent of Central Park, located just south of downtown on the shores of Lake Lady Bird. Zilker has all sorts of gardens, athletic fields, a miniature train and--if you've waited an hour after eating--the Barton Springs swimming pool.

If you like a view with your meal and don't mind a hike, head up Mount Bonnell, one of the highest points in the city. There are picnic tables on the summit and you've got all of Austin spread before you on one side and Lake Travis on the other.

Combine a picnic with a learning experience at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Historical Park out in Stonewall, Texas. The park features picnic and athletic facilities, a pool and log cabins. Tour a restored turn-of-the-century farm or ogle the Longhorn cattle. The LBJ Ranch nearby is open for tours, while Johnson's boyhood home and other Johnson-related sites are fourteen miles away in Johnson City.

Have you ever felt the urge to combine a picnic with a bracing round of disc golf? Then Pease Park is the place to be. It combines more developed park land, with a playground, athletic facilities and picnic areas, with forests, paths and clearings. Plus they have a great dog park.

For that perfect combination of a day at Lake Travis and a picnic lunch, go out to the Bob Wentz Park at Windy Point. It's a great spot for boating, sunbathing, cookouts, swimming and--not surprising considering the name--windsurfing.