Location
Create Your Austin Experience!
Whether you have an hour between sessions or a full evening to explore, these curated recommendations from local USSD members will help you make the most of your time in Austin.
🍴 Food
BBQ Downtown
Coopers (217 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701)
Terry Blacks (1003 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704)
Iron Works (100 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701)
Stubbs (801 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701)
Fancy Boots
Dress a notch nicer — elevated casual.
J. Carver’s (509 Rio Grande St, Austin, TX 78701)
Aris (1111 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78703)
Wu Chow (500 W 5th St #168, Austin, TX 78701)
Peche (208 W 4th St, Austin, TX 78701)
Fixe Southern House (500 W 5th St, Austin, TX 78701)
Flip Flops
Relaxed, casual Austin style.
Lichas (1306 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702)
Ramen Tatsu-Ya (1600 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702)
🌙 Live Music, Comedy, Nightlife
Music & Dancing
Antone’s (305 E 5th St., Austin, TX 78701)
Continental Club (1315 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704)
Elephant Room (Swift Building, 315 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701)
Donn’s Depot (1600 W 5th St, Austin, TX 78703)
Broken Spoke (3201 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704)
Sagebrush (5500 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78745)
Red River Culture District (Stubbs, Waterloo Amphitheater)
Two Step Lessons (different locations across town every night of the week: austin2step.com)
Comedy
Esther’s Follies (524 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701)
Comedy Mothership (320 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701)
ColdTowne Theater (1700 E 2nd St, Austin, TX 78702)
Hideout Theater (617 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701)
Speakeasies
Milonga Room (1201 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702)
Firehouse (605 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701)
Midnight Cowboy (313 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701)
Here Nor There (612 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701)
Floppy Disk Repair Co (119 E 5th St., Austin, TX 78701)
Drinks
Roosevelt Room (307 W 5th St, Austin, TX 78701)
Haunted Driskell Hotel (604 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701)
Pour Choices (401 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701)
Garage (503 Colorado St, Austin, TX 78701)
Zanzibar (304 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701)
Geraldine’s (605 Davis St, Austin, TX 78701)
Central District Brewing (417 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701)
Zilker Brewing Company (1701 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702)
Lazarus Brewing East Sixth (1902 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702)
Blue Owl (2400 E Cesar Chavez St #300, Austin, TX 78702)
Hold Out Brewing (1208 W 4th St, Austin, TX 78703)
Austin Beer Garden Brewery (ABGB) (1305 W Oltorf St, Austin, TX 78704)
Meanwhile Brewing (3901 Promontory Point Dr, Austin, TX 78744)
Independence Brewing (3913 Todd Ln #607, Austin, TX 78744)
St Elmos (440 E St Elmo Rd G-2, Austin, TX 78745)
Texas Sake Company (440 E St Elmo Rd Ste B-2, Austin, TX 78745)
🌿 Outdoors & Water
Town Lake
East: Longhorn Dam viewed upstream from Boardwalk
Central: Bats on Congress Bridge, Auditorium Shores, Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue, Downtown Library
West: Zilker Park, Barton Springs, Zilker Botanical Garden
Paddle
Rowing Dock (2418 Stratford Dr, Austin, TX 78746)
Texas Rowing Center (1541 W Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78703)
Zilker Park Boat Rental (2101 Andrew Zilker Rd, Austin, TX 78746)
Austin Rowing Club and Retro Boat Rentals ATX (74 Trinity St, Austin, TX 78701)
Downtown Trails
Integrated into flood management infrastructure!
Waller Creek to Waterloo Park
Shoal Creek Trail to Pease Park
Greenbelt/Violet Crown Trail starting from Barton Springs/Town Lake Trail
Lake Austin
Coffee at Mozart's or dinner at Hula Hut on Lake Austin (peek at Tom Miller Dam)
Mt Bonnell Overlook
Pennybacker Bridge Overlook
History Around Town
Butler Pitch and Putt (201 Lee Barton Dr, Austin, TX 78704)
Texas State Cemetery (909 Navasota St, Austin, TX 78702) (find the graves of an astronaut and other famous Texans)
Treaty Oak Park (507 Baylor St, Austin, TX 78703)
Further Afield
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (4801 La Crosse Ave, Austin, TX 78739)
Wine tasting in the Hill Country
LCRA upper lakes Lake Travis, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, Inks Lake
Canyon Lake and Canyon Lake Gorge
Gruene Hall (1281 Gruene Rd, New Braunfels, TX 78130)
San Marcos Springs – Glass Bottom Boat Tour
Inner Space Cavern (4200 S I-35 Frontage Rd, Georgetown, TX 78626)
Natural Bridge Cavern (26495 Natural Bridge Caverns Rd, San Antonio, TX 78266)
🏛️ Indoors
History, Arts, Culture
Tour of Capitol (1100 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701)
Bob Bullock Museum (1800 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701)
Blanton Museum (200 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Austin, TX 78712)
Harry Ransom Center (The University of Texas at Austin, 300 W 21st St, Austin, TX 78712)
Neill-Cochran House Museum (2310 San Gabriel St, Austin, TX 78705)
Mexic-Arte Museum (419 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701)
The Paramount Theater (713 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701)
Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar (1120 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704)
Sports & Activities
Holey Moley Golf Club Austin (807 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78702)
Pins Mechanical (4323 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78745)
Cidercade Austin (600 E Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78704)
UT baseball game (vs. UTSA May 5)
Chicken Sh*t Bingo @ C Boys on Sundays
Lodging
Hilton Austin
500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701
HOTEL CANCELLATION POLICY
A one night room and tax deposit will be taken at the time of booking. Cancellations made within 72 hours of arrival will forfeit the one night room and tax deposit.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Hotel contracts require USSD to be financially liable for unused sleeping rooms. The sleeping room rate covers the cost of meeting space and the labor to set up each meeting room. Staying at the conference hotel also provides you with the benefit of after-hours networking and easy accessibility to meetings and sessions. Please help USSD avoid unnecessary penalties and keep registration fees low by booking your sleeping room at the Hilton Austin.
AVOID HOUSING PIRATES! Only official USSD webpages and communications provide the correct booking link for the attendee room block. If someone other than the official USSD 2026 team contacts you via email, phone or mail, do NOT provide them with any of your personal details or payment information. Thank you.