Wineries
The closest real wine country to Austin. Duchman Family Winery and Fall Creek's Driftwood room are the two serious stops; Bell Springs, Solaro, Hawk's Shadow, and Driftwood Estate round out a day. Everything sits within about twenty minutes of everything else, which makes this the most efficient wine cluster near the city.
The Salt Lick BBQ
Open pits, communal tables, family-style plates, and a bring-your-own-beer policy. One of the most famous BBQ destinations in Texas, sitting right in the middle of the Driftwood wineries. Expect a wait on weekends and plan the rest of your day loosely around it.
Jester King Brewery
Farmhouse ales fermented with wild yeast on a large ranch property, with wood-fired pizza, goats, and long views. It is one of the most respected breweries in the country and the closest thing the area has to a full afternoon activity that is not a tasting room. Give it two hours.
Hamilton Pool Preserve
A collapsed grotto with a fifty-foot waterfall into a jade-green pool, about thirty minutes west of town. It is one of the most photographed places in Texas and entirely worth the effort. Reservations are required, sell out well in advance, and swimming is only permitted when bacteria levels allow — so check before you build a day around it.
Distilleries
Driftwood
Desert Door Distillery
Texas sotol, distilled from a wild desert plant rather than agave, in one of the best-designed tasting rooms in the state. Genuinely unlike anything else you will drink out here.
Dripping Springs
Treaty Oak Distilling
Whiskey, gin, and rum on a big ranch property with a restaurant, a lawn, and live music. An easy afternoon.
Dripping Springs
Deep Eddy Vodka
The distillery behind the Austin vodka brand, with a tasting room and a relaxed outdoor space.
Austin Wine Car
Wine, BBQ, and none of the driving
Three wineries plus an optional stop at The Salt Lick, door-to-door from Austin. You pick the stops.
Not ready to book?
Swimming holes and water
- Jacob's Well Natural Area — a deep artesian spring near Wimberley, twenty-five minutes south. Swimming requires a reservation in season.
- Blue Hole Regional Park — Wimberley's cypress-lined swimming hole, one of the loveliest in Texas. Reservations required in summer.
- Pedernales Falls State Park — layered limestone shelves and good hiking, about forty minutes northwest.
- Reimers Ranch Park — climbing, mountain biking, and Pedernales River access.
- Krause Springs — a spring-fed pool and campground near Spicewood, about forty-five minutes north.
Hiking and outdoors
- Charro Ranch Park — an easy local nature preserve with trails, good for an hour.
- Dripping Springs Ranch Park — trails and events, plus the town's rodeo grounds.
- Milton Reimers Ranch — the most substantial trail network in the immediate area.
- Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center — guided tours of a grotto and canyon near Hamilton Pool.
In town
- Mercer Street — the small historic core, with shops, a couple of bars, and events through the year.
- Dripping Springs Farmers Market — local produce and makers, on a weekly schedule.
- The Founders Day Festival and the Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival — the two anchors of the local event calendar.
Nearby, worth the extra drive
20–25 min
Wimberley
A creek-side village with an artsy square, Blue Hole, Jacob's Well, and Market Days on the first Saturday of the month from March through December.
35 min
Johnson City
The eastern gateway to the 290 wine corridor, with Lewis Wines and Sandy Road nearby and the LBJ Ranch beyond.
West of town
Hamilton Pool Road
One of the better short scenic drives near Austin, running out past Reimers Ranch toward the Pedernales.
How to fit it together
| If you have… | Do this |
|---|---|
| A half day | Two wineries in Driftwood, or Jester King and one winery |
| A full day | Three wineries with The Salt Lick in the middle |
| A full day, not all wine | Hamilton Pool in the morning, two wineries after |
| A weekend | One wine day, one water-and-brewery day |
| Kids in the group | Jester King for the goats and pizza, Blue Hole, Pedernales Falls |