Weekend Getaways From Austin: Drive Times & Cost

Austin has the easiest getaway map in Texas: it sits at the edge of the Hill Country, so the swimming holes, the wineries, and the river canyons all start within an hour, and the big Texas cities ring it just past that. Nothing on this list is over three hours, which means every one of them is a real two-day weekend rather than a drive you pay for with a lost day. The list below sorts the escapes by what they actually cost you in road time, because the one number every other roundup hides is the drive.

Every drive time here was checked against a routing source, not the optimistic figure, and labeled one-way in typical traffic. The cost is an all-in estimate for two: a room, gas, and a normal weekend of eating and doing, at a mid-range pace. Halve those for a rough per-person figure.

Everything here is a genuine two-day trip, so there is no long-haul tier. Glen Rose, with its dinosaur tracks, is the offbeat one. Both worth noting up front.

The short list#

Each destination links to its own section below. The whole list sits under three hours, so cost barely moves across it, and the choice is about what you want, water, wine, a city, or a river, rather than how far you can stand to drive.

Best for the Hill Country#

This is what Austin is for. The Hill Country starts at the city's western edge, and the springs, rivers, and wineries are the closest and best of these trips. Lead here.

Wimberley#

Under an hour southwest, Wimberley is the closest Hill Country escape and the swimming-hole town. Blue Hole Regional Park runs a clear cypress-shaded stretch of Cypress Creek for the summer swim, Jacob's Well is the deep artesian spring just up the road, and the town square fills with markets and galleries on the weekends. It is close enough to be a morning drive. May, before the summer crowds hit the water but while the creek is up.

Wimberley

Burnet#

An hour northwest in the Highland Lakes, Burnet is the lakes-and-granite weekend. Inks Lake State Park runs its pink-granite shoreline for swimming and paddling, Longhorn Cavern winds underground nearby, and Lake Buchanan sits just past for the boat trips up to the eagles in winter. Burnet bills itself the bluebonnet capital, so April is the color month; March for the mild days before the heat.

Burnet

Vanderpool#

Two and a half hours west, Vanderpool exists on this list for one reason: Lost Maples. The state natural area protects a stand of bigtooth maples that turn genuine red and orange in November, a rare bit of real fall color in a state that mostly skips the season. The rest of the year it is quiet limestone-canyon hiking along the Sabinal. Go in November for the color, on a weekday if you can, since the peak weekends draw a line at the gate.

Concan#

Two hours and forty minutes southwest, Concan is the Frio River weekend. The clear, cold river runs between limestone bluffs, and the tubing and the swimming are the whole point through the summer, with Garner State Park anchoring the stretch and its old dance pavilion still running on summer nights. This is a June-through-August trip; the river is the reason, and it needs the heat. Book the cabins early for the peak weekends.

Concan

The planner skipped the two names an Austinite would lead with: Fredericksburg, the Hill Country wine-and-German town about 90 minutes west, and Lockhart, the barbecue capital 40 minutes south. Both are prime weekend and day trips, and both are closer than most of this list. Treat them as the first two you add.

Best for the Texas cities#

San Antonio#

An hour and a half south, San Antonio is the essential Texas city weekend. The Alamo sits at the center, the River Walk threads its canals below street level past the restaurants, and the Pearl District has turned an old brewery into the best eating in town. The four Spanish missions south of downtown make up a UNESCO site most visitors skip. October, once the summer heat finally breaks.

San Antonio

Waco#

An hour and a half north, Waco has turned a renovation TV show into a weekend: Magnolia Market at the Silos anchors a downtown of shops and food trucks. Beyond it, the Brazos runs kayaking trails through town, the Dr Pepper Museum tells the soda's Waco origin, and Cameron Park spreads over the river bluffs. It pairs the pop-culture stop with real river time. October for the cooler air.

Waco

Houston#

Two and a half hours southeast, Houston is the big-city break: too large to do in a weekend, so pick a lane. Space Center Houston runs the NASA tour, the Museum District packs nineteen institutions into a walkable stretch, and the food, from the Vietnamese to the Tex-Mex to the barbecue, is the real reason to go. October, once the worst of the humidity lifts. Treat it as a neighborhood at a time, not a checklist.

Houston

Fort Worth#

Just under three hours north, Fort Worth keeps the cowboy half of the metroplex. The Stockyards National Historic District runs a twice-daily cattle drive down brick streets past the pens and the honky-tonks, and the Cultural District holds the Kimbell, one of the country's best small art museums, a few miles off. It is the Western-heritage weekend. April for the fall-like spring air before summer.

Fort Worth

Best for a quirky close escape#

Glen Rose#

Two and a half hours north, Glen Rose is the strangest close trip from Austin. Dinosaur Valley State Park preserves actual sauropod and theropod tracks pressed into the Paluxy riverbed, walkable when the water is low, and Fossil Rim Wildlife Center down the road is a drive-through safari of rhinos, giraffes, and cheetahs on the Texas hills. It is a genuinely odd weekend, and a great one with kids. September, once the summer heat eases off the riverbed.

Glen Rose

Brenham#

An hour and a half east, Brenham is the Blue Bell country town. The creamery tour and its samples are the family draw, the rolling ranchland turns solid blue with bluebonnets in the spring, and Washington-on-the-Brazos, where Texas declared independence, sits a short drive off. Round Top nearby holds one of the biggest antique fairs in the country a couple of times a year. April for the bluebonnets; any weekend for the ice cream.

Brenham

Worth a longer trip#

Austin's advantage is that everything close is a real weekend, so the long hauls are a separate decision. The Gulf coast at Port Aransas and Corpus Christi is about three and a half hours southeast for the wider beaches, and Big Bend, out on the far west border, is a genuine road trip that rewards four days or more. Both are worth planning around a longer break rather than a two-day weekend. For ideas at that range, browse the best long weekend getaways in the US.

Which to skip, and when#

Season is the main filter here. The river and swimming trips, Wimberley, the Frio at Concan, Inks Lake at Burnet, need the summer heat to make sense, so they run May through September; the rest of the year the water is too cold to be the draw. Lost Maples flips the opposite way, a November-only trip for the color. And the cities and Glen Rose are better in spring and fall than in the deep-summer heat, when a Texas afternoon turns a walkable downtown into an ordeal.

Going without a car#

Austin is a harder city to leave carless than most, since the Hill Country runs on back roads. Amtrak's Texas Eagle stops at San Antonio, Taylor, and on toward Fort Worth and Dallas, which covers the city trips if the once-daily schedule works, and the Texas cities all have airports for the farther legs. The rivers, the lakes, and the wineries, though, need a car. Confirm the current Amtrak schedule before planning around it.

Common questions#

Where are the cheapest weekend getaways from Austin? Wimberley is the lightest, about $600 to $830 for two for the weekend, and it is under an hour into the Hill Country. Burnet and Brenham are close behind at around $610 to $850, both about an hour out.

What's the closest weekend getaway from Austin? Wimberley, about 50 minutes southwest, for the Blue Hole swimming and the town square. It is close enough to be a half-day, which makes it the default when the weekend is short.

What's the best Hill Country weekend from Austin? Wimberley for the swimming holes at under an hour, the Frio River at Concan for the tubing, and Fredericksburg, about 90 minutes west, for the wine and the German heritage. Lost Maples near Vanderpool is the fall-color stop most people miss.

What are the best weekend getaways from Austin with kids? Wimberley for the Blue Hole and Jacob's Well, Glen Rose for the dinosaur tracks in the riverbed and the Fossil Rim safari drive, and San Antonio for the River Walk and the missions. All three keep the drive short and the days easy.

What's the best weekend trip from Austin for swimming or a river? The Frio River at Concan and Garner State Park for the clear water and the tubing, Wimberley's Blue Hole and Jacob's Well for the springs, or Inks Lake near Burnet for the Highland Lakes. All are best from late spring into summer.

What's the best fall weekend trip from Austin? Lost Maples State Natural Area near Vanderpool, where the bigtooth maples turn red and orange in November, a rare bit of real fall color in Texas. Go on a weekday if you can, since the color weekends draw a crowd.

Which weekend getaways from Austin are worth a long weekend or 4 days? Most of these are true two-day trips since nothing is over three hours. For a longer haul, the Gulf coast at Port Aransas and Corpus Christi is about three and a half hours, and Big Bend is a genuine road trip out west. Fort Worth and San Antonio reward an extra night if you have it.

What's an offbeat weekend trip from Austin? Glen Rose, where Dinosaur Valley State Park preserves actual dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy riverbed and the Fossil Rim safari park lets you drive through the herds. It is the strangest close trip from the city.

What's a good romantic weekend getaway from Austin? Fredericksburg for the Hill Country wineries, Wimberley for the quiet springs and the B&Bs, or San Antonio for the River Walk at night. All three trade the city for a slower pace within 90 minutes.

The bottom line#

The best weekend from Austin barely depends on the drive, since nothing here is far. Pick by what you want: water at Wimberley or the Frio, a city at San Antonio or Fort Worth, fall color at Lost Maples, or dinosaur tracks at Glen Rose. And add Fredericksburg and Lockhart, the two the list above leaves out. Either way, plan your weekend trip free and the planner ranks these for your exact dates, group, and budget.

For a longer route once you have picked a base, browse the ready-made United States itineraries.

Cover photo by Quintin Soloviev (CC BY 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons. Drive times verified against routing sources in August 2026; confirm seasonal river conditions and Amtrak schedules before you travel.