Zilker Park / Barton Springs

Each October for two weekends, Zilker Park—situated at the bottom of South Austin neighborhood Barton Hills—is the home to the internationally renowned annual Austin City Limits Music Festival, and each winter holiday season it hosts the dazzling Trail of Lights. But those yearly events barely scratch the surface of what the park regularly offers. Year-round, the 358-acre publicly-owned swath of land is equipped to entertain all generations and cultural groups living in and visiting Austin. There’s a playscape and small train ride for the kiddos, soccer and rugby fields, and hike and bike trails for the athletically inclined and—the apex of manmade ATX swim spots—Barton Springs Pool. The expansive, blocked-off section of Barton Creek is fed by the Main Barton Spring (Texas’s fourth largest spring), which maintains a stable 68-degree temperature. Say it with us…brrr! Yes, it’s essentially freezing, but it becomes a godsend once we hit our almost annual streak of 30-plus days of unbearable, 100-degrees-or-hotter weather. Besides, it’s one of the most surefire spots in town to socialize—you’re bound to run into old friends along the hillsides if you’re local, and likely to make new friends if you stick around long enough.