The Colorado River Alliance is a nonprofit group that is dedicated solely to the conservation and protection of the Texas Colorado River. They offer educational programs during the school year, and in the summer, they take families on guided tours of the LCRA Redbud Center. These tours are interactive, incredibly informative (Did you know all the lakes in Austin are man made?!), and FREE!

The tour starts under the covered entryway with a giant map of Texas and the Lower Colorado River underfoot. Watch your steps, because throughout the grounds, you might step on neat chronological facts about the history of Texas waterways.

The Redbud Center features scale models of our state’s lake and dam systems (pictured above) that make it easy for parents and children to visualize how the Texas Colorado River feeds our major Texas lakes. Kids can control the dams in the model using wheels to open and close the waterways. They can also see how rain effects the lakes and the river and how to control these effects with dams.

Finally, a walk though a labeled garden populated with native Texas plants, and trees (including a fragrant herb and butterfly garden), lands you at the end of a walkway overlooking Tom Miller Dam. Keep an eye out for Texas Wildlife! Use the illustrated guide on the overlook to help you identify any lakeside creatures you’re sure to see.

The grounds are free and open to the public to explore on self-guided tours, but for the full experience, we recommend scheduling a guided tour.

The LCRA Redbud Center offers many educational programs and classes for children and adults on topics like conservation, composting, etc.

Visit the LCRA Redbud Center website for more information on the educational programs.

Email [email protected] to schedule a tour with the Colorado River Alliance.