• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Get Away From It All

    The best place to leave your cares behind lies just 3 hours from Dallas

    Jennifer Chininis
    Nov 9, 2016 | 11:20 am

    Many destination resorts promise a restorative experience, but few deliver in the way Travaasa can. Even though it’s located within 30 minutes of downtown Austin, the award-winning property very much feels like a world away.

    That’s partially because of the location, perched high among the hills, barely intruding on the landscape. It’s easy to dump your cares at the turnoff to FM 2769, and the slow, winding drive up to the entrance serves as a prelude of what’s to come.

    Certainly the surroundings evoke peace, but the experience also is designed to free your mind, whether you choose to load up your itinerary with activities, many of which are included in the stay, or you simply want to vacillate between naps at the pool and spa treatments. Either route provides a welcome distraction from the day-to-day.

    Travaasa operates like an adult camp, with activity sign-up sheets at the welcome center. Go for a hike, throw a hatchet (which is extremely therapeutic), mountain bike, practice yoga or tai chi, ride a horse or the zip line — all in a day. Want a cup of coffee or snacks before an activity? Then stop by the pantry.

    If you have no desire to exert yourself, you can be contented, either in the spa, where treatments are some of the best you will ever receive, or by the infinity-edge saltwater pool with Hill Country views. Try filling one day with activities and the other with pool time, refreshing yourself with an occasional Grapefruit Fizz (Deep Eddy Ruby Red vodka and Topo Chico) or mini-cans of Sofia sparkling wine.

    Speaking of booze, Travaasa has a full bar, unlike many wellness resorts. And it is an actual bar where you can sit and drink and continue to forget about your troubles.

    Travaasa also takes great care with its food and beverage program, an integral part of which is the 3.25 acre organic farm. It not only provides produce for the restaurant, but also an opportunity for guests to explore.

    Under the guidance of Kim Grabosky-Chalfant, the farm produces more than 80 varieties of vegetables, fruits, edible flowers, and culinary and medicinal herbs. In the wintertime, the fields are full of roots (beets, carrots) and greens (kale, collards). In summertime, they overflow with tomatoes, okra, and peppers.

    There’s also a 680-square-foot chicken coop with more than 100 laying hens; in addition to farm tours, guests can learn how to care for chickens. Grabosky-Chalfant also leads an herbal tinctures class, where she serves holy basil tea, made by steeping the leaves and flowers in cold water, as she explains the healing property of those and other plants grown on the property.

    There is synergy between the farm and the restaurant — executive chef Ben Baker tells Grabosky-Chalfant what he’d like to see, and she tells him what’s doing well — and the staff works hard to only use what’s available in the food they prepare. They supplement what they can’t grow themselves with items sourced from nearby producers, but Baker says Grabosky-Chalfant has really been creative in her solutions, and “harvest and yields have been better than they’ve ever been.”

    Although the resort focuses on health and wellness — the nutritional information for each dish is listed on the menu — they are mainly interested in preparing food that tastes good. And it does.

    Dinnertime is when the dishes are most creative, and they don’t stay on the menu long. “If you see something that sounds good tonight, order it,” the servers advise, warning that tomorrow it could be gone.

    For that reason, it may be unfair to talk about the smoked trout cakes, a standout on our visit. The kitchen goes through a lot of steelhead trout, so once they have enough bellies, they smoke them up and turn them into little cakes seasoned with skin baked with nori and kefir lime leaves.

    Other memorable dishes included a pork chop brined in anise, black pepper, bay leaves, and cloves, and crispy Sriracha Brussels sprouts. The servers are also schooled on the wine, so take their pairing suggestions. If you want do to more than eat and drink at mealtime, you can take a hands-on cooking class or join an expert for a wine tasting.

    After all that, you want a good night’s rest, right? The rooms are upscale but not fussy, and beds are remarkably comfortable, with all-natural linens that wrap you up for a restful sleep. Wake up the next day and look out the window, where you see nothing but treetops and hills, and it’s hard to imagine just how close you are to the city, and to your life, full of demands.

    But don’t think about that. When you checked into Travaasa, you also checked out. Relish every minute.

    Prices start at $300 per night à la carte and $525 inclusive.

    The spa is an escape within an escape.

    Western sky treatment room at Travaasa Austin spa
      
    Photo courtesy of Travaasa
    The spa is an escape within an escape.
    texasvacation
    news/travel

    most read posts

    11 Dallas suburbs soar as fastest-growing U.S. cities in last decade

    Mixed-use East Dock will revive 1915 building in Dallas' Oak Cliff

    Restaurant-bar near Uptown Dallas unveils tiki-themed summer pop-up

    Park News

    Texas agency acquires 1,100 acres for new state park in Hill Country

    Brianna Caleri
    Apr 25, 2025 | 10:08 am
    Colorado Bend State Park riverbed
    Texas Parks and Wildlife Department/tpwd.texas.gov
    The new park will be across the river from Colorado Bend State Park (pictured).

    Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has acquired a new patch of land that they plan to use to create a new state park. According to a release, the agency has acquired 1,100 acres on the border of Burnet County and Lampasas County, 90 miles northwest of Austin — joining a prior acquisition of 2,020 acres made in January, and helping to push the state park into the realm of reality.

    The 1,100 acres are located across from the existing Colorado Bend State Park, on the other side of the Colorado River. Within the land are a mile and a half of Yancey Creek (which is about four miles long and empties into the Colorado River), limestone bluffs, and several natural springs.

    Before this second purchase had been made, the park was only a proposition. Now, TPWD and specifically chairman Jeff Hildebrand of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission are referring to the 3,000-acre state park as a reality.

    Funds for the purchase came from a one-time funding appropriation as well as sporting goods sales taxes.

    Development of the state park will come from a different source: a $1 billion, voter-approved Centennial Parks Conservation Fund. The fund was created in 2023 and has also led to purchases doubling the size of Enchanted Rock Natural State Area near Fredericksburg.

    “I’d like to thank our incredible team for their hard work in not only acquiring these properties, but also the recent additions at Enchanted Rock and the purchase of Lake Colorado City State Park,” said TPWD executive director David Yoskowitz in the release. “The voters of Texas also deserve a huge thank you for saying ‘yes’ to the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund, which will make the development of this park possible.”

    TPWD has been gathering input from the public about what types of recreational opportunities they'd like to see. According to the release, the next step is using the input to develop a plan. Considerations also include habitat protection and conservation of the natural springs in the area. The land is also 10 miles upstream from Lake Buchanan, further informing the possibilities.

    "This acquisition will give visitors access to the Colorado River, a beautiful creek and the diverse landscapes that are featured across the property," said Rodney Franklin, director of Texas State Parks. "We look forward to generations of Texans enjoying the scenic views of the unique post oak woodland and outdoor adventures awaiting on this property."

    state parksparksnature
    news/travel
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Dallas intel delivered daily.
    Loading...