What typically comes to your mind when it comes to countryside travel?
For many, the experience is usually about appreciating the simple life it offers, a perfect escape from all the noise and pollution of the city.
The visit highlights how the locals live their simple life with nature, while on the other side, you’ll be treated to many outdoor activities, local culture, food, and more nature.
That’s the beauty of traveling in the countryside.
The city of Burnet in Texas is a perfect example of that.
Burnet is known for its thriving community and its beautiful lakes.
The city is the county seat of Burnet County, and it’s also known as the “Bluebonnet Capital of Texas.”
Burnet serves as a city and the county itself, and it’s named after David Gouverneur Burnet, who was the Republic of Texas’s first provisional president.
About 8,500 people call Burnet their loving home.
Despite its quaint appeal, Burnet is a wonderful destination for outdoor adventure.
There are many natural attractions you will find there.
For instance, you can check out different state parks, lakes, museums, and shops.
It also has a yearly festival that gathers thousands of people around Burnet County.
To help you curate the best travel experience in this Texan city, here are the 15 best things to do in Burnet, TX, and its neighboring areas.
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This state park in Burnet is perfect for outdoor activities.
It has a limestone cave formed underground that you can explore.
It also has an ancient underground river, making your exploration there more exciting.
Historically, the underground cavern served as a hideout for Native Americans, Confederate soldiers, and outlaws back in the day.
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In the 1920s, the cavern became a speakeasy for many musicians and artists in Texas, and in 1933, it officially became the state park it is today.
In 2006, a musical concert happened to commemorate its previous function as a speakeasy.
The entire tour takes about 85 minutes and covers more than two miles of underground caverns.
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The Fort Croghan Grounds and Museum provides visitors a better understanding and view of Burnet County’s backstory.
It offers everyone what life was back in the day through its interactive galleries and exhibits, featuring old stagecoaches, a blacksmith, a powder house, a schoolhouse, and other significant establishments in the 1800s.
The museum was originally built as the Fort Croghan, established in 1849.
It offered protection for the settlers in Burnet County from Native American raiders.
Today, Fort Croghan has a vast collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the county and neighboring areas.
Visiting this place is a great start to your Burnet travel adventure.
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The Highland Lakes Squadron, which opened in 1992, served as a commemorative air force museum for those who served in World War II.
Col. Harold Smith founded the museum, which features a vast collection of artifacts from pilots, engineers, gunners, and co-pilots who bravely fought in World War II in Europe and New Guinea.
Furthermore, the museum also features a wonderful knife collection and WWII weapons which Col. Bill Pair curated.
Today, the place serves as another historical attraction in Burnet worthy of checking out.
Burnet is filled with golf courses from the north to the south of the county.
Thus, one of the activities to do during your visit to Burnet is golfing.
The Delaware Springs Golf Course is one of the places to play golf in Burnet County.
This golf course is situated in Burnet’s city limits on the south side and features an 18-hole, 72-par championship course where everyone could play.
The course is loaded with run shots, bumps, bunkers along lush fairways, making up a challenging but very enjoyable game.
If you’re too intimidated by the golf course, you can swing your hearts out at a nearby practice range.
For a fun-filled golf experience in Burnet, you know where to go.
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Who thought you could find a European-style castle in the middle of Texas?
Well, there is one in Burnet, the Falkenstein Castle.
Although the castle is a private residence of owners Kim and Terry Young, it offers everyone the chance to explore the majestic castle and learn about its interesting backstory.
After being inspired by their Bavaria, Germany trip, the Youngs decided to build the castle in Burnet.
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Their main inspiration was to build the actual Falkenstein Castle blueprints they discovered inside the Neuschwanstein Castle.
They were able to build the castle with the help of artist Christian Janks by rendering the entire design inside Young’s 400-acre property.
Aside from being a trendy attraction in Burnet, the Falkenstein Castle is also a favorite wedding venue and other events.
The Galloway & Hammond City Park in Burnet is one of the city’s main open-air green spaces for recreation and sports.
Donated by the State Highway Depart of Texas, the park is an exciting place to engage, like baseball and football.
It also has an indoor standard-sized pool, a water park, a playground, and picnic tables under the canopies of trees.
More conveniently, the park has restrooms, ample parking space, and an indoor recreation center for public and private gatherings.
If you’re seeking a place to relax or sweat out a bit in Burnet, you should check this park out.
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Like many towns and cities, Burnet also boasts a charming main street filled with shops, restaurants, and services.
The courthouse square virtually takes you back to the Old West because of the well-preserved old-western architecture you’ll find in the buildings lining the street.
Visiting this place offers you a wonderful opportunity to rub elbows with the locals or perhaps have some leisure time by checking out its restaurants and shops.
If you fancy antique collectibles, this place has many shops to visit.
The focal point of this entire place is the Burnet County Courthouse, which was built back in 1937.
You should also check out these hometown specialty shops and restaurants such as Burnet Antique Mall, Unshakeable Grounds Coffee Shop, Carolee’s Antiques and More, Trailblazer Grille, The Grapevine, Ritzy Texan, Two Black Cadillacs, and Wedding Oak Winery.
Burnet celebrates Bluebonnet Festival every second week of April.
This yearly festival highlights the blossoming of Texas’ wildflowers, particularly the native Texas Bluebonnets, every spring.
To celebrate the start of spring, thousands of Texans usually gather outside their homes to witness the beautiful fields teeming with native wildflowers.
Today, the Bluebonnet Festival is being celebrated around Texas, including Burnett.
The festival has concerts, exhibits, parades, arts and crafts, food, and drinks during the one-day festival.
There are different highlights every year, but the most-awaited show during the air show features the World War II fighter planes from the Highland Lakes Squadron.
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The Torr Na Loch Winery is a Scottish-inspired vineyard in Burnet owned by locals Blake and Karen DeBerry.
The entire vineyard/ranch covers about 180 acres.
The couple who initially resided in Scotland bought the property in Burnet and converted it into a winery.
The winery and vineyard opened in 2015 after several years of preparation.
Today, the Torr Na Loch Winery is one of the most visited places in Burnet County to taste excellent wines at their tasting room that offers visitors a picturesque view of Texas Hill Country.
The Hill Country Motorheads Motorcycle Museum is a haven for vintage motorcycle collectors and enthusiasts.
It has a vast collection of beautifully-preserved and well-functioning vintage motorcycles in its 7,000-square-foot exhibit.
Thanks to owners Pat and Janell Hanlon, the museum has become a great place to see rare and beautiful motorcycles from the 1960s to the 1970s.
More than 200 vintage motorcycles from 70 various brands are displayed in the museum, which you can visit in Burnet.
Furthermore, the museum also has a collection of very rare vintage bikes older than their main collection.
For another side trip about history, you should head to this museum.
The entire Burnet County is vast; you can reach the Colorado River further west.
So, after you’re done visiting Burnet City’s attractions, it would be perfect to head out to the entire county, which offers more attractions to visit.
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A 16-minute drive or 13 miles west from Burnet City takes you to Lake Buchanan.
Lake Buchanan is a water reservoir for the entire region and has a hydroelectric power plant.
However, locals and visitors know this place as a great place to fish.
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The vast lake covers more than 35 square miles or 22,000 acres of surface water, teeming with popular freshwater fish, such as catfish, largemouth bass, white bass, and striped bass.
Aside from being a popular fishing spot, Lake Buchanan is also a beautiful place to have a picnic.
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A 26-minute drive further north of Burnet City takes you to the Eagle Eye Observatory.
This attraction, which the Canyon of the Eagles Resort is currently running, takes you to an observatory located 1,100 feet above sea level.
The Eagle Eye Observatory is an awesome facility in Texas for astronomical studies and a viewing site for the public for its dark-sky location, far away from the city’s artificial lights.
The observatory is equipped with a modern telescope to give visitors a clearer view of the stars, planets, and galaxy.
Pottery Ranch is a local attraction in Marble Falls, a 15-minute drive south of Burnet City.
It offers everyone all things Texans from its food products, indoor and outdoor decorations, furniture, ceramics, and other stuff you can buy there.
Opened in 2000, Pottery Ranch has grown into a household name in Marble Falls because of the unique and fun-filled experience it provides to its visitors.
It has an eclectic collection of items you won’t find anywhere else.
So, chances are, you will surely bring home a lovely and unique souvenir after your visit there.
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The famous Colorado River runs through Burnet County, so it would be great to visit this iconic natural attraction during your visit there.
A 16-minute drive or 12.5 miles west of Burnet City takes you to the shoreline of the Colorado River, where you can do boat cruises and other waterborne activities.
To get the most of your Colorado River experience, you should check out Vanishing Texas Cruises.
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This company offers an 18-mile boat cruise along the famous river.
During the boat cruise, you’ll come across local wildlife migrating birds, towering cliffs, cascading waterfalls, and other natural attractions.
The boat cruise lasts for about two to three hours.
If you want to explore the Colorado River in Burnet, you can book a boat cruise with Vanishing Texas Cruises.
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You might feel intimidated by what awaits you at the Spider Mountain Bike Park from its name.
However, this popular off-road mountain bike destination about 10.4 miles north of Burnet City is a place full of fun and excitement.
Being the only lift-served bike park in Texas, you should visit Spider Mountain, Bike Park.
You will ascend for about 350 feet and descend on your mountain bike through its challenging racecourse.
You can choose up to nine trails, each with different difficulty levels, from beginners to pros.
Each of their trails has its nicknames, from Itsy-Bitsy for beginners to the Black and Blue trails for the experts in off-road mountain bikes.
After your adrenaline-pumping experience riding down the mountain, you can spend the night at the Thunderbird Lodge.
Burnet City and its entire county is a place filled with outdoor adventure, history, and genuine Texan culture that you won’t expect to find in the countryside.
After reading this post, you might agree that this city and county is a place that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Hopefully, you can bookmark this post to give you the best idea of where to head during your visit to Burnet.
Things to Do in Marble Falls, TX
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