Luling, Texas Visitor Guide
A Celebration of What Makes Texas Great

Luling is home to Great Bar-B-Q, Watermelons, the Zedler Mill Paddling Trail, and the Pumpjack characters.

Lovin' Life in Lulin' best describes the laid-back, fun-loving lifestyle of the 6,000 folks who call Luling home, and who welcome visitors with a smile and a choice of relaxing activities and festivals. Where else would you find a festival called a "Thump" with an internationally-known Seed Spitting contest, or a water tower painted like a giant melon? Or a Rough Neck Chili Cook-off where the antics of the cooks sometimes exceed their culinary skills? And oil well pump jacks decorated with cartoon characters and animals?

Enjoy our famous BBQ

Luling's famous bar-b-q has been called 'the best in the universe', was named Reader's Digest 'best in Texas' and consistently makes the top five lists in just about any story about great brisket, ribs and sausage. However, Luling does not live by brisket alone. Numerous other restaurants serve up specialties from burgers to enchiladas to desserts.

Located in the gently rolling hills just east of San Antonio and south of Austin, Luling is a microcosm of what made Texas great - oil, cattle, farming, railroad and river.

Early industrial development can be seen in the remains of the

Zedler Mill on the San Marcos River

Zedler Mill on the San Marcos River at Luling's southern edge. A visit to the Central Texas Oil Patch Museum in the downtown's historic Walker Brothers Mercantile building is a step back in time with a view to the future. Trains still rumble through downtown Luling about every half hour on Union Pacific tracks. Earlier in its history, the town was the terminus of a rail line to Coahuila Mexico, and was known as 'the Toughest Town in Texas."

The Blackland Prairie, the Post Oak Savannah and the South Texas Plains come together at Luling, providing a variety of scenery, wildflowers, birds and animals. A lazy canoe trip down the San Marcos River on the Zedler Mill Paddling Trail, or a more ambitious trip on down the river to Palmetto State Park, provides peaceful solitude for a view of nature as it was when the Indians and Spaniards roamed the river valley.

Farmers' markets, locally made pottery, gifts, antiques and collectibles, and great food, await the visitor to downtown Luling. For a complete list of events, attractions, accommodations and campgrounds, visit our website.

Luling is centrally located at the intersection of Interstate 10, US 183 and US 90, and State Highway 80, just 45 miles south of Austin and 55 miles east of San Antonio.