Austin, TX

Austin has become one of the trendiest cities in the US and for good reason! Tacos, nature, & plenty of breweries--what more do you need? 

ATX Tips: 

• Be sure to plan your day(s) out ahead of time so you don't spend too much time hopping from one part of town to another, it's a relatively large city

• If you’re flying into Austin and taking a rideshare keep in mind you’ll need to walk out to the parking garage to get to the pickup area. It’s only a few minutes, but don’t call your ride until you’re walking or you might be late!

• This may be obvious for some of you, but just in case: breakfast tacos. Duh. When you think about all of the tacos in Austin you might automatically think lunch/dinner, but don't sleep on breakfast tacos (see what I did there?)

Adventures & Ales Top Austin Recommendations: ​

• Live Oak Brewing: A traditional German brewery with your standard Hefeweizen, Kolsch, and so on. The vibes are casual with disc golf and lots of picnic tables and live oaks (if the name didn’t give that away for you). The German food truck onsite, The Black Forest, is amazing. This is right near the airport, so go on your way in or out of town!

• St Elmo Brewing: Industrial vibes with a large outdoor space, and tasty beers. Spicy Boys Fried Chicken food truck lives onsite for eats.

  • This is located inside The Yard, a fun development space with a winery, distillery, cocktail bar, sake, seltzery, restaurants. and a coffee shop.

• Banger's Sausage House and Beer Garden: Highly recommend particularly for brunch. Get there early or expect to wait, but the 'manmosa' with a  full bottle of champagne in it is well worth the wait! They also have live music and a great outdoor space. Touristy but fun!

• Traveling with a group? AvantStay has some amazing larger homes for rent! Use my link here to save $250 off your booking!

• Wine country: If you have access to a car the wineries west of the city are awesome! Fredericksburg is the most popular of the Texas Wine Trail. Vinovium is a more casual wine stop that has cute outdoor seating and super friendly staff!

• Better Half Coffee and Cocktails: A fun spot any time of day—their menu rotates for the morning and evening with great options. They have a nice patio space and the interior is very cute.

  • Holdout Brewing: Located directly next door to Better Half! They have a nice patio space and good beers.

• Vacancy Brewing: A great brewery right across from The Yard. They are small but putting out tasty beers. They’ve also got a food truck onsite with a contemporary Tao menu.

• Southern Heights Brewing Company: A solid brewery in East Austin with chill warehouse vibes. The team here is super nice and they have a large tap list with a wide variety of beers.

• Torchy's Tacos: They’ve got several locations across town—their queso is SO good!

• Zilker Brewing Co: Beers are good, atmosphere is fun, and they have a food truck that lives out front.

• Walton's Fancy and Staple: Great spot for breakfast, lunch and flowers.

• Meanwhile Brewing: A nice brewery with a massive outdoor space. There are tons of picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, a field, a playground and a stage. They also have 5 food trucks onsite with something for every palate. In addition to their beers they have cocktails, wine and coffee.

Torchy’s

Austin Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: ​

• Rainey Street: The street has changed a lot in the last few years but it is definitely still worth spending time on. The street is full of cute old houses converted into bars and restaurants.

• Voodoo Donuts: SO good. This Portland donut shop has extreme donuts that are truly fantastic.

• Dirty 6th: The tourist part of 6th Street is basically a less cool version of Beale Street in Memphis or Bourbon Street in New Orleans. I definitely recommend getting on the jackalope (you’ll see) if you find yourself here.

• Lady Bird Lake: The "lake" is really just the section of the Colorado River that runs through downtown, but there are great trails around it, as well as kayaking, paddle boarding, and more!

• The Broken Spoke: Get your Texas Two Step on at this classic dance bar.

• UT Austin: The University of Texas, Austin is a pretty campus to wander through on your adventures downtown!

St. Elmo

Other Austin Things To Do:​​

• Jester King Brewery: It's a solid drive outside of the city, but their sours are stellar so it may be worth adding to your itinerary, as it is definitely the most famous Austin brewery.

• Vista Brewing: 30 minutes from Austin in the countryside, Vista has gorgeous grounds, delicious food, and a great beer selection. They specialize in barrel aged farmhouse ales, but everything was good here. Snag a cheese plate and some beer fried donuts if you know what’s good for you!

• Lazarus Brewing: A little pricey, but the beers were good, the food was tasty, and the atmosphere was fun. Live music and a mixed indoor/outdoor style

• Oskar Blues Brewing: The Austin location of the popular Colorado brewery. Live music stage, outdoor seating, and all the yummy beers this brewery is known for.

• Irene's: cute little restaurant with delicious frosé.

• 4th Tap Brewing: A co-op brewery where the employees are part owner. It's pretty far north, but if you're in the area it's a cool spot with good beers!

  • Also in North Austin is North by Northwest Brewing that has great food, it’s definitely more restaurant-focused than brewery-focused though as a forewarning

• Mount Bonnell: A fun "hike" with great views of the city and the river. Very easy and quite short.

• Pinthouse Pizza and Brewery: Great IPAs, great pizza. Two locations in Austin for your convenience.

• Texas State History Museum: Learn about the The Lone Star State at this thorough museum right near UT Austin.

• Oddwood Brewing: A solid brewery in East Austin with their own food menu and a BBQ food truck onsite. They have a nice patio space.

• Batch Craft Beer and Kolaches: A mediocre brewery with a great patio, a large selection of kolaches, and frequent food trucks.

Skip: ​

• Graffiti Park/Hope Outdoor Gallery: overrun with tourists with their own spray paint, this used to be an awesome outdoor exhibit but sadly it's no longer worth your time

Dallas, TX

Dallas is a booming metropolis ​that is very... Texas. Ya know? Those Texas vibes? That's Dallas.

Dallas Tips: 

• The city is huge, be sure to have a plan for transportation

• Because the Dallas-Fort Worth metro is so large you could spend a solid chunk of time here—I’d say up to a week if you explore both cities!

Pssst: Check out all my Fort Worth tips here!

Adventures & Ales Top Dallas Recommendations: 

• Peticolas Brewing: A very fun taproom with repurposed materials, games, outdoor space, and yummy beers. Try the velvet hammer!

• The Rustic: Live music, a wide variety of beers on tap, and delicious food. I'd recommend the family style brunch (& then eat it all yourself)

• Braindead Brewing: Delicious beers, delicious brunch, and a fantastic outdoor patio

• The Foundry: Another very cool live music venue with cool seating options, lots of beers and cocktails, and a restaurant

The Rustic

Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth is looked at as Dallas’s little sister, but it is full of its own adventures & personality.

Pssst: Check out all my Dallas recs here!

Fort Worth Tips: 

• As is true of most places in Texas, Fort Worth is quite spread out so be sure to either rent a car or plan ahead for your adventures

• Some breweries in Fort Worth have funky hours/rules. If you’re trying to brewery hop I would definitely try to be here on a Saturday to ensure you can visit the best spots.

Adventures & Ales Top Fort Worth Recommendations: ​

• Martin House Brewing: A great brewery with a huge list of brews. Check out the sours especially!

• Snooze AM Eatery: This ever popular brunch spot is phenomenal. Pancake flights, huevos rancheros, and more!

• Torchy’s! If you’ve read my Austin post you know how I feel about Torchy’s. The best queso ever. The best tacos ever. GO!

• Magnolia Avenue: Wander around the numerous coffee shops, bars, and shops on this cute little street.

Rahr & Sons

Fort Worth Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: ​

• The Stockyards: So touristy. So over the top. Check out the cattle drive daily at 11:30 and 4 and then roll out

• Fort Worth Water Gardens: A cool spot with several water fountains, each a little different

• Sundance Square: The main square of Fort Worth. Many shops and restaurants are centered around it. Grab a coffee and just soak it all in.

Other Fort Worth Things To Do:​​

• Rahr & Sons Brewing: A brewery with limited hours, get here right when they open because it’s 3 beers and a pint glass for $10, but your time is limited!

• Trinity Trails: Walking trails long the Trinity River. A great way to get outdoors and venture between neighborhoods!

• HopFusion Ale Works: A popular brewery in Near Southside that usually has a food truck. Lots of beers to choose from so I would recommend a flight!

• Cowtown Brewing: Solid beers and a huge meat menu

• FabLab LTO: In the heart of Near Southside, this cute little collection has local goods and shops that give back to charity

• Locust Cider: A good cidery with several different options!

Skip:

• Wild Acre Brewing: Mediocre beers, obnoxious staff

• Fort Brewery & Pizza: On Magnolia Ave, this spot has bad pizza and average beers

San Antonio, TX

San Antonio was a little disappointing to me, but there’s a lot of potential in this Texan city, so check it out!

SA Tips: 

• Like most of Texas, San Antonio is pretty spread out so be sure to have a game plan before you start your adventure

• San Antonio is also pretty close to Austin so it makes for a good quick side trip!

  Check out my Austin recommendations here!

Adventures and Ales Top San Antonio Recommendations:

• Weathered Soul Brewing: Located in Northern San Antonio, this brewery is cranking out some good stuff so be sure to check it out! They have a nice patio for sunny days and their staff is incredibly nice. They’ve also got a small food menu if you’re hungry.

• Wander the downtown area: There are a lot of similarities between downtown SA and the French Quarter in New Orleans with beautiful architecture, so take some time to just wander the area and soak it all in.

• The Growler Exchange: Beer bar with 30 taps with a mix of local and beyond. They have pizza and bar snacks as well (skip the pizza). They are close to the airport so I would recommend it for a beer on your way in or out of town!

San Antonio Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: ​

• The Riverwalk: See it. Get out. The Riverwalk sucks in my opinion. It’s SO touristy. I would say snag your classic picture then scoot out of there.

  • If you decide to stick around I would recommend Speisekarte Biergarten, a German-esque biergarten on the river.

• The Alamo: If I were to do it again, I would not waste my time going into The Alamo. Look at the outside, it’s pretty, then move on. There is frequently a long line and there is really not much to see.

• The Pearl: They’ve converted the old brewery space into a mixed use development with a food hall, restaurants, and plenty of outdoor space. Skip the brewery here.

The Alamo

Other San Antonio Things To Do:

• Alamo Beer Co.: Another brewery option, they were closed to the public when I was in town but it seems cool!

Skip

• Southerleigh Brewery: Horrible service. This is the brewery located inside the old Pearl Brewery compound.

• Freetail Brewing: I was incredibly unimpressed with Freetail for it being one of the biggest breweries in SA. I went to their brewpub location where the food was tasty but the beer was just average.

• Viva Taco Land: They don’t have tacos!? Pardon me, but if tacos are in your name, I would expect to be able to eat tacos. They don’t have any food during the day until food trucks occasionally roll up in the evenings. Very misleading and disappointing.

Waco, TX

Waco is home to all things Chip & Joanna Gaines, so it is a unique spot to visit.

Waco Tips: 

• You definitely only need a day to take it all in! Even with long waits and seeing every Chip & Jo staple you can easily do it all in one day.

• Waco is situated perfectly between Austin & Dallas/Fort Worth so it works well as a day trip from either!

Check out my Austin recommendations, Dallas recommendations, and Fort Worth recommendations!

Fixer Upper Things To Do in Waco:

• Magnolia Table: Open for breakfast/lunch/brunch, anyone who watches Fixer Upper saw Chip & Jo go through the process of buying and renovating the restaurant. The show doesn’t show how incredibly thoughtful each part of the design of Magnolia Table is. From the process of putting your name on the list for a table, to the waiting area, to the to-go area, to the seating within the restaurant itself, Joanna really outdid herself. The Jo’s recipe biscuits are great (mmm hello strawberry butter) and the house made tater tots are drool worthy, but truly you can’t go wrong. You will wait for a table. There’s plenty of space to sit while you wait, coffee, and a to-go pastry area if you need something to hold you over!

• The Silos: There are multiple things occurring at the Silos, this is where you can spend a majority of your time in Waco.

  • The bakery is everything you’ve dreamed of and more. The cupcakes are SO good. The line moves quickly, don’t be deterred. I had the silobration and the wonderland, which was the Christmas special. Both were amazing and I regretted not getting a half dozen just for myself. They also have cookies, cinnamon rolls, and other bakery items.

  • Magnolia Shop: a large shop of Joanna’s designs, Jimmy Don’s metal signs, and an abundance of Magnolia swag.

  • The silos outdoor space: The turf grass behind the bakery & shop is home to food trucks, swings, gardens, photo op spots, and occasional live music/movie showings.

• Little Shop on Bosque: This kind of felt like the reject of all things Magnolia, understandably so as Chip and Jo have now built the huge shop at The Silos & the Market at Magnolia Table. This truly is a “little shop” as the name implies, but it’s where all the magic started.

Magnolia Table

Bonus idea:

• Waco Winery: This is advertised as a rooftop winery implying that you could have a nice view of Waco, which is not accurate, but it’s still nice to sit outside and sip rose. The extensive menu of housemade wines will include something you’re sure to enjoy. A tasting of 5 wines is only $10!

New Mexico and Texas Road Trip Itinerary

For this trip I spent 6 days exploring 4 National Parks and 1 National Monument across Southern New Mexico and Western Texas. I flew in and out of El Paso, but you could also extend the trip to include Albuquerque or Phoenix/Tucson if you wanted.

To note: The time zones will flip throughout this journey between central (part of Texas) and mountain time (El Paso and New Mexico).

El Paso, Texas

• El Taquito: A popular spot for Mexican near the airport. A great spot to stop on your way in or out of town!

• Craftbox Fill Station and Bar: A solid beer bar with 19 taps in the suburbs. They have a cool shared beer garden space and it would be a great spot to watch sports.

• Scenic Drive: A nice, quick drive with nice mountain and city views. I actually prefered the views from Rim Road, right before the scenic drive starts, more.

• Franklin Mountains State Park: This park is right in the city and you can see the mountains everywhere you go.

• Stay at this Airbnb: It is a great little spot and super cheap that still has good amenities.

• Hope & Anchor: A solid bar near the UTEP campus. It says it is a craft beer bar but they did not actually have a beer menu and the bartender was unhelpful, but I enjoyed my tasty and cheap cocktail on their nice patio.

• Craft Rhythm & Brews: A woman and veteran owned brewery with a small snack menu and beer cocktails along with their tap list of average beers.

• To note: Dead Perezidents Brewpub is where I would recommend visiting based on my research but they were closed when I was in town.

• Absolutely skip Salt + Honey Bakery Café: The owner attacked me on Instagram after I said nice things about their business, but just wished the side options had something for breakfast, not 7am French fries. 0/10.

Organ Mountain Desert Peaks National Monument 

Pine Tree Trail: This trail is 5.3 miles long with 1,049ft of elevation gain and is rated moderate. The trailhead is 1.5 hours north of El Paso directly on the route to White Sands National Park. It takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete and winds through the desert with some pretty views of The Needles and the surrounding area. It is a very quiet trail and a little boring.

White Sands National Park

White Sands is a smaller National Park with just one road and a handful of trails. A half day visit is plenty to soak it all in. Be sure to keep in mind that walking in sand is always harder than walking on a hard surface and you will tire faster, especially in the desert heat and sun. Bring a sled to the park for even more sand dune fun.

• Backcountry Camping Trail: This trail takes about an hour to complete the full loop, but you can do as much or as little as you’d like. It is a great spot to see the sunset!

• Dune Life Nature Trail: This trail is just over a mile long with two dune climbs and takes about 25 minutes to complete. It is a good introduction to the dunes but a little boring.

• Alkali Flat Trail: Another popular trail option going deeper in the dunes, this one is much longer and though it says “flat” in the name it is not a flat trail.  

Alamogado, New Mexico

Alamogado is 20 minutes from White Sands. This small town has a lot of chain restaurants and seems to exist mostly for the park tourists.

• 575 Brewing: A popular spot with frequent live music, a nice outdoor patio, a small food menu + frequent food trucks, a large tap list + wine and N/A options. The beer quality is not great, but the atmosphere is nice.

• Stay at the Hampton Inn: It’s a nice, newer hotel conveniently located on the way into town.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

It is just over 3 hours from White Sands to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico’s two National Parks. There are a couple of surface trails here, but the main attraction is going into the cave itself. Plan on about a half day to take it all in.

Reservations are required—if you’d like to go on a ranger led tour these book up pretty far in advance, but even to go on a self-led walk you’ll need a reservation to enter the cave. Things to note: don’t bring anything into the cave that has been in any other cave, this is to protect the bats. They have dog kennels available if needed while you tour the cave so no pets are allowed.

• Natural Entrance Trail + Big Room Trail: This is the main route through Carlsbad Caverns. It is about 2.5 miles long and winds down the Natural Entrance through the cave and the loop of the Big Room and then back up to the visitor’s center via the elevator. Keep your eyes peeled for Whales Mouth and Green Lake Room, two of my favorite parts! Be sure to at least walk into the Big Room, even if you are not up for doing the full loop—it’s awesome.

• Carlsbad Caverns Visitor Center and Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail: This is a mostly flat ~1 mile trail near the Natural Entrance. It is a pretty boring loop but a good way to kill time if you arrive before your reservation. You start the trail via the visitor’s center, not the parking lot as indicated on AllTrails.

• Bat Flight Amphitheater: See the bats take flight and hear a talk from a ranger. This program starts in late May and runs through October.

Carlsbad, New Mexico

This is a small town with a lot of chain restaurants, heavy traffic, and heavy wind. It’s convenient to stay before or after visiting the cave, but otherwise it can be skipped.

• El Jimador Restaurant: A solid, popular spot for Mexican.

• Milton’s Brewing: The local brewery with frequent live music. The tap list is not personally my ideal with lots of Browns and Reds, but it is popular with locals.

• Stay at the Fairfield Inn: It is a little outdated but there is a pool which is great for the desert heat.

• Lake Carlsbad: A nice little swimming area and walking trails on the Pecos River.

• Grind Time Coffee: Solid spot to grab coffee in a food truck park.

• Guadalupe Mountain Brewing: This spot did not have a beer license for several months (including when I visited) so I can’t imagine the quality is very high. The staff was also quite rude when I asked about it since it was unclear that there was no beer at the brewery.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

This National Park is 50 minutes from Carlsbad, New Mexico just across the Texas boarder. It’s a small park with limited activities and trails.

Guadalupe Peak Trail: This trail is rated hard and is a grind at times over the 11ish miles with 2,949ft of elevation gain. It leads to the highest point in Texas with sweeping views. The first 1.5 miles are the hardest and most exposed to the sun. The trail is rocky and the trailhead parking is limited but there is overflow a half mile away at the visitor’s center. The trail takes about 5 hours to complete plus however long you’d like at the summit.

Marfa, Texas

Marfa is a little artsy town between Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Big Bend National Park. It is essentially in the middle of nowhere, but a nice spot to break up a drive.

• Convenience West: This restaurant is a James Beard Award finalist specializing in BBQ. They are only open Friday and Saturday from 5 until sold out, so go early and expect a wait. Really fantastic food and cool spot. They only have outdoor dining or to-go.

• Prada Marfa: A random “piece of art” 30 minutes outside of town on the way in from Van Horn

• Para Llevar: A cute little bodega with pizza, salad, and bread with a nice outdoor area. Pizza is average.

Terlingua, Texas

Terlingua is known as a “Ghost Town” because it was abandoned after the mining boom. The population here is 127 people, but it swells with tourists thanks to its location 10 minutes from the entrance to Big Bend National Park.

• Stargaze! This area is home to one of the darkest skies in the country so make sure to spend some time at night looking at the beautiful skies!

• Espresso y Poco Más: A cute little spot for breakfast, lunch, and coffee with a lovely patio. It is a little pricey for what you get, but expected for a tourist town.

• Starlight Theater: A popular spot in an old movie theater for dinner and drinks. They also have a patio space.

• I stayed at this Airbnb which was quite nice! It’s close to town and to the park with a nice little patio and thoughtful touches.

• Taqueria el Milagro: Solid spot for tacos, plates and apps with outdoor seating. They are BYOB.

• Canyon Brew Coffee/Bella Bean Coffee Shop: A quick spot for coffee and a small breakfast menu on the go. Also a little pricey, but a tourist town.

• El Gordo’s: A popular spot for tacos and burritos for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but their google hours are incorrect as a forewarning.

Big Bend National Park

Big Bend is the largest National Park in the country! It is divided into three main sections: Chisos Basin, Eastside, and Westside. Each section is a decent distance away from another so plan at least a couple of days to explore this big park.

Beware of flash flooding in the summer months and the dangerous heat in the park in most months. I visited in April and it would be 70 degrees when I entered the park in the morning and 100 degrees when I left in the afternoon. There is little to no shade in the entire park.

Chisos Basin:

• Lost Mine Trail: This lovely trail is 5.6 miles long with 1,131ft of elevation gain. It is rated moderate and takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete. There are nice sweeping views along this trail and it’s not too difficult. I highly recommend going all the way to the tippy top at the end of the trail. There is very limited parking at the trailhead so try to go at an off time.

• The Window Trail: This trail is 6.4 miles long with 948ft of elevation gain and is rated moderate. There are some nice views along the way and towards the end there is a cool canyon to journey through. The trail leads to a little pop out view that is “the window". It is a descent trail, so keep in mind that you’ll need to hike back up after hiking out to the viewpoint, and it is a very exposed trail so the earlier you start the better. Overall it takes about 2.5 hours.

  • Window View Trail: This an alternative option that is just .4 miles long and flat, showing views over top of The Window Trail.

  • The Chisos Mountain Lodge, a visitor’s center, and a camp store all here at trailheads.

Westside:

• Santa Elena Canyon Trail: This trail is 2.4 miles long with 219ft of elevation gain and is rated easy. It travels along the Rio Grande River that divides the United States and Mexico. The trail heads up a few switchbacks before flattening out and ends when the canyon walls hit the river. It takes about 40 minutes to complete plus however long you’d like to hang out at the river. It is a nice spot to bring a picnic or a beverage and sit in the shade with the view. The trailhead is located at the end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

• Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive: A nice journey through the park, but nothing too epic—I think the drive into the park from Terlingua is more epic. The Sotol Vista Overlook and Mule Ears Viewpoint are both cool to see.

Eastside:

This area is known for the Rio Grande Village, Boquillas Canyon, and Hot Springs.