Day Trippin' › Texas › From San Antonio › Within 4 hours
118 places are worth the drive within 4 hours of San Antonio, counted by road time from ZIP 78205: 12 under 1 hour, 30 1 to 2 hours, 27 2 to 3 hours and 49 3 to 4 hours.
The mix leans toward history, beaches & lakes and hikes, mostly to the northeast and north. Four hours each way is weekend territory: most of these work best with a night away, so check the places to stay on the state page.
The headline places are Natural Bridge Caverns, Schlitterbahn New Braunfels and Gruene Historic District, and the closest real day trip is Landmark Inn State Historic Site (26 min).
Under 1 hour 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours 3 to 4 hours
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
Cave · 31 min northeast
Big show cave near New Braunfels named for the natural limestone bridge at its entrance. Two guided cavern tours plus zip lines, a maze and gem mining above ground.
Photo: ljpelletier, CC BY-SA 2.0
Theme park · 37 min northeast
A big riverside waterpark in New Braunfels with about 45 rivers, rides and slides in four sections, each with a lazy river and kids' area.
Photo: Renelibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town · 38 min northeast
A 15-acre historic district on the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, with old township buildings, local shops, food and free live music daily.
Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic site · 26 min west
A historic inn on five shady acres by the Medina River in Castroville, the Little Alsace of Texas, with an exhibit hall and rooms for overnight stays.
Photo: jdeeringdavis from San Francisco, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0
Zoo · 30 min northeast
A drive-through safari park where you drive your own car through 500 acres and feed animals from about 40 species. It sits next to Natural Bridge Caverns.
Photo: Charles Willgren from Fort Collins, Colorado, United States, CC BY 2.0
Swimming · 50 min north
A small park along a mile of the spring-fed Blanco River in the town of Blanco, with swimming, a shallow wading pool for kids and shore fishing.
Photo: Hot Furnace, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town · 1 hr 7 min north
A Hill Country town founded in 1846 by German settlers, known for German food, history museums, more than 150 shops and nearly 100 wineries nearby.
Photo: Jmbuytaert, CC BY-SA 4.0
State park · 1 hr 31 min north
A huge 425-foot pink granite dome north of Fredericksburg with about 22 miles of trails, rock climbing and dark night skies. The short, steep Summit Trail gives wide Hill Country views.
Photo: Eric in SF, CC BY-SA 3.0
Swimming · 1 hr 36 min north
A swimming hole under a roughly 50-foot waterfall in a box canyon west of Austin. A short, steep, rocky trail leads down to it.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
Wildlife refuge · 1 hr 3 min northwest
An old railroad tunnel near Fredericksburg where up to 3 million Mexican free-tailed bats fly out at dusk from May to October.
Photo: Margaretwmiller, CC BY-SA 3.0
Family fun · 1 hr 12 min northeast
284 acres of native Texas gardens and trails in south Austin, run by the University of Texas.
Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0
Museum · 1 hr 15 min northeast
Three floors of exhibits on Texas history near the State Capitol in Austin, with an IMAX theater.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
Family fun · 2 hr 39 min northeast
Busy shopping and food complex in Waco with shops, places to eat and a big turf lawn.
Photo: Jim Evans, CC BY-SA 4.0
Museum · 2 hr 4 min southeast
A World War II aircraft carrier docked on Corpus Christi Bay, with planes on the flight deck, a flight simulator and a 3D theater.
Photo: Smcafee87, CC BY-SA 4.0
Zoo · 2 hr 5 min southeast
A big aquarium on North Beach in Corpus Christi, with dolphins, sharks and a sea turtle rescue center.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
State park · 2 hr 11 min east
Shady park on the Brazos River about 50 minutes west of Houston, with five miles of hiking and biking trails near historic San Felipe.
Photo: Not home at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Town · 2 hr 11 min southwest
A border city on the Rio Grande with a historic downtown of Spanish colonial buildings, murals and San Agustin Plaza.
Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Lake · 2 hr 16 min southwest
A 1,680-acre lake on the east side of Laredo with a swim area, boating, fishing and hike and mountain bike trails.
Photo: Renelibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic site · 3 hr 55 min north
Fort Worth's Old West district, where the Fort Worth Herd runs the world's only daily cattle drive and rodeos fill the historic Cowtown Coliseum.
Photo: Nsaum75, CC BY-SA 3.0
Family fun · 3 hr 36 min east
Galveston attraction with Aquarium, Rainforest and Discovery pyramids, 3D theater, zip line and the new Galveston Children's Museum.
State park · 3 hr 40 min north
Walk in real dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River bed near Glen Rose, with about 20 miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
Wildlife refuge · 3 hr 8 min southeast
A coastal refuge known as the winter home of endangered whooping cranes, with a 16-mile paved loop drive, an observation tower and alligators.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
State park · 3 hr 39 min northwest
A shady creekside park built by the CCC, with a historic swimming pool in summer and a small no-wake lake for paddling.
Photo: Atownbman, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town · 3 hr 45 min north
The Storybook Capital of America, where dozens of bronze characters from classic children's books fill downtown streets and gardens.
Our picks, by drive time, include Natural Bridge Caverns (31 min), Schlitterbahn New Braunfels (37 min), Gruene Historic District (38 min), Landmark Inn State Historic Site (26 min) and Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (30 min). The full list on this page has 118 places, each with its drive time and direction from San Antonio.
42 places within 2 hours, 69 within 3 hours and 118 within 4 hours of San Antonio, by road from ZIP 78205.
29 of the 118 places need no pass or fee, such as Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, Port Aransas and Fort Worth Stockyards. Fees and passes change, so check each place before you go.
112 places are marked good for kids, including Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and Estero Llano Grande State Park.
They are by real roads on a typical day, from the middle of ZIP 78205 to each place (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Traffic, weather and closures can change them. Places under 25 minutes from the city center count as in town, not a day trip, so they are left out.
Yes. Type your ZIP code into Day Trippin' and it shows everything by drive time. Your ZIP is used for that one search and is not saved.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.