5 Fun, Hidden Gems in New Braunfels

Think you’ve done it all in New Braunfels? Here are 5 things you may not know about, curated by the locals at Camp Landa.

Circle Arts Theatre
Circle Arts Theatre is a cute community theatre located in Landa Park basically on the Wurstfest Grounds, so it’s very close to Camp Landa. Since its founding in 1968, the theatre has staged over 190 major productions, 15 children’s theatre shows, and over 45 melodramas. They’re famous for their melodramas performed during Wurstfest, featuring titles like StarWurst, The Prince-Wurst Bride, and Willy Wonkwurst and the Sausage Factory. At these shows, the audience gets to be noisy and throw popcorn at the performers. Circle Arts Theatre puts on productions all year.

New Braunfels Fire Museum
The first fire station in New Braunfels was constructed in 1918, in downtown of course. Luckily, before that time, there were no fires in the community founded in 1845. Kidding. The original fire station, thankfully, has been preserved and today houses the New Braunfels Fire Museum. It’s filled with some of the actual firefighting equipment the founders of New Braunfels used in the 1800s and early 1900s, including the buckets used by the “bucket brigade,” hooks and ladders, and even cool old fire trucks. Plus, tours are given by real firefighters!

Historic Old Town
You probably know New Braunfels has been around a while – since 1845 to be exact. And since it was founded by Germans, you can know that very little has been thrown away. 18 of the community’s 19th-century structures have been preserved in Historic Old Town. You can belly up to the bar of an 1850 saloon, tour the 1858 music studio where Stefan Haelbig taught music to generations of New Braunfelsers, sit in a desk in their 1870 one-room limestone schoolhouse, and plenty more. Be sure to ask to see the different examples of Fachwerk (and what Fachwerk is). Self-guided and guided tours are available.

Hollow Tree Ranch
Just outside of town is an adventure you and your family won’t forget. Hollow Tree Ranch is “a God-inspired slice of Hill Country heaven” and offers all kinds of horse-riding options, but we suggest a Canyon Lake Trail Ride, an hour-and-a-half of Hill Country riding and memory making. The ranch is known for kind people, kind horses, and our kind of fun – outdoor, laid back, and family friendly. It’s worth noting that the trail ride is for ages 12+.

Canyon Lake Gorge
2002 was a rough year for the New Braunfels area. In one week that summer, more than 34 inches of rain fell above Canyon Lake. The water filled up Canyon Lake and eventually went over the lake’s spillway, carving the huge 64-acre Canyon Lake Gorge, exposing ancient, cretaceous limestone, fossils, and even 110-million year old dinosaur footprints! In fact, the water created such a surreal, other-worldly landscape that part of the movie “Predators” was filmed there. We’re pretty sure you won’t find any aliens on your tour, but you WILL find a great time.

Park at Camp Landa, maybe take a swim, and then head out on an adventure or five!