Best Day Trip - Wet

TIE: Hamilton Pool, Schlitterbahn

It's hot as hell in Austin. Luckily, we Texans have a few options to combat cerebral meltdown. Pack a car full of friends, and flip a coin. Heads if you're in the mood for slippin' and twistin' across miles of slides and tunnels. Tails if you're ready for jaw-dropping nature at its best. Schlitterbahn's got water under a spell, mastering millions of gallons of the stuff to propel your hot mess of a mass up a curvy slide in one sweet gravity-defying swoop. Hamilton Pool's cove and waterfall echo the magical backdrops of fairy tales and far away lands. Take a floaty and a picnic, and you're set for a day of soul revival. Clock both spots at about an hour's drive away. Feel miraculously refreshed any way you cut it.

Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve
24300 Hamilton Pool Rd., Dripping Springs, 512/264-2740
parks.traviscountytx.gov

Schlitterbahn
381 E. Austin St., New Braunfels, 830/625-2351
www.schlitterbahn.com