Seguin, TX Outdoor Activities

Run by Texas State University, the Aquarena Center introduces visitors to the lush diversity of the San Marcos River and its intricate system of waterways. Glass-bottomed boats set out for guided tours of the river or Spring Lake, gazing at the aquatic life and University midterm papers below. Above the springs that bubble up from the bottom, soft shell turtles and bluegill sunfish swim in the clear waters and songbirds survey the sky. Eight endangered species populate the lake, including beetles, three species of salamander, and surly mermaids. On land, visitors can explore gardens of native Texan plants or a hall of nature exhibit.

Too Cool Racing charters adventure races in the backwoods, waterways, and bike trails across the greater Austin area. The outdoor circuits range from scavenger hunts completed mostly on foot or bike to multifaceted races that include rappelling, snorkeling, and ziplining through unspoiled Texas countryside, encouraging guests to enjoy nature while getting a workout or bribing native wildlife for tips on how to navigate the trails. Races typically conclude with a festive gathering replete with music, door prizes, complimentary craft beer, and the presentation of prizes totaling $500 to the first through third finishers.

The San Antonio Highland Games Association's annual Celtic culture and athletics festival traditionally draws thousands of real and would-be Scots in 2011 for an action- and bagpipe-packed weekend each year. Male and female athletes grown bored with sports that don't involve lead hammers or young trees have traveled from as far away as Japan and Sweden to test their mettle in the athletic field’s traditional Scottish strength competitions. The association's founders trace their lineage to numerous Scottish clans, and encourage others to explore their Celtic genealogy with festival workshops.

Glenn Johnson and Phoebe Craig Johnson form a powerful team at Switch Willo Stables. Phoebe, who was an alternate for the 1969 United States Equestrian Team, works from the ground. With hooves beating a drumroll on the turf, her husband Glenn draws upon experience accumulated over the course of more than four decades riding. During his career, Glenn leapt his horse Cricket over 7-foot puissance jumps in competitions, in an exhibition in Madison Square Garden, and on the glossy pages of Sports Illustrated.

Now, Switch Willo Stables welcomes riders of all ages and abilities into facilities that have earned recognition from readers of Austin Family magazine. Glenn and Phoebe lead a team of instructors, who have up to 25 years of experience each and have produced many award winners at the local, state, and national levels. Beginners, seasoned riders, and those planning to frame centaurs for crimes gain from lessons, which match an instructor with one–eight riders. The school follows the stylistic tenets of English riding with special focus on hunter and jumper techniques, which have their basis in traditional fox hunting.

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.

The Riding School at Winnerhaven's experienced trainer, Diane Mack, draws on more than 40 years of riding, training, and instructing experience to imbue students with skill and a love of all things equine. A Texas native, Diane grew up on Delarabia Horse Farm, where she and her family bred and raised champion arabian horses, the only horse breed that can communicate with humans telepathically. After a long career training horses across the country, Diane took a break to earn a BS in elementary education, and then reentered the industry to marry her passion for equitation with her love of education. Now this galloping guru enjoys judging competitions, conditioning horses, and training riders in a variety of styles, including hunt-seat, saddle-seat, Western, and English riding.