All Sports & Recreation - Critics Picks
Best New Patch of Green Downtown
The Confluence
Downtown just got a little greener thanks to the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, which recently completed The Confluence, the second phase of a large-scale project to connect the city from as far north as 15th Street down to Lady Bird Lake along Waller Creek. Phase two, spanning 13 acres from Fourth Street to the lake and costing about $91.5 million, implements a new boardwalk over the water and three additional bridges, along with bike and pedestrian paths, beautifying a meaningful portion of Austin’s concrete jungle.
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Jack Munro
And it isn’t even close. The Austin native and recent University of Texas graduate is the world’s top-ranked doubles player on the pro APP Tour; playing both Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles, he won 14 gold medals in 2025’s 12 tournaments, along with both gold medals at the 2025 Collegiate Championships. More golds have followed in 2026, in tourneys as far away as Kuala Lumpur. Balancing that with his business degree has been “one of the more interesting puzzles of the last few years,” he says, but lest he get bored, he’s also founded the Longhorn Pickleball Club at UT, built a social media network, led international pickleball retreats, gotten “deep into real estate investing on the side,” and runs his career through his own LLC.
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Most Community-Building Way to Work up a Sweat
We Outside ATX
First a run club meant to amplify the amount of Black Austinites taking up park space, now regularly breaking the 100-person count with their meetups, Mercedes Collins’ nonprofit has hit its stride and then some. The organization invites the historically underserved Black community of Austin to build connections in the outdoors through various activities, including running, kickball, and – as any good Texas-based movement group should – line-dancing. As forces within our state and national government work to replace representation with ignorance, it's groups like We Outside who make sure everyone gets their time in the sun.
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Wishbone Bridge
The Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail is an old crown jewel of Austin, encircling the river that belts our city. But the 10-mile scenic trail has long been imperfect: The east end of the loop used to be marked by the Longhorn Dam, which required traversing a slim sidewalk sandwiched between zooming cars and frankly an alarming drop into the watery abyss. No longer: The greatly anticipated Wishbone Bridge, which opened in February, is a massive improvement that finally creates a fully continuous loop and provides an ideal spot for the evening stroller to safely view a summer sunset right over the lake.
austintexas.gov/parks/projects/wishbone-bridge-and-unity-underpass-project
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Most Subtly Powerful Roadside Fixture
Austin Ghost Bike Project
More likely than not, you’ve passed by a memorial installed by the Austin Ghost Bike Project. Dedicated to cyclists killed in traffic collisions, these stripped-down, all-white bicycles are placed by volunteers near the sites where riders lost their lives. The Austin area is home to over 20 ghost bikes, each bearing a placard with a photograph of the fallen cyclist and covered with floral decoration. They serve as reminders to drive with caution and prevent crashes like the one that claimed the life of beloved cyclist and volunteer Paul Wuersig last October, whose ghost bike stands at the corner of Guadalupe Street and Denson Drive.
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Best Place to Get Lost in the Woods
Violet Crown Trail
Our reader may be hiking along, and suddenly, the trail forks. You find yourself between the rolling, dry bed of Barton Creek and majestic limestone cliffs. A lush canopy of native flora provides a cool refuge from the hot Texas sun. You might be a bit lost (where’s that trail marker?) and it doesn’t get much better than this. The Violet Crown Trail – stretching 13 miles through South Austin – was finally completed last November when the Hill Country Conservancy opened up the Mile Zero Trailhead next to Barton Springs, much to the joy of those who love a jaunt in the woods.
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Best Club for Sober Side Quests
The Unbuzzed Club
For anyone who’s ever wanted to socialize without making alcohol the center of attention, the Unbuzzed Club has the answer. Founded by Megan Hargrove, the community brings together sober and sober-curious Austinites through alcohol-free events, including Barton Springs outings, workout classes, mocktail socials, and coffee meetups. The focus isn’t on what’s being poured; it’s on creating a space where conversations come easily, and genuine connections take root. Proof that making friends in Austin doesn’t require a buzz.
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Best Inspo for Tapping Into Your Inner Athlete
Secretly Sporty
A medieval scholar is not the first person you’d think to ask about fitness. But when he coped with a loss by getting into weightlifting, Sebastian Langdell rewrote his own self-definition – why not be an intellectual and an athlete? – and launched with producer Austen Rachlis the Secretly Sporty podcast. Journalist Jamelle Bouie, cartoonist Alison Bechdel, musicians Thor Harris and Peggy Ghorbani, and others open up to Langdell about how their exercise routines power their creativity, help them through tough times, and evolve as they age. In these far-ranging conversations that go from soulful to super-detailed, you’re bound to find fresh motivation for nurturing your own “and athlete.”
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