Lake Austin

Lake Austin sits immediately downstream of Lake Travis on the Colorado River, but the two behave nothing alike. Where Travis rises and falls with rainfall and drought, Lake Austin is a flow-through reservoir held at a nearly constant level by Tom Miller Dam — the third dam built at that site after two earlier ones failed catastrophically, in 1900 and 1915, before the current dam was finished in 1939. That constant level, and the lake's location inside Austin's own city limits, has made it the city's dock-and-dine lake: Ski Shores Cafe has served burgers on the beach since 1954, Hula Hut and Quince Lakehouse both put diners on piers over the water, and Mozart's Coffee Roasters draws a lakeside crowd every evening for its holiday lights and sunset views. County Line on the Lake serves Texas barbecue out of a converted 1940s lodge on Bull Creek. Boaters launch from Walsh Boat Landing near downtown or Emma Long Metropolitan Park's ramps on the lake's western end, and dock at Lake Austin Marina near the dam. Mount Bonnell and the Pennybacker Bridge Overlook, both perched above the water, are two of the most photographed views in the city. Lake Austin Spa Resort, tucked along the western shore, is one of the more quietly famous wellness retreats in the country, though it's a guests-only destination rather than a public stop.