SmartHunts® - Top Rated Austin Scavenger Hunts

Austin offers a variety of historical landmarks!
Blending fun, exploration, and corporate teambuilding, SmartHunts® are an experience that will have your team buzzing with excitement. SmartHunts can customize your event to include much of what Austin has to offer, including unique live music, great food, and creatine drinking venues, bars, and restaurants that highlight the features of Austin’s mix of modern and historic culture. SmartHunts will take your team on Austin scavenger hunts on a fun journey through this, fast growing, central Texas city.
Whether your team is local to the Austin area, or visiting from out-of-town, the SmartHunts team can create a fresh experience for your group. SmartHunts offers unique corporate Austin scavenger hunts adventures that are tailored just for you and can take your group on any combination of
Austin great landmarks, including:

(Hover over names for more detail)

1. Downtown Austin
   Downtown Austin is a great place for Austin scavenger hunts. Downtown Austin extends from North Lamar Blvd east to the I-35 and from West Martin Luther King Blvd south to West Cesar Chavez Street and there is a lot to do and see here.

   Texas State Capitol – Built in 1888
   Bullock Texas State History Museum – Congress Ave
   The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center – Congress Ave
   The Driskill Hotel – Built in 1886 – Brazos Street.
   Mexic-Arte Museum – Congress Ave
   Blanton Museum of Art – E Martin Luther King Blvd
   Museum of the Weird – E 6th Street
   Waterloo Park – Moody Amphitheater – where Austin City Limits is taped
   Erwin Events Center – Arena at The University of Texas at Austin
   Red River Cultural District – Live music, bars, DJs, food
   2nd Street District – Specialty stores, boutiques, restaurants, cocktails
   Bremond Block – 11 historic 1800s Victorian homes. 8th and San Antonio St

   The following downtown areas are listed below in more detail:
   Rainey Street Historic District
   Texas Capitol Building
   6th Street Historic District
   Civic District
   Congress Avenue Bridge
   Republic Square
2. Rainey Street Historic District
   Rainey Street Historic District is also a great place for SmartHunt scavenger hunts. Located in the SE corner of downtown Austin extending from Driskill St down to Cummings St near the Colorado River and is an extremely popular destination for visitors and locals.

   Rainey Street was developed by Jesse Driskill and Frank Rainey in 1884 and although many of the original structures were lost in a flood in 1935, more than 30 of the historic craftsman style bungalows remain and most have been converted to bars & restaurants.

   This half mile long quaint little oak tree lined street is one of the liveliest areas in Austin, boasting 20+ bars and restaurants with lots of outdoor seating areas and an impressive selection of good quality cuisines and hand-crafted cocktails from which to choose.

   Food trucks are also found in abundance in this unique, festive neighborhood, and in keeping with the Austin tradition, there’s no shortage of live music.
3. Texas State Capital
   The State Capitol building is located on a hillock in downtown Austin between 11th and 15th Streets and smack dab in the middle of Congress Avenue. Built in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, similar to the U.S. Capitol, it has a 4-story tall rectangular center, 3 story wings, a dome over the central rotunda and is clad in locally sourced red granite. In 1993 a four-story underground extension was added along with expansive lines of skylights disguised as planters and an inverted open-air rotunda. It’s really cool.

   The beautifully landscaped 22-acre grounds include many historic monuments such as:
   Heroes of the Alamo Monument – 1891
   Volunteer Firemen Monument – 1896
   Confederate Soldiers Monument – 1903
   Terry’s Texas Rangers Monument – 1907
   Texas Pioneer Woman Monument – 1998
   Texas Peace Officers Memorial – 1999
   Korean War Veterans Memorials – 1999
   Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument – 2014
   Texas African American History Memorial – 2016
   The Price of Liberty Monument – 2018

   Other structures include:
   The Supreme Court of Texas Building
   Sam Houston State Office Building
   Texas Capitol Visitors Center
4. 6th Street Historic District
   The 6th Street District is also known as the Entertainment District. Situated on the east side of downtown Austin, it stretches from I-35 east past Congress Avenue to Lavaca Street and from 7th Street south to 5th Street.

   In the 1800s, when 6th Street was known as Pecan Street, this was a commercial district filled with Victorian style structures and many of these cool buildings now house current businesses and lend a historic charm to the area. The Driskill Hotel, 6th at Brazos Street, was built in the Romanesque Revival Style in 1886 is worth a visit.

   Nowadays the 6th Street Historic District is primarily considered the Party District. It’s vibrant, colorful, rowdy, boozy, noisy, and busy.

   They’ve got bars, pubs and cantinas, bars, lounges and saloons, bars, brew pubs and cocktail lounges, bars, tap rooms, a speakeasy and yes, more bars!

   They also have restaurants, deli’s, coffee bars, cafes, diners and food trucks serving every type of cuisine imaginable.

   Live music is everywhere, in venues, theaters, nightclubs, dance clubs and on the street. Festivals are a regular occurrence as well.

   The east end of 6th Street has been known as “Dirty 6th” and is great for those looking for that Bourbon Street, New Orleans vibe. At this time part of 6th Street is closed to vehicular traffic from Thursday through Sunday night.
5. Civic District
   Austin’s Civic District can be found between the Texas Capitol Building and the Market District.

   Texas Governor’s Mansion on Colorado Street sits just SW of the Texas Capitol grounds, has been the official Governor’s residence since 1856 and was Texas’ first designated historic landmark. Remodeling of this Greek Revival style structure in 1914 added 2,920 sq ft to the original 6,000 and its first bathrooms!

   Wooldridge Park, also known as Wooldridge Square, is another of the four public squares included in the original 1839 city plan. Located in the center of the Civic District this 1-acre urban green space offers a respite from the bustle of the surrounding area. It has a charming gazebo and is a great place for a picnic or to catch some live music.

   Just across 9th Street from the Square the historic Austin History Center, Austin Public Library is a must see. The building was designed by local architect Hugo Kuehne and work began on this Italian Renaissance Revival style landmark in 1932. It was constructed from Cordova Cream limestone with ornamental wrought iron embellishments, carved woodwork, and frescoes.

   A little further south running from 7th Street to 8th Street between San Antonio St and Guadalupe St is the absolutely must-see Bremond Block. These 11 historic Victorian homes were built between 1850 – 1910 many for the Bremond family and are gorgeous examples of Greek Revival and Victorian architecture with artfully landscaped yards and beautiful gardens.
6. Congress Avenue Bridge
   The Congress Avenue Bridge spans the Colorado River, which winds through the center of Austin, and this simple, yet elegant, bridge is home to an estimated 1.5 million bats, the largest urban bat colony in America.

   The Mexican free-tailed bats migrate from Mexico every March and can be witnessed foraging for insects from dusk until dawn each night until November when they migrate back to Mexico. They consume roughly 30,000 lbs. of insects nightly. Talk about earning your keep!

   There are a variety of vantage points from which to view this awesome spectacle, the middle of the bridge itself or the Statesman Bat Observation Center at the SE end, from either side of the shoreline or from right on the water.

   There have always been bats living under this 1910 bridge, but it wasn’t until 1980 that the population exploded. The rehabilitation of the bridge that year added a series of structural joints which created deep narrow crevices that just happened to be warm, safe areas which were perfectly suited for bat habitation. An estimated 750,000 “pups” are born here each year.

   With bats populations in decline, we need more of these fortuitous coincidences!
7. Republic Square
   Republic Square is an urban park located across the way from the US Federal Courthouse in downtown Austin between 4th and 5th Streets and San Antonio and Guadalupe Streets.

   Originally called Hamilton Square, is one of four public squares laid out in Edwin Waller’s plan for Austin and in 1839 an auction was held here under the iconic Auction Oaks and the first 306 Austin lots were sold.

   In the later part of the 1800s it became an important gathering place for the Mexican American population who had settled the surrounding area.

   In the spring of 2022 Republic Square got a sizable makeover with a totally replanted lawn, more shade trees added to the existing oaks as well as upgraded landscaping, gardens, benches, and pavers.

   The Sustainable Food Center’s Downtown Farmers’ Market and Movies in the Park are held weekly, free yoga classes daily and music events regularly.
8. SXSW – (South by Southwest)
   SXSW is an annual 10-day festival held in the middle of March in venues all over Austin, where thousands of visitors descend upon the city to hear live music, catch tv and film premiers, comedy showcases, attend conferences and exhibitions and much more.

   SXSW will be held from March 10-19th, 2023. As all the events happen somewhat simultaneously it’s best to check the SXSW website for up-to-date info and to register in advance to get your pass.
   Film & TV Festival
   Music Festival
   Interactive (tech) Festival
   Conferences, panels, workshops, and keynote speakers.
   Awards
   Exhibitions
   Culture, Education
   Networking, Professional Development
   And much more…