The Best Kept Secrets Between Austin and Houston (That’ll Ruin Your ETA in the Best Way)

It may appear to be just another Texas interstate corridor, but if you’re a road trip planner, you know something different! The next 165 miles can range from boring to amazing, it’s all about where to stop and explore the road! Whether you’re taking a trip with kids who need to burn the energy, you want some real Texas comfort food, or you’re looking for quirky roadside attractions that turn into the best stories of your travels, you’ll be in for a surprise and may be planning your next trip before you’re even halfway done.

This is not a straight I-10 or Highway 71 to your destination type of road trip! The fun lies actually only a few miles off the beaten path of the interstate. Whether encountering a prehistoric experience where the kids can saddle up on a dinosaur or visiting a working dairy farm and be the one to milk the cow. Bring your sense of adventure (maybe some wet wipes) because your Austin to Houston road trip is about to get way more interesting!

Dinosaur Park – Cedar Creek, TX

Journey back in time at Dinosaur Park, a fun outdoor museum showcasing life size sculptures of dinosaurs on a shaded nature trail. This park features dinosaurs ranging from a tiny 2-foot Compsognathus to a 123-foot Diplodocus. Some dinosaurs even have saddles for a fun, memorable photo op! For kids, there is also a Dino Dig to excavate fossils and a playground with ride-on dinosaurs to expend some energy. If possible, plan to visit the Dinosaur Park in the cooler months to escape the Texas heat. And pack a picnic because there is no food sold at the park. Just remember no glass bottles. It is a half-mile trail that takes about an hour to stroll paved areas, and strollers with bigger wheels will work better on the park’s terrain. Tip: Save your wristband after admission for discounts at local eateries in Bastrop. And small dogs are welcome, so feel free to bring your pooch for the adventure!

The Jersey Barnyard – La Grange, TX

Dig in at The Jersey Barnyard, a real working dairy farm that encompasses 850 acres of Texas land from a third-generation dairy family. The Jersey Barnyard offers a guided tour where you milk a cow and take a tractor drawn hayride. You can also opt for the self-guided one where you feed goats, pigs, chickens and maybe bottle feed a calf. You will even want to meet the daughter of Belle, yes… THE famous singing cow. The farm store has Blue Bell ice cream and hormone-free cheeses made from the Texas Jersey Cheese Company, so you can stock your cooler with great finds on your road trip. The Jersey Barnyard has tours daily with guided tours at certain times during the day. Adult tours are $14.50 and kids are $10. If you travel through the area during Round Top Antique Weeks, don’t take HWY 237, take 290 to Giddings instead, this is a tip to avoid traffic.

Schobels Restaurant – Columbus, TX

Get off I-10 to experience true Texas hospitality. Schobels is a family-run restaurant that has been serving comfort food since 1979. Every day throughout the week, Schobels has a buffet available that looks like Sunday dinner at grandmas house. You will find six varieties of fresh farm vegetables, hand-cut meats, and those awesome homemade pies and cakes that locals drive miles to get. Three types of schnitzel adorn the menu reflecting their German heritage with a Texas version, jalapeño schnitzel, smothered with a creamy spicy gravy. For the sports fans, the NFL connection is that actual Schobel family members played pro football and as a result of their NFL success, you can expect hearty “NFL Breakfasts”. It features dishes like pork chops and chicken-fried steak. Two tips for your visit: First, call ahead to reserve pies, the buttermilk ones and coconut meringue are best sellers. Holidays are pie selling seasons so these tend to run out quickly. Second, hours are daily starting at 7am and this gem fits perfectly between Houston and Round Top for your meal breaks!

Dig World – Katy, TX

Let your construction crazy kids make their heavy equipment dreams come true in Texas’s first construction themed amusement park. This is not your traditional theme park with attractions galore; it is singularly focused on one objective, to let people operate real construction equipment in a safe environment (sort of)! Once the kids reach a particular height, they operate the controls solo. It is a self-esteem booster that might actually inspire some future engineering or construction careers! The park is designed for younger children who would eat, sleep, and breathe excavators and bulldozers, though older kids will surprise themselves by getting into the action. Don’t visit in August if you don’t like operating machinery in a Texas sauna. Spring and fall are significantly more comfortable to dig in. You will not regret one visit to see the expression on your little builder’s face, admiring their digging from the controls of their favorite machinery.

Hit the Road, Memory Makers

You could dash from Austin to Houston in under three hours, but what’s the fun in that? These four amazing stops take a boring highway drive and turn it into an exciting trip for all your passengers, from eager toddlers obsessed with dinosaurs to grandparents who love comfort food. These will become the memories you won’t forget: your children overcoming their fear of farm animals at a real dairy farm, the best pie in Texas at a family restaurant that has been honing the same recipes since 1979, and your little one operating REAL construction equipment and having their eyes light up! Sure, we know your arrival time keeps extending further down the road, but don’t worry. When you’re enjoying an amazing homemade buttermilk pie in Columbus or watching your child “excavate” dinosaur fossils at Cedar Creek, you’ll quickly realize, the real Texas treasures are not at the endpoint itself, they are just off the highway.