When it rains, it pours! Austin sometimes feels like it never gets rain, but then we’ll hit a rainy season, and we don’t know what to do with ourselves! If there’s a lot of rain in the forecast and you want to get out of the house, here are a bunch of indoor ideas around the Austin area. (Bonus: These ideas work for super hot days too!)
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Indoor Ideas for Kids in Austin
1. Library
The Austin area has some really awesome libraries with great spaces for kids. The biggest ones (which also means they have the biggest kids sections) are:
But even if it’s not a huge library, most library branches have scavenger hunts (a new one each month) with prizes, coloring sheets, and puzzles or toys!
2. Indoor Play Places
Austin is lucky to have lots of different play spaces inside so kids can get their energy out in any kind of weather.
See the best indoor play spaces for little ones, big kids and the whole family here.
3. Museums
Austin may not have a big museum district like some other cities, but there are plenty of educational or entertaining museums around town that families will enjoy.
Find a full list of kids museums, art museums, history museums, and museums that are keeping Austin weird here.
4. Bowling
I love bowling! It’s such a fun novelty, and the kids always have a great time.
Pins Mechanical Co. in South Austin (pictured above) is a great spot for duckpin bowling, which is easier for kids because of its smaller balls and shorter lanes.
Uncle Buck’s FishBowl has a fun underwater theme that makes it feel extra special.
Or you can go for the old-school bowling vibes with Highland Lanes or Westgate Lanes.
Here’s a full round-up of places to bowl!
5. Go to the Mall
Remember how excited you used to get to go hang out at the mall growing up? Kids today love malls too! And it’s a great place to get some energy out indoors without having to spend too much money if you don’t want to.
Barton Creek Square Mall is the best indoor mall in Austin. It has lots of recognizable stores, including a Lego Store, Pokemon store, kids clothing stores, and a claw machine spot. There’s a movie theater, food court, and a free Care Bears-themed play area.
Lakeline Mall has fewer big-brand name stores than Barton Creek Square, but it does have several areas perfect for kids. There’s a free play area, Inflatable Wonderland, and Little Innovator with science and art workshops, plus Build-A-Bear, fidget stores, Claire’s, and Pokemon store.
6. HMart
You can spend a couple hours at HMart with kids. There’s so much to do (and eat!). HMart is much more than just an Asian supermarket (although browsing the supermarket is half the fun!). There is a full food court, a bakery, claw machines, an arcade section, an ArtBox stationery/gift store, and even a little play area with a play kitchen, busy boards and little toys for kids to enjoy.
7. Arcades
What’s more classic indoor fun than an arcade? If you have a kid who loves video games, there are lots of options around the Austin area.
I prefer a free play arcade, so my go-to arcade is Cidercade near downtown. It’s one set price to enter and then you can play as many games as you want. I also love Pins Mechanical Co. because it has retro arcade games and video game consoles to play for free (plus pinball machines you pay for), plus tons of other types of games.
My kids love Pinballz, because it has so many different options to play.
Other options include Arcade UFO, Pixel Palace, Austin’s, Blazer Tag, and Main Event, and most kids entertainment venues tend to have an arcade section (Dart ‘Em Up, Mt. Playmore, Chuck E. Cheese, etc.).
8. Indoor Water Parks
If you want that summer feeling no matter the weather, try an indoor water park. Splash Shack is perfect for kids 10 and under, with different sizes of kids slides and no swimming pools. Kalahari is great if you want a big water park experience indoors, with a wave pool, slides of every size, lazy river, and more!
You can also buy day passes to use YMCA pools if that’s more your speed!
9. Indoor Mini Golf
You can still play games inside, even mini golf! Austin has a few indoor spots for golf, though some of them are aimed toward adults and require kids to be a bit older.
Monster Mini Golf is great for all ages, as long as they don’t mind the blacklight, slightly spooky theme! Some of the monsters even move!
Holey Moley has fun themed holes and is all-ages until 8 pm (when it switches to 21+). Dirdie Birdie has some cool Austin-themed holes and welcomes kids ages 5 and up to play (18+ after 9 pm on Fridays and Saturdays).
10. Book Stores
What’s cozier on a rainy day than wandering through a book store? And the Austin area has some great book stores (although Barnes and Noble is always a winner with my kids when we need to kill some time indoors because of all the toys and games they carry).
Some of my favorite local bookstores are BookPeople, Lark and Owl, and Paper Bark Birch Children’s Bookstore. Here’s a full list so you can find your new favorites!
11. Ice Skating
Take a spin around the ice even if it’s pouring or blazing outside! The Austin area has a few indoor ice skating rinks that you can enjoy year-round:
- Chapparal Ice
- Ice & Field at the Crossover
- The Pond Hockey Club (less free skate and more pick-up hockey or classes)
12. Roller Skating
If you’d rather roll around the rink, rent some skates or roller blades and hit up a roller rink in Austin! Pins & Wheels at Playland has a classic vibe to it, or try The Rock Sports Arena (open skate weekdays 12-5 pm) or Austin Roller Rink.
13. Rock Climbing
Austin has a few options for great indoor rock climbing: Austin Bouldering Project, Crux Climbing, and Mesa Rim.
14. Terra Toys
Texas’ biggest toy store has so much to look at, it’s an activity even if you don’t buy anything! We love wandering around Terra Toys — there are cute things, silly things, nostalgic things, and even a Zoltar machine inside the coffee/snack shop.