15 Best Things To Do in Georgetown Texas on a Girls Trip
From a historic town square to caverns and swimming holes, these are some of the best things to do in Georgetown Texas on a girls trip.
Walking around the Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas, you can almost imagine stepping back into the turn of the 20th century. Welcome to Georgetown, where Victorian-era storefronts with ornate facades and carved cornices ring a Neoclassical courthouse with a copper dome.
Today, the frontier-era saloons, drugstores, and liveries hold boutiques, wineries, and farm-to-table restaurants. It’s the perfect destination for a Texas girls trip or weekend getaway, located less than 30 miles north of Austin.
While the historic downtown is certainly the focal point, there’s actually a diverse list of fun things to do in Georgetown TX.
The city is on the San Gabriel River and Lake Georgetown, so hiking, biking, and boating are all on the menu. A vast cavern is open for tours just south of the city. And everything from musical theater performances to spring poppy parades to fall farm fests fills the annual events calendar.
Georgetown has been on my radar since my last wildflower-inspired Texas road trip (they’re known as the Red Poppy Capital of Texas), so when Visit Georgetown invited me to come for a visit, I jumped at the opportunity.
Below, I’ve put together a guide with my favorite things to do in Georgetown on a girls trip, including tips for where to stay and eat. I was absolutely blown away by the local dining scene (a juicy burger topped with fried jalapenos and a particular blueberry lemon scone still make my mouth water).
Read on for some of the best trails, tastes, tours, and more in Georgetown Texas.
Where to Stay in Georgetown
The onsite restaurant, Brix and Ale, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner just steps from your room (don’t miss the build-your-own waffle bar at the weekend breakfast buffet). Jack’s Lounge has craft cocktails and brews with live tunes in the evening.
An outdoor pool and spacious deck provide spots to lounge and enjoy the Texas sun. The convenient fitness center and free bike rentals make it easy to stay active, and the San Gabriel River Trail is just outside the hotel.
All of that just compliments the lux rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, plush bedding, and cozy perks like bathrobes and a coffee maker.
For a Georgetown girls trip, I recommend upgrading to a club lounge access room. The spacious lounge is a great spot for the whole crew to gather in the morning for a hot drink or to grab snacks and decompress after a day of sightseeing with views over the pool and river.
Things To Do in Georgetown TX
From the beautiful downtown square with boutiques and bookshops to lake and river trails, these are some of the best things to do in Georgetown Texas.
Check out the Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas
Known as the “Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas,” downtown Georgetown features a Neoclassical courthouse from 1911 surrounded by dozens of Victorian-era storefronts. Several buildings date back as far as the 1880s when the Texas frontier town began to hit its heyday of economic and physical growth.
Today, most of the elaborate pressed metal-style facades still stand, revitalized, and are now home to museums, restaurants, and boutiques. The central business district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The town square is still the heart of the city, drawing locals and visitors alike for shopping, dining, entertainment, and special events.
Exploring this zone is one of the best things to do in Georgetown on a girls trip. You can grab a brochure for a self-guided walking tour from the visitor center to learn more about the town's history and the details of specific buildings that you’ll see. Several of the attractions listed below are also housed in these renovated structures!
A couple of my architectural favorites are the 1900 Masonic Lodge on the corner of South Main and West 7th with a colorful onion dome and the 1904 Talbot Building on West 7th with a painted wood facade and metal details.
Watch a Show at the Palace Theater
The only Art Deco building downtown, the unmissable Georgetown Palace Theatre dates to 1925 and was once a movie house. Now, the venue hosts a packed calendar of community musicals and plays.
Visit the Williamson Museum
Housed in an old bank building with Corinthian columns and the remains of vaults still inside, the Williamson Museum is right on the Georgetown square. With a focus on local history and culture, the museum features rotating exhibits. When I visited, there was a display on Barbette, a famous Texan vaudeville and drag star in the 1920s and 30s.
You can visit for free (donations appreciated) or join in First Friday ghost tours, tours of the historic Williamson County Courthouse, and other special events.
Take a Ghost Tour
If you visit Georgetown on the first Friday of the month, you have to sign up for a ghost tour of the square. Led by docents from the Williamson Museum, the tours offer a walk through the town’s history and haunts. The event takes place monthly between February and November.
Snap Photos of the Public Art
Dozens of murals and sculptures fill the Cultural District of Georgetown, a 40-block area downtown. Even a few utility boxes are jazzed up with colorful displays by local students.
Some of the best spots to snap mural photos are at the “Greetings from Georgetown” and poppy wall (by Sarah Blankenship) at Gus’s Drug and the “Traditions to the Future” piece (by Mila Sketch) on the corner of W. 8th and Rock Street.
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Pop into the Georgetown Art Center
While Georgetown has an impressive display of public art scattered around the historic district and beyond, art aficionados should also plan to visit the Georgetown Art Center. The center is located in an old city hall and firehouse building dating to 1892, and the original fire bell sits on display just outside.
The gallery inside is compact, so you don’t need to spend much time here, but the venue also offers public studio space, classes, and events. It’s free to pop in for a look at the current pieces on display, which change regularly.
Shop the Local Boutiques
If you’re looking for things to do in Georgetown on a girls trip, shopping around the square is a must. The blocks surrounding the old courthouse are full of unique little boutiques and stores housed in historic buildings.
You can find everything from antiques to hot sauce for sale here, so it’s fun to just wander around and pop in wherever your window shopping leads you. We enjoyed dreaming up designs at the custom hat bar at Blushing Belle Boutique, picking out pink boots at Outlaws and Gypsies, and shopping for stylish consignments at The Exchange.
Browse the Lark and Owl Bookstore
Lark and Owl is the place to go if you love a local bookstore like I do! Not only can you find a wide assortment of titles, but there are also gifts and plants for sale.
There’s a little bistro inside to keep you caffeinated while you shop or work from the retro diner-style seating and a really cute kiddie area with a book nook and places to climb and play.
Swim in the Blue Hole
Just a few steps from downtown Georgetown, the Blue Hole is a scenic lagoon on the South San Gabriel River.
With limestone bluffs on one bank, and short waterfalls stretching across the river, Blue Hole Park is the perfect spot to go for a swim on a hot day. If you have a paddleboard or kayak, you can also paddle along the river here.
The park connects to the South San Gabrial River Trail for biking and walking along the water.
Bike the San Gabriel River Trail
Looking for outdoorsy things to do in Georgetown? The north and south bank of the San Gabriel River has nearly 9 miles of multi-use trails.
You can rent an e-bike from Someday Funday in town or borrow traditional wheels from the Sheraton Georgetown if you’re a guest.
For some short routes, try the South San Gabriel River Trail from Chautauqua Park past the Blue Hole to the McMaster Athletic Complex (2.75 miles) or the North San Gabriel River Trail route from Rivery Park near the Sheraton to San Gabriel Park (1 mile and lighted).
Hike to Crockett Garden Falls
The trek to Crockett Garden Falls is the most popular Georgetown hike on AllTrails, and it’s a great way to get some views of Lake Georgetown from the banks. The destination is this cool spring-fed waterfall that drips over rocks.
When the water levels of the lake are high enough, the falls drip right into it. Part of the rock feature collapsed in a recent winter, so the scenery isn’t as picture-perfect as it used to be.
I visited during a drought when the lake was super low and the rocks had collapsed, but I still thought the waterfall was interesting and unique. The low lake levels made it easier to poke around and explore the different views of the falls.
The hike here is 3.7 miles roundtrip and rated moderate. Most of it is pretty easy, but there is a little elevation change up some rocks and one section where you have to awkwardly scoot down a hill if you follow the AllTrails route.
Tour the Inner Space Caverns
You can head underground on an hour-long Adventure Tour to learn more about how the cave was formed and discovered while checking out the interesting formations along a paved trail. For a more intense experience, the Wild Cave Tour involves crawling and climbing through narrow passages to reach hidden rooms.
Outside the cave, Inner Space offers other fun activities like panning for gems and riding a zip line up 130 feet for views.
Visit Sweet Eats Fruit Farm
I visited in September when the Fall Festival was ramping up. During this season, the farm has a pumpkin patch with photo setups, a corn maze, wagon rides, campfire rentals, apple cannons, and more.
Other annual events include Easter Egg Hunts in Spring and a Sunflower Festival in summer. You can also stop by to pick your own produce like strawberries in March and April and peaches from May to July.
Explore Garey Park
A former 525-acre ranch and homestead, Garey Park now belongs to the city of Georgetown and offers a peaceful spot to get outdoors on the San Gabriel River’s south fork.
Over 7 miles of trails welcome hikers and horseback riders, a dog park offers leash-free room for pups to roam, and a Play Ranch has slides, zip lines, and a splash pad for the littles. There are also pavilions and a large special events venue that can host parties and family gatherings.
Attend the Red Poppy Festival
During the three-day spring festival, visitors can watch a parade and car show, shop an artisan market, dance to live music, and chow down on fair foods.
You don’t have to come to the festival to see the city in bloom, though. Red poppies typically blossom for about a month between March and April in gardens around town. You can even pick up seed packets from the downtown visitor center to take home and grow.
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Places to Eat in Georgetown
There are so many amazing places to eat in Georgetown and unfortunately, I couldn’t fit them all into one weekend. In addition to the spots below that we tried and loved, I also had locals recommend Wildfire or City Post for steak, 600 Degrees Pizzaria, Lamppost Coffee, and 309 Coffee.
Monument Cafe
With a retro, roadside diner look, Monument Cafe is perhaps the best-known place to eat in the city. It was featured on an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” when Guy Fieri and Matthew McConaughey chowed down on King Ranch Chicken Casserole.
It’s open for breakfast and lunch, with a robust menu that makes it hard to eat there just once. I tried the fresh biscuits and jam before devouring a delicious bacon cheeseburger topped with fried jalapenos.
Blue Corn Harvest
Sourcing ingredients from local farms, Blue Corn Harvest offers a Southwestern-inspired menu with a few Caribbean flavors thrown in. We started with the artichoke, spinach, and bacon gratin dip with a spicy Jamaican salad and chicken rellenos for entrees.
Everything was absolutely delicious and I want to return for the chicken diablo pasta. There’s also a fun margarita flight on the cocktail list.
Sweet Lemon Kitchen
The aesthetic at Sweet Lemon Kitchen was on point for a girls weekend brunch in Georgetown as the cafe is located in a darling downtown cottage with a vintage interior and outdoor picnic tables. I loved the chicken salad on a flaky croissant and the fresh lemon vinaigrette on my side salad.
Lulu’s Pie Shoppe
If you’re looking for dessert, you have to stop by Lulu’s Pie Shoppe. But go early, because the best flavors disappear quickly.
On weekends, the picturesque pie cafe bakes fresh cinnamon rolls, and you can also buy slices or whole pies at the counter. In addition to taking orders for everything from pecan pie to Shephard’s pie, the shop also hosts special workshops and teas.
Big Cafe
Another spot we loved was Big Cafe, which is about a mile north of downtown. Not only is the food and service amazing, but the cafe and attached boutique help support a local community for adults with special needs. I highly recommend ordering a fresh-baked lemon blueberry scone and the quiche with a sweet potato crust.
Fuego Latino Gastropub
I knew I wanted to eat at Fuego Latino Gastropub when I saw they served arepas, and I was not disappointed! Located right across the square from the old courthouse, the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner.
We had the Argentinian empanadas, beef arepas, and black bean and chorizo dip, but there were at least half a dozen other dishes I wanted to try. On the shortlist for next time are the Cuban sliders, three flavors of street corn, and slow-roasted ribs with Jamaican jerk spices.
Mesquite Creek Outfitters
Mesquite Creek Outfitters is the perfect spot to hang out and have a drink right off the square. Part retailer and part bar, the store looks like a lodge inside and offers cozy spots to sit in front of a fireplace. Mesquite Creek has craft beer on tap and wine.
