Canyon Lake, TX Outdoor Activities

Three-time Masters Champion Jimmy Demaret states, “I simply followed the natural features of the land” to explain the genesis of his brainchild, the Onion Creek Club. Here 18 holes of championship golf—designed by course architects Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore—sprawl alongside tennis courts and a clubhouse with a fitness center and junior-Olympic-size swimming pool. The par-70 course’s claim to fame is having hosted the inaugural Senior PGA event in 1978, four years after the greens’ bermuda grass first whimpered under cleated feet. Its signature third hole invites golfers to play aggressively with their drivers in order to vault orbs onto a landing strip guarded by trees and a creek, or to grip their irons and aim for a narrow green that has notoriously uncommunicative air-traffic controllers.

In addition to the course and its accompanying driving range with 30 hitting stations, Onion Creek Club invites racket-wielders to take advantage of lighted hard and clay tennis courts. The clubhouse’s fitness center challenges muscles with Cybex strength machines, and its junior-Olympic-size pool allows 9 irons to slip into their bikinis and go for a splash.

San Antonio’s bustling urban environs and picturesque natural surroundings both serve as the setting for Adventure Club San Antonio’s organized, jovial group outings for singles and married couples alike. Resident staffers heed suggestions from more than 300 members and 200 fortune cookies to devise a calendar of events that brims with an average of 60 activities every month, most of which are free of charge. After perusing the bevy of activities, participants congregate amid the verdant San Antonio–area wilderness for outdoor recreation such as hiking and canoeing, or within the lively city limits for dinners, sports matches, members-only shindigs, and frequent volunteer sessions for local charities.

Aside from the chance to mingle with new friends and explore the region, members receive discounts at dozens of local businesses, and can swiftly find a companion for unofficial events and shadow-puppet castings via a handy activity partners’ forum. Additionally, Adventure Club can connect members to a network of similar groups in Austin, Houston, and Dallas, and even beyond the borders of Texas in verdant locales such as San Diego, California, and Boulder, Colorado.

The low-hanging branches of southern live oak trees stretch out over the house and pavilion areas at Don Strange Ranch, dappling parties, weddings, and corporate team gatherings with splashes of sunlight. Since 1952, the 125-acre longhorn ranch in the Texas Hill Country has hosted myriad events, including scenes from the PBS music documentary series Live from the Artists Den and the wedding of country music stars Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton.

More than just a picturesque backdrop, the ranch’s rugged natural surroundings host outdoor activities such as ropes courses and kayak trips down the Guadalupe River. And the friendly staffers who man 350- to 400-foot ziplines work to ease guests out of their comfort zones, like a mother bird pushing her young out of the nest for their first extreme base-jumping lesson. :m]]

SegCity has ridden the wave of segway popularity to become one of Texas' largest distributors of segways and a leader in segway-authorized tours. With topics ranging from ghosts to breakfast, six public tours escort visitors and locals alike around San Antonio's most famed sights such as the Alamo, the Main Plaza, and The Riverwalk. The staff guides each represent slices of the city itself and share stories of their upbringings in the city on each excursion. As an authorized segway dealer, the business can also outfit riders with their own segways and requisite bassinets.

After arriving in San Antonio in 2003, the Silver Stars have asserted themselves as a WNBA powerhouse. In that first decade, the team secured playoff berths in six consecutive seasons, making it to the league finals in 2008. Along with their NBA counterpart, the San Antonio Spurs, the Silver Stars hold court at AT&T Center, where a massive center-court scoreboard often reinterprets crucial baskets as artsy short films on the digital screen.

Horses and riders both find tranquility on Blackrose Stables’ 100-acre grounds, where professional instructors host riding lessons and guided trail hikes. The caring staff tends to boarded horses’ every desire with daily attention, fresh hay, and movie screens playing Seabiscuit on a constant loop. With assistance from the nonprofit Blackrose Equine Rehabilitation and Riding Facility, the staff also nurses injured horses back to health through equine massage, chiropractic care, and other services.