3 Uniquely Austin Ways to Enjoy the Holidays

It may not snow very often during the holidays in Austin, Texas, but that doesn’t mean the city doesn’t know how to celebrate the holiday season. Texas’ capital city is full of fun activities, year-round, and the holidays in Austin are no different. Following are a few of the events that await you during the holidays in Austin, Texas.

Trail of Lights

This event is just what its name says it is: a trail of lights. This trail is not some puny display with a couple of trees and a fake Santa Claus, however. It’s a mile-long feat of engineering that contains 42 different lighted scenes. The most spectacular is the Zilker Tree, named after the city park in which the Trail of Lights is held.

The Zilker Tree, while not an actual living thing, is pretty amazing. At 155-feet tall, it holds the record for being the largest manmade tree in the United States. Its conical shape is created by stringing 39 sets of lights from points along a circular base that has a circumference of 380 feet and narrowing them to a single point. A 10-foot-wide lighted star presides over the park from the treetop. The lighting of the Zilker Tree is done on the evening of the first Sunday in December each year. (It remains lit until Dec. 31.)

The Trail of Lights opens the Sunday following the tree-lighting, and it is kicked off with a parade at 6:30 p.m. The Trail then opens at 7 p.m., and remains open to visitors (nearly 400,000 in 2005!) until 10 p.m. each night that it is open. (The 2006 Trail of Lights will be open Dec. 10 through Dec. 23.)

And, of course, with Austin being the Live Music Capital of the World, visitors can expect some live entertainment while they’re on the trail. In addition to music, entertainers usually include dancers, theater groups and even comedians.

For more information on the Trail of Lights, including some important parking information, visit the City of Austin’s Trail of Lights Home Page.

37th Street Lights