The Barton Creek Greenbelt is home to well-known swimholes as Campbell’s Hole, Twin Falls, Sculpture Falls, Lost Creek Falls; and not-to-well-known water gems such as Nameless Falls, Bench Falls, and Hidden Falls. In addition, there are multiple rope swing swimholes scattered along the greenbelt on the edges of Barton Creek. The great news is that there are numerous ways to access “The Greenbelt” as locals call it. However, one of those ways is only for the bold and extremely fit individuals who love an intense workout. It is known as “The Hill of Life”. I prefer to call it “The Hill of Hell” after I feebly attempted to mountain bike its 300 steep, vertical feet of limestone. This baby is a heart-stopper of a climb - whether ascending or descending! After that excruciating event, I vowed to never access The Greenbelt from that location. You can also access a completed section of the newly added Violet Crown Trail that is under construction and will eventually add thirty miles to Austin’s trail system and will lead you all the way to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and eventually into Hays County. I can’t wait! If you regularly use a “belay loop” or carabiners, then you will be happy to know that there are multiple limestone bluffs you can rock climb, including Seismic Wall (via Spyglass access) and a cliff dubbed Urban Assault (via Gus Fruh access). Believe it or not, the greenbelt is host to the sixth longest cave in Texas at just over 11,000 feet long. It is called Airmen’s Cave thanks to two airmen who were stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base in 1971 and discovered the cave. They began excavating its entrance, and eventually explored the cave and mapped two miles of it. It has recently been sealed off with metal bars and its entrance, due to numerous rescues of curious spelunkers over the years. Luckily, I was able to explore this gem prior to its closure. However, I only made it to the first chamber - crawling “commando style” on my stomach - by painstakenly squeezing through what is known as the “birth canal”. I never made it further in the cave where there is another chamber room dubbed the “Aggie Art Gallery” due to the hundreds of clay sculptures that cover the walls, ceiling, and floor.