Fun things to do in SM

My girlfriend and I can never find anything we like to do around here. Most of the time we end up driving around doing nothing. Does anyone know of any nice, romanticish places to go in this area? I'm not to familiar with the area and i know there has to be some great places to go. Any help would be awesome

[A2]

1. Tube the river...Not quite warm enough yet, but it's one of my fav's.

2. Canoe on the river right when the sun comes up. You can rent canoes in sewell park

3. Have a picnic at the rest stop at teh top of the Devils Backbone. The sun sets out there in the summer are awesome.

4. Cold beer at Gruene Hall. Get there early and listen the bands warm up.

5. ConCan Texas on the Frio river....a couple hours away ( west of san antonio ).. You can get a nice cabin real close the river for about 70 bucks a night, and alot of em have hot tubs and BBQ pits, the works.

6. Watchin the full moon from the middle of a grass feild.. Theres a grass farm out on HWY 80, just before fentress. If you go out there in the middle of the night on a full moon you can drive in and walk out on to about 150 acreas of beutifel green turf grass. Watch the moon and get freaky with nature.

7. Freidricksburg is a great town with a lot of cool shops....( don't bother with wimberly just keep going west and hit Freidricksburg )

8. Five Mile Dam. IT's been getting more and more crowded out there every year, but it's still half way quite this time of the year...just hide the beer.

9. Hat shopping at Texas Hatters, you don't have to hide your beer there.

and the number one thing to do "romanticish" in San Marcos....TALK OF THE TOWN ( bring lots of change )

THE RIVER IS ALWAYS A GOOD PLACE TO SPEND TIME. ANY ONE OF THE CAMPING PLACES OFF DEVILS BACKBONE, RR12 WOULD ALSO BE A GOOD IDEA. THOMPSONS ISLAND, OFF RIVER ROAD, HAS A WATERFALL. NO TO FIVE MILE DAM BECAUSE OF ALL THE FAMILIES AND IF THERE ARE NO FAMILIES THEN THE COPS ARE PIGGIN AROUND. THE ENTIRE SAN MARCOS, GUADALUPE, AND COMAL ARE GREAT IDEAS BUT YOU SHOULD BE IN A RAFT NO A TUBE. TUBE IS TOO CONVENTIONAL PLUS IT IS EASIER IN A RAFT. ANY OF THE RESTAURANTS AROUND TOWN WOULD BE ROMANTIC BUT THEY COST OBVIOUSLY. MARTINDALE DAM IS IDEAL AS WELL SINCE NOT MANY PEOPLE VENTURE THAT FAR UNTIL THE SUMMER.

This grass field you spoke of...tell me more :wink:

[A2]

I don't think businesses would appreciate me giving out specific directions to their place so that people can come there and hang out in the middle of the night.
What's in my previous post is prob. too much info as it is.



A2

[Kenman]

Hmmmm, I've enjoyed the 'midnight floats' or whatever it is, where they wait until there's a full moon and then float down the river at night... kinda cool.

There's usually some amateur theatrical shows put on at the school, they can be mildy entertaining and are usually a really great price (free).

The river pub puts on outdoor live music shows every Sunday (I believe) in the summer, and I think those are free as well, or at least they used to be. If nothing else, you can canoe down the river and listen from your raft- they can't charge you while you're on the river. There's also the occassional live show in the park during the summer...

I second Devil's backbone, Gruene.. good places.

1. Devil's Backbone Tavern (not Riley's) for beer, shuffleboard and good folks. In the winter, they have great fires in the back of the main room.

2. Juan Enriques on River Road in Wimberley. They have seating outside and not many people seem to know that. There are only about 5 tables outside, so it is usually quiet and romantic out there.

3. The Tea Room in Gruene. Also has very nice outside seating on their front porch; only 3 or 4 tables.

4. Tubing the horseshoe in New Braunfels/Canyon Lake. Everyone has a favorite spot to tube. I like the horseshoe because it is cheap and easy. Head out 306 toward Canyon Lake and watch for River Sports on the right (at 2673, I think). Get a tube and get in. The river makes a big "U", so you get out about 100 yards from where you got in. Repeat until exhausted.

5. Southwest Market for barbecue. Hey, we've all got our own ideas about romance.

6. The deck at Grin's is a nice place for dinner and drinks, as is the outdoor seating at the River Pub. Can you tell I like to be outside?

7. There are free concerts in the park in the summer and there are free movies there as well. I know the movies are meant for kids, but it is fun for "adults" too, if the right movie is playing.

8. I also like to go to the park for the 4th of July fireworks. They are not as impressive as they are in big cities, but the crowds are smaller and there is less traffic. Park at JC Kellam and walk across. It's easy.

9. Sunday matinees at the Starplex are great, if you see movies that have been out for a couple of weeks. I saw Million Dollar Baby with my wife and there were four other people in the theater. Same goes for Dodgeball and In Good Company, to name a few recent selections. We've never been there with more than 15-20 people. Very nice.

10. We also like to walk around the Outlet Mall in the off-season (not Christmas, summer or any holiday). The best time to go is during the week. You get excercise, you're outside, there aren't too many people around, there are sometimes good deals to be had. When we're done, we go over to Centerpoint Station for burgers and shakes.

There are lots of others, but I don't want to give away my favorites. If you're like me, do yourself a favor and check out the state parks. You can get a 1-year pass for you and everyone in your car for $60. That gets you into tons of parks for hiking, canoeing, fishing, picnics, whatever. The camping is great too.

new around here and everyone is telling me to go to the devil's backbone and five mile dam, how do I get there?

devils backbone = out ranch road 12, quite a ways, there's lots of places out in that direction to stop for whatever fits your schedule. you can choose between going right at the junction towards wimberly or going straight through to some more beautiful stuff. it's all pretty out there so you can't go wrong

5 mile dam = out post road, go until you cross the river then there is a sharp left turn and there is parking to your left

[James]

Was asking around San Marcos and noone has heard of Devil's backbone tavern. Couldn't locate it in the directory either.
Can someone tell me how to get there and a phone number?