Hi friends, the long Fourth of July weekend is the kind where the real question is not what to do, it is what is even open, and whether the water is.
So I will start with the water. If you want a sure thing, Deep Eddy is the low-drama call: cold, spring-fed, lap-friendly, cheap, and open most of the week. The famous two are a July gamble. Barton Springs and Hamilton Pool both close on short notice after a hard rain, for flooding or high bacteria, and Hamilton needs a reservation even on a good day. Check the city and county pages the morning you go.
Then, three things: one place that is actually open, where to watch the fireworks, and what is legal to light yourself.
Eat, this week
East MLK · $$ · daily, counter-order, big covered patio
The most useful thing about a place on a holiday weekend is whether it is open at all, and Sour Duck answers that better than almost anywhere. It is a walk-in, counter-order, all-day bakery and cafe on East MLK with a big covered patio, no reservation, first come first served, open every day. Arrive hungry for the pastry case, get an oversized breakfast taco, and grab a kolache for later. It is the kind of low-stakes spot that works for a group, a dog, or the morning after a long Saturday night.
Do, this weekend
Auditorium Shores · Saturday July 4 · majority free
The big free one is the symphony and fireworks on the lake. The majority of Auditorium Shores is free, gates open in the late afternoon, the Austin Symphony plays in the evening, and the fireworks go up over Lady Bird Lake at the end of the night. Bring a blanket and water, it is July in Texas. If you would rather have a marquee than a lawn, Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic returns to the Germania amphitheater that day with a stacked lineup and its own fireworks.
Know, this week
Inside Austin city limits, personal fireworks are flatly illegal. No permit, no exception for sparklers in the street. The fire department is plain about it: using fireworks in the city without a professional-display permit can bring a citation and a fine of up to 2,000 dollars. The only things allowed on private property in the city are the handheld novelties the federal government does not classify as fireworks, wire sparklers, snakes, smoke devices, and trick noisemakers. Outside the city, in unincorporated Travis County, consumer fireworks are generally legal, though in a dry year the county can restrict the most fire-prone aerial types. So the honest version: if you live in the city, the legal move is to watch the professional show, not light your own. To report illegal fireworks, call 3-1-1. Before you light anything in the county, check the live burn-ban status first.
Worth bookmarking
Where to find the free stuff, all summer.
Tell me one thing
What is your no-fail Austin swimming hole when the famous ones are closed? Reply and tell me. I read every one.
See you next Thursday. If someone you know keeps asking where to go this weekend, forward this to them.
P.S. If you are not sure what is even open this weekend, the directory behind these picks has more than two thousand Austin spots you can sort by neighborhood, price, and what is open right now. It is right here, and worth forwarding to whoever always asks you where to eat.