Being a train enthusiast I was a bit excited to go on the "Noth Pole Flyer" out of Bertrum TX on…read moreDecember 13, 2025 with my two grandkids and thier parents, six people in total. So this is a grandparents perspective. Upon arrival to the depot area, there is no indication of event parking as the lighting was very poor at 6:15 at night. The web site mentioned free parking but had no maps of the area. What I saw coming from the east, was a long row of cars parked in a Hodge podge fashion along the tracks. We ended up parking by the library across the highway. (Short walk with a light to cross with). I'll mention this again later. I came across a small sign in the middle of a crowd that says "no alcohol, no weapons licensed or otherwise." Would be nice to know before this Texan shows up armed. So had to run back to the car to secure my weapon. Ehh, minor inconvenience. BTW, the rules are on the web site. We pick up our tickets at will call and wait. The train comes up and parks. The engine was a short haul/swicher unit, no steam, with very beautiful vintage passenger cars. My family's car just happened to stop right in front of us, #41. We boarded and it was like going back in time. We found our seats easy enough. However, keeping in mind, either people were a lot taller and thinnier back then, or they have tall tables and do like airlines and add extra tables. It was tight. Little wiggle room for an adult. If you are in the window seat, you get to look forward and to the side. You cannot turn around to see what is behind you. If you adjust your seat, you are bumping the person behind you. And trust me, every car is packed. Being a night trip, there is nothing to see outside. So bring stuff for the kiddos to do and snacks and drinks. The two hour trip is loud. Kids are loud, and you have adults talking over the kids. My train enthusiast self went on an exploring expedition through a lot of the other cars. Some like mine had 4 person tables, others 4 person commuter recling seats with no tables. Some had one bathroom available others had two. I stood between two cars and just watched the scenery go by. It was a refreshing change to the snot-monsters noise in my car. The endless coco was good. Very hot. Eventually a minstrel came out and started some interactive Christmas carols. Pretty good. Simultaneously, a balloon guy came out making hats and the sorts for the kids. Then out came the forgetable part, a story teller. Hard to hear, not well versed in the story and choppy in her reading. Alas, Mrs Clause with some very different tasting, highly addictive cookie for everyone, saved the day. The highlight of the adventure was Santa. The staff had his appearance very organized and orderly. Each table had a chance to take photos with the big guy. The most unimaginable gift was given. A wooden train whistle to about 15-20 kids, my own grandkids included. Imagine if you will, about 30 minutes left in the trip with the incessant "tweet-tweet-tweet" penetrating that one nerve that goes from your ears to your feet and makes your spine want jump out of the window. Now, after a engine switch from one end to the other delay, we headed into the depot. We didn't exit the way we got on. We got on the depot side (city side), and exited on the parking lot side. Well that's fine and great. But if you park on the city side, you are blocked by the train with only two ways to get to your vehicle. Oh yes, I said a bunch of nasty, nasty cuss words. You either wait for a full train to disembark and hope they let you walk through, or, you walk around the shortest part of the train and back to the crossing light I mentioned earlier. So that's the trip review. But now to the staff. Man those cats get 5-stars. Friendly, informative and in character. I can't imagin doing that trip 5-6 times a day. They made an otherwise blah trip much, much nicer. This is a one time experience with kids. Maybe, someday, my wife and I will try a romantic trip through hill country or something like that.

The staff is incredibly friendly, and the check-in process couldn't be easier. The train cars are…read moreimpressively clean and well-kept, and we really enjoyed learning about the history behind the ride. It's a unique and nostalgic experience that takes you back in time. While I do wish the views along the route were a bit more scenic, the overall experience was still absolutely worth it and I would gladly do it again. If you're looking for something different to do around Austin, please support this train. It's a special kind of adventure you don't find every day.

The tour was very nice and our tour guide Tanner was very epic and cool and made the experience so…read moremuch cooler-er. I enjoyed the puns especially the rock puns and will miss them and rocky and the chicken nugget we saw on the path. Highly recommend !!!!! :-) p.s. sneak peak of rocky

This isn't the best caverns I've visited within a Texas State Park, but it is pretty darn cool. The…read morebest caverns tour is at Kickapoo Caverns. I did a wild cave tour without the extra charges that Longhorn collects. At Longhorn, our guide, Johnson did an amazing job with our small group of six people for the 10:45 AM tour. My brother and I initially registered for the 11:00 AM tour and am glad that we were suggested another time. We passed by the 11:00 AM tour and they had 40+ people in their group. Johnson showed us cool geological formations. We saw dolomite, calcium bicarbonate, chert, limestone, geodes, stalagmites, stalactites, and quartz crystals. Johnson is somewhat funny; he had a bit of quirky and dry humor. I enjoyed the history of the caverns, but some of it I thought was interesting. It was really delightful to learn that in the 1800's, before the CCC got involved, the locals would dance and play music turning the cave into an auditorium of entertainment. Johnson said that if certain geological formations glows, it is growing. Very catchy phase for memory. I got to see a few bats hanging out. They were tricolor bats which are smallest bats. The cave is cool, but thankfully not slippery. I was wearing no grip support shoes, but I didn't fall or have the urge to fall. There are mats on the floor of the cave to prevent falls. Johnson gave us more time to look around and admire the geology. My brother and I weren't required to bring our own flashlights. Johnson had a flashlight, but forgot to grab the blacklights. What I find is strange is that this is a state park that you cannot renew your state park pass at. This park headquarters is very different than the rest considering that there's a third party company handing the cave tours, they sell ice-cees, popcorn, and the gift shop is very big and vast. The others don't have this. It is questionable to me. I was told that I needed to go to Inks Lake to renew my pass. The cave tours are very pricey. Kickapoo Caverns tour was very affordable at $10. You can use the park pass. You can't get your state park passport stamped at Longhorn Caverns either. It seems like Longhorn Caverns is more for profit and the history about the cavern could be overly exaggerated to attract customers. My opinion. It was hard to believe half of the things what Johnson was telling us. There's one portion of geological formation in the cave that is "dead" because in year 1919, the locals went exploring by touching the formation it "killed" it. I preferred Kickapoo Caverns and the Caverns of Sonora a lot more. Even Inner Space Caverns and Natural Bridge were very exciting to see. Longhorn is cool, but didn't give me that WOW-factor, but I still had a ton of fun on a Sunday morning.

They've completely renovated the playground and the splash pad at Brushy Creek Lake Park! The new…read moreequipment is of such high quality, with separate playgrounds for older and younger kids. The splash pad has a dedicated fenced in area for the water fun, and a nice grassy area with tables and seating. Perfect for a picnic! I love taking walks with my daughters along the lake, admiring the views and enjoying the wildlife. If you're adventurous you can rent a canoe or kayak from the boathouse and take it out onto the lake as well. This park is a beautiful place to spend time on a weekend!

Nice park, especially if you've got kids in a stroller and want to go for a short hike. The trail…read morethat runs over the dam is all paved (not sure how far it continues being paved since we turned around). Lots of pedestrians, bikers, dog walkers. You can also walk on the unpaved trail along the water (it's very smooth and stroller-friendly). There is a playground. It's split into two areas for different ages. It's great in theory but I found it a bit lacking. There's a rudimentary playground that's labeled as 2-5. And a crunk playground (3-tiered, with gnarly slides) labeled as 5-12. Don't get me wrong -- this big playground is awesome for older kids. But it's a bit too advanced/scary for a 3-year-old. Meanwhile, the little playground was too simple/easy for her. So there's a middle age that isn't really catered to. But, great for 2-year-olds and 5+. There are also multiple parks with playgrounds within a short driving distance (Champion, Olson Meadows) so you can easily park hop.

Conveniently located to cedar park, Leander, Jonestown and west Round rock. It has three areas for…read moredifferent size dogs. One section has a pond with a jumping ledge that dogs love to jump into the water from. The park has water stations and also a dog washing station. The small dog zone is kind of rocky but I haven't seen any dogs mind. It also has a walking track so you can get your steps in while your dog plays. Seating for humans throughout. Parking is also ample and easy. They are closed Tuesdays for cleaning.

So glad we tried this park! On or off leash dog park with water pond for the fur babies to play…read more Shaded benches available on the farthest end of the park and loved the vibe. There are shower hoses for when you opt to wash them after the dip. So cool to have this place near us!

This Homestead Park sits directly next-door to the Leander Public library. It has its own parking…read morelot consisting of about a dozen spaces. This property of antiquity seems very much out of place with the modern residential homes and apartments that surround it. The property consists of a windmill, old tin structures, rusty old farm equipment, and cedar fencing, along with an old home. The house on the property is sparsley furnished with period furnishings and is open to the public, but it was locked on my visit. It has a fireplace on either side of the house. This property serves as a learning tool to what it was like to Homestead in the 1800s. Being next-door to the public library is a plus. There are no livestock and no farming happening here.

3.5 I saw an ad on…read moreNextdoor about a Victorian Christmas event here and figured why not come down and check it out. It's a small property and won't take very long to look at but honestly, I like historical sites and thought it was nice seeing the place decorated up for Christmas. Parking is a bit scarce so you can also park next to the library next door.

This early 20th century cemetery was once in the countryside, but now it is surrounded on all sides…read moreby local businesses and literally sits next to the newly built H-E-B parking lot in Georgetown. At the entrance closest to H-E-B you'll find a very detailed layout of the cemetery which will provide you with lots of information. The entire cemetery seems to have a randomly laid out pattern of headstones and markers with some family plots, but mostly just individual markers. Many headstones found here are cast in concrete instead of granite. As the sign at the entrance points out, there are many unmarked graves as well which are primarily former slaves and other African-Americans. Most of the graves have long since been forgotten about, but there are still quite a number of newer graves that are well tended by family members. The grounds are mowed, but there are quite a number of headstones in a state of disrepair. There is no Texas historical sign on the property but for more information check out the photo of the map below.

This cemetery sits just a short walk away from the much larger Citizens Memorial Garden cemetery…read moredown the street (see separate review). The small family plot is located along Wolf Ranch Parkway just a block from West University avenue aka Hwy 29. It is odd to see such a sight so close to such a very busy intersection and right next to the busy road. There is an entry point next to the sidewalk in the primitive fence, but the entire plot is about the size of the average family garage. There are only two headstones here, but there could be more buried here in unmarked graves. It's nice to see that it has been taken care of in spite of its perilous location. I'm sure the occupants here could never have imagined their final resting place would one day be an obstacle to modern progress.

A very cool but also very overlooked historical marker, on Hwy 183 between an Appliance Repair shop…read moreand a Chiropractor's Practice. Back in 1982, archeologists uncovered the skeleton of a pre-historic human female by nearby Brushy Creek. Because of the proximity of the grave site to the town of Leander, the skeleton became known as the Leanderthal Lady. Carbon testing indicates the woman lived ~13,000 years ago, which is amazing - that's six times further back then when Christ was born in the Holy Land! One can't help but wonder what Yelp review she'd have given to the place back then. Something like: "Three stars. Leander nice place to live, plenty of buffalo to hunt. Wish they had a Whataburger outlet." Seriously, check this marker out, it's pretty cool.

Lots of books and friendly people neat art great place to hang out looking for more neat eventsread more

The Georgetown library is a wonderful place to be. Getting a library card is easy. You just need to…read moreshow your identification and proof of residency. The card is free. You can check out books or music. There's a lot of places to sit in here and I see people sitting and enjoying each other's company. Some people are studying on their laptop. They have a wonderful sweet lemon kitchen area to get some food and drink drinks. The people who work here are very kind and helpful. You can check out the availability of your book online and reserve it, and they will put it in a special place for you. However, I love going through and just looking through the books and finding my book myself . There's something special about a book! When the book is due to be returned, they generously text you and ask if they can extend the rental, the avoiding charges for forgetting to return a book! There are events that are held at the library, such as concerts and other gatherings. They are posted in the front of the library. You should go look at them. This has become my new regular place. I am now reading a book series and it's so nice that I don't have to buy the book. I just read a book and I bring it back and I get the next one and in the meantime I'm certain to make a new friend! They have a children's section that just looks amazing. They even have a Jeep in there for the children to play! It is modified to be completely safe. There's no risk here. They have an elevator so you don't have to take the stairs to the second floor if you don't want to. When I was there, they were having a sculpture sale and it was just beautiful sculptures all over the library just wonderful. I highly recommend this library.