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Ride the Wave

Texas' 10 best water parks for families, thrill-seekers, and everyone in between

Jennifer Simonson
Jun 28, 2022 | 9:25 am
Typhoon Texas is back.
Typhoon Texas is back.
TyphoonTexas.com

By all indications, it's shaping up to be a scorching summer in Texas. The best way to beat the heat is by floating in a brightly colored plastic tube around a fake German castle on a lazy river, or being propelled through a tube chute at 20 miles per hour into a refreshing pool of blue water. Luckily for us, no matter where you are in Texas, you are never too far from a water park. Here are 10 of the state's best.

Schlitterbahn, New Braunfels
The OG of Texas water parks, Schlitterbahn opened along the Comal River in 1979 with four water slides. Today, the park in between Austin and San Antonio offers more than 50 water rides split over two sections of a sprawling 70-acre park. The original section, home to the signature Schlitterbahn Castle, has tube chutes, enclosed twisty slides, seven kid’s pools, and a swim-up pool bar for adults. All the rides on this side are still powered by the natural spring fed water of the Comal River.

The newer Blastenhoff section is where the majority of high-thrills rides are located, including the six-story Master Blaster water coaster. To see the entire park from the comfort of your own tube, hop on The Falls. The whitewater river is 3,600 feet long, making it the world’s longest water park ride.

White Water Bay at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio
Their website says access to White Water Bay is included with the price of admission to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, but we like to think it is the other way around. Bypass those Superman coasters that have you hanging upside down screaming for dear life and head to the Texas-shaped wave pool. The rides here are no joke. The Bahaman Blaster drops riders at an 80-degree angle to reach speeds of up to 40 miles-per-hour where they descend straight down six-stories. The Twister body slide descends into darkness, while the riders on the Tornado begin on by traveling through an enclosed slide before being shot out onto a funnel where they twist and turn on a four-person tube ride to the end.

Kalahari, Round Rock
Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Round Rock is dubbed “America’s largest indoor water park resort.” The African safari-themed water park has 223,000 square feet of water rides, including the Screaming Hyena, which drops thrill-seekers through the water park roof into a 60-foot slide; the Tanzania Twist — known for flinging bodies down a funnel at 40 mph; and the Kenya Korkscrew, where visitors ride on a tandem raft down a spiral tube slide.

Day passes are available, but guests who stay overnight at the 975-room resort can access the park for free.

Great Wolf Lodge, Grapevine
Does it look like rain on the day you plan to go to the water park? Bad weather does not dampen the fun at Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. The indoor park caters to guests of all ages with its various pools, slides, and tandem tube rides. For those who do not want to spend all day in the water, the resort also offers dry land attractions, like a ropes course, an arcade, live action games, and story time.

At 80,000-square-feet, this water park is one of the smallest on the list, but it is a great option for families with children who do not want to spend all day in the water.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Arlington
Adrenaline junkies, this is your place. The water park in Arlington has it all: water coasters, pitch-black enclosed water slides, free falls, shotgun tube slides, and zero-gravity funnels. It even has the Mega Wedgie, an 83-foot-tall half-pipe where riders rush up and down its walls at 23 miles per hour.

Those who want a more relaxing experience can spend time at the lazy river, the million-gallon wave pool, or the giant swimming pool.

NRH2O Family Water Park, North Richland Hills
Situated between Dallas and Fort Worth, NRH20 has rides for every level of thrill seeker. Tiny swimmers gravitate toward the Tadpole Swimming Hole or spend most of the day hanging out at the Frogstein's Splashatory, a five-level interactive water playground. Those who want to get their heart rate pumping make a beeline for the Green Extreme, an 81-foot uphill water coaster, and the plummeting 61-foot drop Sidewinder.

This city-owned park also hosts movie nights throughout the summer. It is also one of the cheapest water parks in Texas. Weekday admission for children is less than $20, and like Schlitterbahn, the park allows guests to bring in coolers full of food and nonalcoholic beverages.

Schlitterbahn, Galveston
With 20 less rides than its sister property in New Braunfels, Schlitterbahn Galveston is much more compact of a park. But that doesn't mean it is less fun. The Galveston location has Massive Monster Blaster, which is credited as the world’s tallest water coaster. Riders on the tandem raft twist, turn, and drop down three football fields worth of water coaster fun. The Galveston location also has the world’s tallest and longest mat slides. Riders on the Infinity Racers race head first down an eight-story water slide in hopes to beat their fellow racer.

Typhoon Texas, Katy
This Houston-area water park has more than 30 slides, a lazy river to help visitors get around the park, and a 375,000-gallon pool that makes waves up to three feet tall. But arguably the most popular ride is the Monster Storm, where a six-person raft barrels down an open-air tube before sliding into a gravity-defying Texas-sized boomerang wall.

The park shows off its Texas pride by matching each area with Texas landmarks, rivers, and rocks. Following the fine tradition of the love of live music in Texas, the park also has a stage for live performances by local musicians.

Castaway Cove Water Park, Wichita Falls
At 15-acres, the paradise-themed water park is small compared to the big dogs in Arlington and San Antonio. However, with water slides, a wave pool, lazy river, and sand volleyball courts, it has everything a park needs to keep families entertained for the day. It also has what few wate rparks in the country have — a ride with a 360-degree loop. The Pirate’s Plunge begins with a 37-foot vertical free fall, accelerating the rider up to 40 mph before reaching the loop. This ride is not for the faint of heart.

Wet 'N' Wild Water World, El Paso
Water park enthusiasts in Central Texas need to travel to the opposite end of the state to experience the largest wave pool in Texas. This oasis of freshwater in the middle of the West Texas desert draws all levels of thrill seekers. For smaller adventurers, the net ladders, slides, jungle gyms, and dump buckets of Atlantis Adventures are a huge draw. The park even has a slippery rock climbing wall where climbers race their friends to see who can make it to the top first. A refreshing pool of blue water is there to catch anyone who loses their grip.

Kalahari Resort.

Kalahari Resorts and Conventions water park kids
Photo courtesy of Kalahari Resorts and Conventions
Kalahari Resort.
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Palatial pampering

Texas' dreamiest destination spa unwraps exclusive $1,000 Swiss facial for 25th anniversary

Stephanie Allmon Merry
Oct 27, 2022 | 3:33 pm
Texas' dreamiest destination spa unwraps exclusive $1,000 Swiss facial for 25th anniversary
Photo courtesy of Lake Austin Spa Resort

A red light mask is part of the $1,050 Regal by Valmont facial.

When the Lake Austin Spa Resort went shopping for a 25th-anniversary gift for guests, it aimed higher than traditional silver and picked treatments that incorporated gold, diamonds, and caviar. As a result, the dreamy destination spa now offers some of the most opulent, exclusive, and — at upwards of $1,000 — most expensive facials in the world.

In anticipation of its milestone anniversary in 2022, the Lake Austin Spa Resort’s LakeHouse Spa partnered with Swiss luxury skincare brand Valmont to introduce the new facials, which are as cutting-edge as they are indulgent.

Creme de la creme among them is The Regal by Valmont, which costs a jaw-dropping $1,050. The Regal was designed in Switzerland exclusively for LakeHouse Spa, and Austin is the only place in the world to get it.

“It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of people,” says Becky Bence, Lake Austin Spa Resort lead esthetician. “And it’s definitely worth it.”

The 135-minute facial begins with the high-tech deep cleanse of the HydroFacial and proceeds with seven masks, including four collagen masks, a papaya enzyme, and a medical-grade LED light mask. Every single product from Valmont’s ultra luxe “masterpiece collection” called l’Elixir des Glaciers is used; some products are made with an uber anti-aging essence of gold sturgeon fish. All are applied using a Valmont signature “butterfly” motion that helps to lift and sculpt the face.

What puts the Regal over the top, though, are 35 minutes of choreographed massage, including a 500-year-old technique called “kobido,'' developed for the empress of Japan. Touted as a “surgical facelift as a massage," Bence says, kobido was once reserved only for nobility and the empress, then later handed down from masters to disciples.

So rarified is the Regal facial, that just six of the 21 LakeHouse Spa estheticians are trained to perform it. They learned at a weeklong “bootcamp” conducted by two Valmont experts who flew in to Austin from Switzerland.

“It was kind of like the Navy Seal program of facials,” Bence says. “It was kind of like being handed down something from a true master.”

The $1K price tag hasn’t kept people away. Since the Regal was introduced several months ago, guests have come from all over the world — and from all corners of Texas — to experience what the spa calls “the ultimate in anti-aging perfection and cellular renewal.” (After all $1,000 is still far less than an actual facelift or even regular nick-tuck-plump-ups by a cosmetic surgeon.)

Why reach all the way to Switzerland for the palatial new treatments? After emerging from COVID shutdowns, Bence says, LakeHouse Spa personnel “auditioned” just about every single skincare line out there. The estheticians voted, and Valmont won.

“We wanted to add something really special, something luxurious but yet something out-of-this-world amazing that truly benefited the skin,” Bence says. “Something almost to replace Botox and fillers …that gave you basically a natural face-lift without being invasive but still being relaxing.”

In addition to the Regal, other new Valmont facials introduced in this 25th anniversary year include:

  • The 150-minute Gold & Diamond Trifecta Facial that involves three massages, four masks, infra-red LED, and a hydrogel mask with micronized gold and diamonds, which costs $990.
  • The Golden Aura Rose & Caviar Facial, a 100-minute treatment that incorporates marine products containing caviar extract and Diamond Collagen, costing $790.
  • Energy of the Glaciers, a 90-minute facial that features rare ingredients from Switzerland and deep, structural massage of the face, stimulating muscles to tone and lift; $750.
  • Luminosity of Ice Facial, a 90-minute treatment described as a “toxin-flushing, facial reflexology-inspired facial” that uses a cocktail of seven plants organically cultivated at high altitudes; $650.

The spa also has a complete menu of non-Valmont facials and dozens of other signature treatments.

Luxe but laid back
Lake Austin Spa Resort’s Dallas-based co-owner, Mike McAdams, says the new facials are indicative of how high the spa wanted to aim for its 25th anniversary.

“Our guest demands a luxurious, more refined experience, and Valmont helps us deliver on that objective,” he says.

And yet, Lake Austin Spa Resort remains a place where robed guests can emerge from a $1,000 facial and step over geckos skittering along the sidewalk while a speedboat whizzes by pumping Beyonce through the speakers. It’s upscale but unpretentious, luxurious but laid-back — almost like “spa camp.”

“We never wanted to create the ‘zen’ spa with stark lines and absence of color – we aimed to create just the opposite,” McAdams says. “Your surroundings absolutely have an impact on how your wellness journey can unfold and influence your daily life. The colors and textures that surround you mimic the vibe of the Texas Hill Country and pay homage to nature.”

The top-rated spa and resort is a far cry now from the place McAdams purchased on January 1, 1997. Located along the shores of scenic Lake Austin in the Texas Hill Country, the property had lived previous lives as a fishing camp, nudist enclave, rodeo ranch, and diet camp.

McAdams — at the time a commercial real estate developer for Dallas-based Trammell Crow — experienced a personal work-life-balance crisis that's wholly relatable in today's post-pandemic, "great-resignation" world two-and-a-half decades later.

“I was living on a plane, traveling a lot. It was high stress, and high energy and I loved it,” he says. “In 1984, I found a place that changed my life — the Ashram in Calabasas, California. It was a true bootcamp, with physical activities and dietary restrictions that were very intense… This experience forced me to come down from my hectic lifestyle of traveling, eating, drinking, and not exercising."

After adopting healthier habits in his own life, he and an LSU fraternity brother, Billy Rucks, seized an opportunity to buy and transform the Lake Austin Spa Resort; they still co-own it today. “It was a diamond in the rough," McAdams says.

More 25th anniversary offerings
One of the biggest challenges running the spa the last 25 years (besides navigating a global pandemic), McAdams says, has been continually evolving in an industry dominated by fleeting fads and headline-grabbing gimmicks.

“The changes in the last 25 years in the spa industry have been monumental,” McAdams says. “The global wellness industry is now a $4.5 trillion economy, with ‘spa’ being one small part of the bubble. We are all seekers looking for ways to look and feel our best, and I think the growth is due to a demand in wanting to take our health into our own hands.”

One of the resort’s newest touts (proudly stated on their home page) is that they’re Texas’ only destination spa on a lake. Recently they’ve introduced a full range of water activities, including a water taxi that transports guests to the spa and back.

“When we bought Lake Austin Spa Resort in 1997, our guests would put a toe in the water — but we’ve also evolved and now understand the power of being near a moving body of water and how it affects your health, happiness, and even alleviates depression,” McAdams says.

Along with the new fancy facials and lake programming, the resort has also added new classes and activities and upgraded amenities for its 25th anniversary. Befitting its location in the “live music capital of the world,” Austin-area musicians now entertain guests nightly around s’mores pits. There’s new artwork around the campus, too.

“My favorite part of celebrating our 25th anniversary this year has been to watch a very special piece of commissioned art be installed in the first few months of the year,” McAdams says. “A local Austin artist created a 64-foot long, 400-square foot abstract mural of stone, glass, and tile designed to honor our magnificent natural location on Lake Austin.

"Within the creation, I wanted to honor all of the amazing past and present people who helped get to where we are today. Their names are included in this mural, discreetly placed within this homage to nature. Because of these special people, Lake Austin Spa Resort has enjoyed many wonderful accolades through the years.”

---

To mark its 25th anniversary, Lake Austin Spa Resort is offering 25 percent off stays of at least two nights or more, through January 31, 2023. Reservations must be booked by October 31. Some packages include generous spa credits, but sadly, the $1,050 Regal facial is not 25 percent off. Find more information at www.lakeaustin.com.

Red light mask, facial

Photo courtesy of Lake Austin Spa Resort

A red light mask is part of the $1,050 Regal by Valmont facial.

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Go Spurs

H-E-B scoops new Spurs-inspired ice cream flavor to honor 50 years of hometown team

Hannah J. Frías
Oct 27, 2022 | 2:38 pm
Spurs 50th Anniversary
Courtesy of H-E-B

Brb, heading to H-E-B for the new Spurs Creamy Creations Courtside Chocolate Crunch.

San Antonio-based H-E-B is celebrating 50 years of the hometown team with something sweet. Along with a new, limited-time Spurs Creamy Creations flavor (chocolate malt ice cream with chocolate rice crispy crunchies and a chocolate swirl), the supermarket brand is also launching an equally sweet sweepstakes to score custom sneakers, courtside Spurs seats, a year supply of ice cream, and more.

Coming in half-gallon and pint sizes, the Spurs Creamy Creations Courtside Chocolate Crunch will be available throughout South and Central Texas, including San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and the surrounding areas. Made in San Antonio, the flavor is part of the company’s Select Ingredients line, which excludes more than 175 artificial flavors, preservatives, and ingredients.

Designed by H-E-B partner Nick Garza, the new flavor will feature silver, black, and gold packaging with icons of championship rings, the Spurs logo, and the Spurs Coyote.

Along with the delicious new offering, H-E-B also launched a sweepstakes with prizes ranging from $100, $200, and $500 H-E-B gift cards to custom H-E-B and Creamy Creations leather sneakers, courtside seats (and a parking pass) to the December 12 home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a signed Spurs jersey, or a year's supply of Creamy Creations. Head to heb.com/spurs for official rules and to enter the sweepstakes, which ends on November 17.

In anticipation of the Spurs 2022-2023 season, H-E-B is also rolling out a digital video series highlighting Spurs stars like Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, and Devin Vassell. The first video aired on October 20, and more videos will be released throughout the year.

“We’re excited to team up again with the Spurs and celebrate their 50th anniversary with a tasty, new ice cream flavor and fun giveaways our loyal customers and Spurs fans will enjoy,” said Ashwin Nathan, H-E-B Group Vice President of Marketing, in the release. “Each year, we look for ways to create an entertaining start to the season, and this year in our video series, we’re excited to welcome some young, new stars to the set.”

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Beloved San Antonio park casts off with family-friendly day of fishing

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NEWS YOU CAN EAT

8 things to know in San Antonio food right now: Neighborhood bar wiggles back to Broadway

Brandon Watson
Oct 26, 2022 | 11:29 am
The Pigpen Neighborhood Bar has reopened after a prolonged hiatus
The Pigpen Neighborhood Bar/ Facebook
The Pigpen Neighborhood Bar has reopened after a prolonged hiatus.

Editor’s note: We get it. It can be difficult to keep up with the fast pace of San Antonio’s restaurant and bar scene. We have you covered with our regular roundup of essential food news.

Openings and closings

The Pigpen Neighborhood Bar is wiggling its way out of a lengthy Covid closure. The Broadway mainstay took to Facebook on October 24 to announce it had ended its two-year hiatus. The family friendly destination has been on hold since June 2020, when Governor Greg Abbott closed Texas bars a second time in response to the pandemic. Although the post did not elaborate on the prolonged absence, it revealed that it would serve the same menu as before.

Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery also reemerged on October 24 after a brief reset. The Pearl staple shuttered on August 22 to undergo a few improvements. Among them were a few new menu items like stuffed ruby red trout, fried calamari, and classic Southern barbecue shrimp.

A new Peruvian concept has pounced on the former location of Tutti’s: A Place for Foodies in Southtown. Leche de Tigre, at 318 E. Cevallos St., is keeping its opening date mum. Still, diners can water their mouths by perusing an online menu full of cebiches, traditional favorites like lomo saltado, and pisco-based cocktails.

Anticipated arcade bar Be Kind & Rewind is officially pressing play at 115 Alamo Plaza on October 28. Owner Alex Amaro has stripped the former Fuddruckers of its workaday vibes, replacing it with neon and blacklight. Opening weekend will take full advantage of the retro set with an ‘80s night on Friday, a ‘90s/ Y2K party on Saturday, and karaoke on Sunday. Expect at least one version of “I Want it That Way.”

East Side spot Truth Pizzeria has bid arrivederci to San Antonio, according to an October 13 social media post. The small restaurant opened in the heat of the pandemic in June 2020, serving a menu of Neapolitan pies. The message did not offer an explanation for the sudden closure.

In brighter East Side news, trailblazing food truck park the Boardwalk on Bulverde is set to reopen in 2023. The space opened in 2011 as San Antonio’s first food truck park, closing in 2016 so the owners could focus on their Cruising Kitchens business. In a social media post, the team shared that it brought the concept back to address a need for “more impactful community activities.”

The Hill Country will taste la belle vie on November 1 when Bakery Lorraine opens its sixth location in Boerne. Located at 134 Oak Park Dr., the shop will serve the same sandwiches, salads, and pastries as the other outposts. Following the unveiling, guests can get their macaron fix Monday through Thursday from 7 am-6 pm. and Friday through Sunday from 7 am-8 pm.

Ahead of its first anniversary, Bubby’s Jewish Soul Food is getting a facelift. Owners Jason and Charlie Nuttall-Fiske announced the temporary closure on October 25, explaining the move is intended to “amp up [the] Bubby’s experience.” An expanded menu, gussied-up interior, and other improvements will be unveiled at a birthday celebration on November 14.

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