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Spicewood Texas
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Spicewood Party Bus, Limo & Coach Bus Rental

Spicewood is a laid-back Hill Country community on the north shore of Lake Travis, home to the famous Jester King Brewery and beautiful vineyards. Spicewood groups usually call us when the plan involves Austin to Spicewood Winery Tour, and they want one vehicle to keep everyone moving on the same timeline. One local planning detail that matters here: Krause Springs is cash-only at the gate ($9 adult, $4 child as of recent visits, but check current pricing) -- bring small bills and arrive before 11 AM on weekends

35 miles42 min from Austin8,000+

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Did You Know? Gruene Hall, just 50 minutes from Austin, is the oldest continuously operating dance hall in Texas, built in 1878.

Quick Facts About Spicewood

Spicewood is an unincorporated community in Burnet County, on the north shore of Lake Travis, about thirty-five miles west of downtown Austin via TX-71
Krause Springs is a 115-acre privately owned property with thirty-two natural springs, swimming pools, a waterfall grotto, and a butterfly garden -- in operation by the Krause family since the early 1950s
Pace Bend Park is a 1,300-acre Travis County park on a Lake Travis peninsula with nine miles of shoreline, cliff-jumping cliffs, and primitive shoreline camping
Poodie's Hilltop Roadhouse on TX-71 was founded by Randall "Poodie" Locke, Willie Nelson's longtime stage manager, and remains a working honky-tonk
Opie's Barbecue on TX-71 serves brisket, ribs, and pork chops with the all-you-can-eat sides bar that defines old-school roadside Texas BBQ
Spicewood Vineyards is one of the original Texas Hill Country wineries with a working tasting room
Texas 71 (RM 71) west of the Y at Oak Hill is one of the most scenic drives in the western Austin metro
The Pedernales River meets Lake Travis just east of Spicewood -- the convergence is best seen from Pace Bend's western shore

Spicewood: An Unincorporated Hill Country Community That Refused to Become a Suburb

Spicewood is not a city. It is an unincorporated community in Burnet County, scattered along Texas 71 between Bee Cave and Marble Falls, with no city limits, no city council, and no traffic light at its center. The post office at the unofficial intersection of TX-71 and Spicewood Springs Road serves as the town's nominal address. The population estimate is around 8,000 if you draw a generous circle, smaller if you don't. None of that captures what Spicewood actually is, which is a stretch of north-shore Lake Travis country that has resisted, mostly successfully, the suburban development pattern that has consumed Lakeway, Bee Cave, and Steiner Ranch. The reason Spicewood has held its character is partly geography. The area sits on the north shore of Lake Travis, separated from the I-35 corridor and the Austin metro core by the lake itself, by RM 620, and by a long stretch of TX-71. Getting there from Austin requires intent. Commuters cannot easily live in Spicewood and work downtown the way they can from Bee Cave or Lakeway. The result is a population mix that skews toward retirees, second-home owners, working ranchers, and a thin population of professionals who genuinely want to live this far out. What this means for visitors is that Spicewood's anchor attractions -- Krause Springs, Pace Bend Park, the small wine cluster, the BBQ-and-roadhouse pairing of Opie's and Poodie's -- have not been suburbanized. Krause Springs still operates the way it has since the 1950s, with cash at the gate, a printed map, and a gravel road to the swimming area. Pace Bend Park still has primitive shoreline camping where you back a truck up to the rocks and sleep next to the water. Poodie's still books real touring honky-tonk acts on the same wooden stage that has hosted them for decades. The experience here is not a curated Hill Country fantasy; it is the actual Hill Country, which is messier and less Instagram-friendly than the marketing copy. For groups coming from Austin, that authenticity is the point. A Spicewood day delivers what most "Hill Country day trips" pretend to but rarely actually do: a real Texas swimming hole, a real lakeshore park, real BBQ on a paper plate, and a real honky-tonk with cold beer in cans. The bus is the only practical way to do all of those in one day, because the geography spreads them across twenty miles of TX-71 and parking at all of them is, in different ways, a problem.
Hill Country swimming hole with cypress trees

Krause Springs, Pace Bend, Opie's, Poodie's -- the unsuburbanized north shore

Krause Springs and Pace Bend: The Two Big Water Days

Spicewood's two anchor water attractions sit eight miles apart on opposite sides of TX-71, and they offer quite different experiences. The choice between them shapes the entire day. Krause Springs is the Krause family's 115-acre private property, opened to the public for swimming and camping since the early 1950s and now in its third generation of family operation. The grounds include thirty-two natural springs, two main swimming areas (an upper man-made pool and a lower natural swimming hole fed directly by the springs), a grotto with a waterfall and rope swing, and a butterfly garden with hundreds of wind chimes that make the property look more like a living art installation than a swim spot. Entry is at the gate -- cash only, current pricing posted on signs (recent reports put it around $9 for adults and $4 for children, but verify before the trip). Day-use is the main activity; the property also has primitive tent camping ($15 per site, recent pricing) which a group can book for a Hill Country overnight. The water is consistently cold (the spring temperature is in the upper 60s year-round) which is the point in August and the question mark in March. Pace Bend Park is the public alternative -- a 1,300-acre Travis County park on a peninsula that pushes nearly four miles into Lake Travis, with nine miles of shoreline that includes everything from gentle gravel beaches to dramatic limestone cliffs. The park is famous in Austin for cliff jumping; the highest cliffs are well over twenty feet and the rocks below are real, so this is not a casual swim spot for inexperienced jumpers. The park also has fifteen miles of mountain biking and equestrian trails through the cedar-and-oak interior, primitive shoreline camping (drive-up, no reservations, first-come), and three boat ramps. The combination of cliff jumping and shoreline camping makes Pace Bend the most-booked Lake Travis bachelor party destination outside of the south-shore marinas. The operational challenge at Pace Bend is access. The park has a single entrance off Pace Bend Road (FM 2322), and on summer Saturdays the gate frequently closes by 11 AM when the park hits capacity. Re-entry is only allowed as cars leave -- which means a group arriving at noon may sit for an hour at the gate. The bus solves this differently: drop passengers at the gate, then stage off-site and return for pickup. Park staff are familiar with the bus drop pattern and generally cooperative. Pairing the two: a typical Spicewood swim day starts at Krause Springs at 10 AM (the morning is the best swim window before the upper pool gets crowded), spends two to three hours, drives the eight miles east to Opie's for a 1 PM lunch, then continues to Pace Bend for an afternoon shoreline session. The bus drops at Pace Bend, the group hikes down to a chosen cove, swims and cliff-jumps for two hours, and the bus picks up at 5 PM for the return run. Total bus time is around eight hours including the round trip from Austin. Other water options worth knowing: the LCRA-managed shoreline parks west of Spicewood (Sandy Creek, Wirtz Dam) offer quieter access. The Pedernales River, which meets Lake Travis east of Spicewood, has its own swim spots upstream toward Pedernales Falls State Park, though those are a thirty-minute additional drive west.
Group swimming and floating in a Hill Country pool

Krause Springs in the morning, Opie's for lunch, Pace Bend cliffs in the afternoon -- the standard Spicewood swim day

Opie's, Poodie's, the Spicewood Wine Cluster, and the Real Hill Country Evening

Spicewood's food and entertainment lineup is small, but the things that exist are the genuine article. Opie's Barbecue, on TX-71 just east of the Krause Springs turnoff, is a roadside pit that has been operating in Spicewood for decades. The order method is part of the experience: walk up to the smoker outside, point at the meat you want, watch the pitmaster cut it directly off the brisket or the pork chop, and pay by the pound. The sides bar is all-you-can-eat (potato salad, beans, slaw, jalapeno cornbread, fried okra, more) and is the kind of operation that survived the BBQ tourism wave by simply not changing. Brisket is good, the smoked pork chop is the menu standout that locals defend, and the beef ribs when available are large and worth the up-charge. Counter service. Picnic tables outside. Cash and card both work now, which was not always true. Poodie's Hilltop Roadhouse is a working Texas honky-tonk on a small rise off TX-71, founded by Randall "Poodie" Locke -- Willie Nelson's longtime stage manager and a fixture of the outlaw country scene until his death in 2009. After Poodie passed, the bar continued under family operation and has remained a real venue with real touring acts, not a museum. The booking calendar runs Texas singer-songwriters, regional country acts, and the occasional name from Willie's circle dropping in for a one-night appearance. Tuesday night dance lessons, weekend cover charges that vary by act, cold beer in cans and longnecks, a wooden dance floor that has held actual dancers for decades. A bus drop here at 8 PM and a midnight pickup is one of the most legitimately fun Hill Country evenings you can construct. The Spicewood wine cluster is smaller and quieter than the Fredericksburg or Driftwood circuits but real. Spicewood Vineyards, on Spicewood-Smithwick Road, has been producing Hill Country wine for decades and has an established tasting room with patio seating. A handful of additional small producers in the surrounding Burnet and Travis County area can be paired into a half-day tasting circuit -- check the Texas Hill Country Wineries Trail website for current open producers. The wine cluster pairs well with the Krause Springs morning swim and Opie's lunch as a slower, more couples-or-mature-group itinerary. Beyond these anchors, Spicewood has the Spicewood Mercantile (general store and lunch), the Angel Catering lakeside venue for events, and a scattering of small ranches and event venues that host weddings, corporate retreats, and private celebrations. Wedding shuttle work to the Spicewood-area venues follows the same coach-bus-from-Austin pattern as Lakeway and Dripping Springs, with longer total drive times.
Group inside a wood-paneled Texas honky-tonk

Poodie's on TX-71 -- a working honky-tonk, not a museum -- still books real touring acts

Ready to Book Your Spicewood Party Bus?

Call (512) 900-8324 or get a free quote online.

TX-71, Pickups, and How to Schedule a Spicewood Trip

Transportation to Spicewood is shaped almost entirely by TX-71 west, the highway that runs from the Y at Oak Hill (where Loop 1/MoPac and US-290 meet) out through the Hill Country toward Marble Falls and Llano. From central Austin, the bus drive to Krause Springs is forty-two minutes in normal conditions; to Pace Bend Park, around fifty minutes; to the Marble Falls junction, about an hour. TX-71 west of Bee Cave is two-lane in long stretches, scenic, and prone to slow-moving traffic behind trucks and RVs. There are no good detour routes; this is the road. Pickups for Spicewood-bound bus trips follow three common patterns. (1) Central Austin pickups (downtown, Zilker, 78704, Travis Heights) are the most common -- the route is straightforward via TX-71 west. (2) Lake Travis south-shore pickups (Lakeway, Bee Cave) can join the bus mid-route and avoid the Austin departure altogether; this works well when the trip is Spicewood-only with no Austin nightlife component. (3) Bee Cave Galleria meet-up is the standard pattern for groups assembling from multiple west-side starting points -- the Galleria has ample parking and is on the natural route to TX-71. Common Spicewood booking patterns include: the eight-hour Krause Springs + Pace Bend swim day described above; the six-hour wine + Opie's lunch tour; the Krause Springs morning + Marble Falls afternoon (combined with Granite Shoals or the Lake Marble Falls boardwalk) day; the BBQ + honky-tonk evening (Opie's for late lunch, then Poodie's for an evening show, return to Austin around midnight); and wedding shuttle work for ranch-style venues in the Spicewood-Marble Falls area. Group size guidance: party bus for ten to twenty handles most Spicewood activities well, with cooler space for swim days and seat capacity for everyone. For Pace Bend, the party bus can drop at the entrance and stage off-site, which works better than a coach bus for a smaller crowd. Coach bus is the right call for wedding shuttles of thirty-five-plus and for any Spicewood-area corporate retreat or large private event. Limo Sprinter (six to ten) is a good fit for the wine + dinner half-day, where parking ease at small wineries matters. To book, call 512-900-8324 or submit a quote online. Tell us the date, group size, your starting Austin neighborhood, what the day plan is (swim, wine, BBQ-and-honky-tonk, wedding shuttle), and whether you have flexibility on the timing. The Pace Bend cap-out problem is the most common scheduling obstacle; a 9 AM departure from Austin is the safe answer if Pace Bend is the priority. Spicewood weekends in summer book three-plus weeks ahead. Wedding shuttle Saturdays book eight-plus weeks ahead in spring and fall.

Local Tips for Spicewood

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Krause Springs is cash-only at the gate ($9 adult, $4 child as of recent visits, but check current pricing) -- bring small bills and arrive before 11 AM on weekends

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Krause Springs allows day-use swimming AND has primitive tent camping ($15/site) -- groups occasionally book the camping side for an overnight after a Spicewood day

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Pace Bend Park fills early on summer weekends -- by 11 AM the entry gate often closes due to capacity, with re-entry only as cars leave; the bus solves this by dropping passengers and waiting at a flexible staging spot

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Pace Bend cliff jumps range from 5 feet to over 20 feet -- the rocks below the high jumps are real, this is not a casual swim spot, supervise inexperienced jumpers

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Poodie's schedule shows touring acts most Friday and Saturday nights -- check the calendar; a Spicewood day that ends at a Poodie's show is one of the best Hill Country trips you can put together

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Spicewood's wine cluster is small but real -- Spicewood Vineyards plus a handful of nearby producers (check Texas Hill Country Wineries Trail listings) make a viable half-day tasting circuit

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For a Hill Country day pairing, Spicewood + Marble Falls (twenty minutes north) or Spicewood + Johnson City (thirty minutes west) both work as full bus days

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The route from Austin via TX-71 west passes Bee Cave -- the Galleria is a natural lunch stop on the way out or coffee stop on the way in

Best Time to Visit Spicewood

AprilMayJuneSeptemberOctober

Spicewood Photo Gallery

Hill Country swimming hole with cypress trees

Krause Springs, Pace Bend, Opie's, Poodie's -- the unsuburbanized north shore

Group swimming and floating in a Hill Country pool

Krause Springs in the morning, Opie's for lunch, Pace Bend cliffs in the afternoon -- the standard Spicewood swim day

Group inside a wood-paneled Texas honky-tonk

Poodie's on TX-71 -- a working honky-tonk, not a museum -- still books real touring acts

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Austin Trivia

Party buses can save groups up to 60% compared to booking individual rideshares for a night out.

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Did You Know? Austin has over 250 live music venues, more per capita than any other U.S. city.

Questions people ask before booking transportation in Spicewood

Local routing, timing, and vehicle-fit questions for groups planning trips in Spicewood.

We can stage pickups anywhere in and around Spicewood, including areas near Krause Springs, Opie's BBQ, and Spicewood Vineyards. We also handle home, hotel, venue, restaurant, and office pickups if your group is spread out.
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Fun Fact: SXSW (South by Southwest) brings over 400,000 visitors to Austin each year.

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Ready to Book Your Spicewood Party Bus?

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