Things to Do in San Marcos

The engine's howl steadily builds as the Robinson R44 helicopter's blades churn with increasing velocity. Passengers look out of bubble windows and see grass whipping beneath. In a moment, the turf disappears, fading from view as the chopper lifts higher into the sky. So begins an aerial adventure led by experienced pilots Steve Van Buren and John Holler, who venture into the airways above Austin, San Antonio, the hill country, and central Texas. The air-conditioned copters—equipped with four-way communication that allows guides to maintain contact with passengers—glide through the firmament, as pilots obey all stop-sign-shaped clouds on their way to eye-catching views of sites such as historic Gruene. Crews also bring helicopters to clients for party rentals and assist landowners with predator control and game surveys.

Just blocks from the 72-degree waters of the Comal River, Comal Tubes provides inflatable passports to the spring-fed waters that converge in downtown New Braunfels with the Guadalupe River's choppier rapids. Toes and fingers trail in the temperate waters throughout a two-hour float, alternately slipping past tree-lined shores and whipping down faster-moving tube chutes, while others seize their aquatic destinies by the oars with kayak rentals. Comal Tubes' free parking and shuttle service grant more time for the water, and the shop outfits river riders with refreshments, ice, sunscreen, and other gear to escape the mundanity of land-based life's preoccupation with shirts and shoes.

"It's like throwing a party every day," Byron Severance, who co-owns The Jumpy Place along with his wife, Cathy, told the Hays Free Press. "It's the most fun I've ever had in a job." Byron and Cathy's indoor playground—kept immaculate with a strict socks-only policy, daily disinfectant washes, and an unbudging ban on trashcan-dwelling Grouches—relieves the endemic of excess energy common to youths aged 10 and younger. As children bounce in and slide down air-filled fortresses, adults entertain themselves with complimentary coffee, WiFi, and cartoon-free television. Both locations are open every day except Tuesday, and each admission grants all-day access that allows families to come and go as they please.

A buoyant fleet of inflatable rafts and tubes drifts lazily down two sprawling rivers populated with exciting rapids and falls. During 1.5- to 5-hour treks, guests can traverse the Comal or Guadalupe River in an inner tube, relax with a partner in a two-seater raft, or host a regulation poker game with friends inside a raft that holds up to six. Trip durations and age cutoffs may change on a daily basis depending on current river flow.

At Silver Fox Farms, owner and trainer Colleen Brombach guides students and steeds through premiere hunter and jumper learning programs. Colleen’s training arenas sit in the hill country of Wimberley on a pasture that reaches far out to a wooded border. The carefully designed new facilities allow hoofed residents to exercise no matter the weather and without students having to dress them in trench coats and ride them through the mall. Among the programming offered at Silver Fox Farms are training sessions designed to help students to progress toward competition in the show ring. Summer day-camp programs encourage children to learn early with educational demonstrations on horse care and fun activities.

John Newcombe Country Club's veranda looks out upon eight lit tennis courts with a sweeping backdrop of Texas Hill Country. While tennis students aged 3 and up scamper over the courts under the guidance of certified instructors, AFAA-certified personal trainers oversee the fitness program, while making sure to reapply bronzing oil every half-hour. They guide trainees through free-weight exercises, as well as classes in Zumba, Pilates, TRX training, and AquaFit conducted in an outdoor pool. While their parents sweat, children can make art and watch movies in the kids' club, or seek out their dream rackets in the pro shop.