Active Pursuits

Biking

A city that has a "bicycle coordinator" on its payroll, Austin is a cyclist's dream. Contact Austin Parks and Recreation, 200 S. Lamar Blvd. (tel. 512/974-6700; www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks), for information on the city's more than 25 miles of scenic paths, the most popular of which are the Barton Creek Greenbelt (7.8 miles) and the Town Lake Greenbelt (10 miles). The Veloway, a 3.1-mile paved loop in Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park, is devoted exclusively to bicyclists and in-line skaters.

You can rent bikes and get maps and other information from University Cyclery, 2901 N. Lamar Blvd. (tel. 512/474-6696; www.universitycyclery.com). A number of downtown hotels rent or provide free bicycles to their guests. For information on weekly road rides, contact the Austin Cycling Association, P.O. Box 5993, Austin, TX 78763 (tel. 512/282-7413; www.austincycling.org), which also publishes a monthly newsletter, Southwest Cycling News, though only local calls or e-mails are returned. For rougher mountain-bike routes, try the Austin Ridge Riders. Their website, www.austinridgeriders.com, will have the latest contact information.

Bird-Watching

Endangered golden-cheeked warblers and black-capped vireos are among the many species you might spot around Austin. The Travis Audubon Society (tel. 512/926-8751; www.travisaudubon.org) organizes regular birding trips and even has a rare-bird hot line.

Texas Parks and Wildlife publishes The Guide to Austin-Area Birding Sites, which points you to the best urban perches. You should be able to pick up a copy at the Austin Visitor Center or at the offices of any of Austin's parks and preserves. Avid birders should also enjoy Adventures with a Texas Naturalist, by Roy Bedichek.

Canoeing

You can rent canoes at Zilker Park, 2000 Barton Springs Rd. (tel. 512/478-3852; www.fastair.com/zilker), for $10 an hour or $30 all day (daily from Apr-Sept; only weekends, holidays, weather permitting, from Oct-Mar). Capital Cruises, Hyatt Regency boat dock (tel. 512/480-9264; www.capitalcruises.com), also offers hourly rentals on Town Lake. If your paddling skills are a bit rusty, check out the instructional courses of UT's Recreational Sports Outdoor Program (tel. 512/471-3116).

Fishing

Git Bit (tel. 512/280-2861; www.gitbitfishing.com) provides guide service for half- or full-day bass-fishing trips on Lake Travis.

Golf

For information about Austin's six municipal golf courses, call tel. 512/974-9350 or log on to www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/golf.htm. Each offers pro shops and equipment rental, and their greens fees are very reasonable. Among them are the 9-hole Hancock, which was built in 1899 and is the oldest course in Texas, and the 18-hole Lions, where Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw played college golf for the University of Texas.

Hiking

Austin's parks and preserves abound in nature trails; see "Austin Outdoors" in the "More Attractions," section earlier in this chapter, for additional information. Contact the Sierra Club (tel. 512/472-1767; www.texas.sierraclub.org/austin), if you're interested in organized hikes. Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve is another source for guided treks, offering periodic "Haunted Trails" tours along with its more typical hikes.

Rock Climbing

Those with the urge to hang out on cliffs can call Mountain Madness (tel. 512/329-0309; www.mtmadness.com), which holds weekend rock-climbing courses at Enchanted Rock, a stunning granite outcropping in the Hill Country. Austin Rock Gym (tel. 512/416-9299; www.austinrockgym.com) offers two family-friendly indoor climbing facilities, as well as a variety of classes and guided outdoor trips.

Sailing

Lake Travis is the perfect place to let the wind drive your sails; among the operators offering sailboat rentals in the Austin area are Commander's Point Yacht Basin (tel. 512/266-2333), Texas Sailing Academy (tel. 512/261-6193; www.texassailing.com), and Dutchman's Landing (tel. 512/267-4289; www.dutchmanslanding.com); the first two companies also offer instruction.

Scuba Diving

The clarity of the limestone-filtered waters of Lake Travis makes it ideal for peeking around underwater. Boat wrecks and metal sculptures have been planted on the lake bottom of the private (paying) portion of Windy Point Park (tel. 512/266-3337; www.windypointpark.com), and Mother Nature has provided the park's advanced divers with an unusual underwater grove of pecan trees. Equipment rentals and lessons are available nearby from Dive World (tel. 512/219-1220; www.diveworldaustin.com), located at 12129 R.R. 620, #440.

Spelunking

The limestone country in the Austin area is rife with dark places in which to poke around. In the city, two wild caves you can crawl into with the proper training are Airman's Cave on the Barton Creek Greenbelt and Goat Cave Preserve in southwest Austin. Check the website of the Texas Speleological Association, www.cavetexas.org, and that of the University Speleological Society, www.utgrotto.org (you don't have to be a student to join), for links to statewide underground attractions.

Swimming

The best known of Austin's natural swimming holes is Barton Springs Pool, but it's by no means the only one. Other scenic outdoor spots to take the plunge include Deep Eddy Pool, 401 Deep Eddy Ave. at Lake Austin Boulevard (tel. 512/472-8546), and Hamilton Pool Preserve, 27 miles west of Austin, off Texas 71 on FM 3238 (tel. 512/264-2740).

For lakeshore swimming, consider Hippie Hollow on Lake Travis, 2 1/2 miles off FM 620, www.co.travis.tx.us/tnr/parks/hippie_hollow.asp, where you can let it all hang out in a series of clothing-optional coves, or Emma Long Metropolitan Park on Lake Austin.

You can also get into the swim at a number of free neighborhood pools; contact the City Aquatics Department (tel. 512/476-4521; www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/aquatics.htm) for more information.

Tennis

The very reasonably priced Austin High School Tennis Center, 2001 W. Cesar Chavez St. (tel. 512/477-7802), Caswell Tennis Center, 2312 Shoal Creek Blvd. (tel. 512/478-6268), and Pharr Tennis Center, 4201 Brookview Dr. (tel. 512/477-7773), all have enough courts to give you a good shot at getting one to play on. To find out about additional public courts, contact the Tennis Administration office (tel. 512/480-3020; www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/tennis.htm).