On May 13, the YMCA of Central Texas in partnership with Williamson County officially broke ground on a massive, $12 million expansion that will include an outdoor adventure course and new indoor pavilion. The complex — about a two-hour drive from San Antonio — anticipates attracting visitors from all over Central Texas.

The Orr Family RCI Adventure Course and the Avery Family Pavilion — both named after the families that sponsored them — will be located at Cedar Park's Twin Lakes Family YMCA campus. The YMCA hopes to serve as a community space for residents of Austin, San Antonio, Waco, and beyond, according to a press release.

The YMCA's new adventure course will feature several multi-level climbing structures, zip lines, ropes courses, and other equipment for folks of all ages. This is the first adventure course of its kind at a YMCA in Texas.

Although San Antonio has large adventure courses at LiggettVille Adventure Center and Natural Bridge Caverns, it does not have anything quite like the YMCA's project's scale.

The Avery Family Pavilion span an impressive 12,000 square feet, offering community space for all sorts of year-round programming, events, and family gatherings.

The Orr family poses with a rendering of the new RCI Adventure Course, which they have sponsored. Photo courtesy of YMCA of Central Texas

"These additions represent the largest outdoor recreation investment in our region in over a decade and will become destinations for families throughout Central Texas," said CEO of YMCA of Central Texas Jeff Andresen in the release. "The RCI Adventure Course will be unlike anything currently available to our community, offering adventure for everyone from young children to adults."

RCI is a company that specializes in manufacturing ropes courses, zip lines, climbing walls, and other adventure attractions. Some of its handiwork is even featured at Kalahari Resorts, Main Event Entertainment, and Disney.

The Avery family poses with a rendering of the new Avery Family Pavilion. Photo courtesy of YMCA of Central Texas

At the groundbreaking event, local officials as well as members of the Orr and Avery families celebrated with a ceremonial first dig. Of course these two projects are going to take a lot more work than that, and are estimated to open in spring of 2026.