Things to Do in San Marcos

"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.

Chuck's Tubes' team sends their customers on laid-back journeys down the Comal River's tree-lined waterways. Their inflatable vessels—which can also accommodate coolers and nonrobotic dogs—float down the river as it winds through the city of New Braunfels. Once tubers reach the end of their journey, an air-conditioned shuttle ferries them back to the launch point for another trip down the river. A private DJ spins tunes back at Chuck's Tubes' headquarters, where staff members help visitors understand maps of the Comal River and that tubes don't actually taste like donuts.

Action Angler & Outdoor Center, a stream-side fly-fishing shop, offers access to a unique segment of the Guadalupe River, replete with trout, bass, and panfish, and reserved exclusively for fly-fishing. The shop's owner and TXPW-licensed lead guide, Chris Jackson, draws on his 30 years of fly-fishing experience, which began at age 12, when he caught his first trout on the fly in the Rio Grande's headwaters. Patrons can buy or rent equipment ranging from kayaks by makers such as Outcast and Diablo to rods, reels, and wading boots, ideal for jogging into the depths during races with your reflection. Once outfitted, visitors can strike out independently, or opt for guided floats and fly-fishing lessons on the Guadalupe. Guides can also chaperone full-day floats on the San Marcos River, Colorado River, and Lady Bird Lake.