Hot Headlines

Exclusive 27-acre Austin estate floats onto market, plus more popular stories

This sprawling ranch lassoed our top story of the week.

Photo courtesy of Austin Portfolio Real Estate

Editor's note: It's that time again — time to check in with our top stories. Here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. Exclusive 27-acre Austin estate near Barton Creek flows onto market. Sprawling ranches are fairly common in Texas, but not inside the Austin city limits. This massive estate near Barton Creek occupies nearly 27 acres, and comes with a Mediterranean-style abode and plenty of room (lots and lots of room) for a growing family.

2. Largest spa in Texas to debut with opulent new treatments in 2021. A beloved Houston getaway will expand and reopen early next year as the largest spa in Texas. Cheers to more pampering in 2021.

3. Texas philanthropist’s ranching empire commands $340 million list price. Want to own a piece of land about one-third the size of Rhode Island? Got a few hundred million lying around? Then this is the property for you.

4. Coworking giant adds North Austin outpost amid Texas expansion. The workplace is evolving, and the Capital City will have even more office options when a new North Austin coworking space opens in spring 2021.

5. Austin taco chain's $400 million investment torches to top of 10 most popular food stories. A top stories list on a top stories list? Meta. This year's 10 most popular bar and restaurant stories ranged from local brands making big moves to ever-popular barbecue drive-thrus.

hot-headlines

Lights Up

Top holiday tradition Trail of Lights illuminates Zilker Park for 2024

Trail of Lights/austintrailoflights.org

One of Austin's top events is coming back soon.

For a city that barely has seasons, Austin really has its seasonal traditions on lock, and none as strongly as the Trail of Lights. This holiday happening, which features more than two million lights in festive displays along a driving and walking trail at Zilker Park, is returning for its 60th year from December 10-23.

Half of the 14 nights will be free to the pubic, and children under 12 will get in for free every night. Although the light show was temporarily drivable during pandemic shutdowns, it is back to being a walking trail only. That means visitors can stroll along the 1.25-mile path (or 2.5 miles total, an FAQ estimates, with all the meandering factored in).

The lights are spread across 96 trees and 70 "festive displays" including the famous tunnel draped in lights and stars that visitors love to take photos in.

Trail of Lights tunnel This light tunnel is a popular place for a photo op.Trail of Lights/austintrailoflights.org

Besides enjoying the visual effects, trail-walkers will also have plenty of other entertainment. There's Candy Cane Lane, which includes food and beverage vendors, restrooms, and the ZIP Lounge, which is like a VIP lounge with complimentary cookies, cocoa, and more but...at the end of the alphabet. Then there's also the North Pole at the center, featuring Santa's House and Santa's Workshop, plus more festival attractions like food, carnival rides (a ferris wheel and carousel), shopping, and live music.

Food vendors haven't been shared yet, but will eventually be listed on the event's website. Musical artists: applications are open now to play during the 2024 season.

Trail of lights fanatics have other options for getting involved, like an exclusive Night Lights Preview Party ($100) on December 6, which will feature food from Austin restaurants, complimentary beverages, and free rides. There's also a Fun Run the next day, December 7. (Okay, fine, holiday lights do make running sound fun.) Finally, guests can even book private events including, for the first time, weddings.

Tickets (free, or starting at $8) are available at austintrailoflights.org. An interactive calendar makes it easy to see which days include free entry. Some proceeds and donations support the Stars at the Trail program, which divvies up funds to nonprofits around Central Texas.

trail of lights holidays