Meadows Center

Free, clean, educational, beautiful & well maintained exhibits

Nice boat ride, despite the fact there is not so many animals to see under water. The exhibition is really small but ok

Free museum, glass-bottom boat rides (not free), on the university campus. Good for kids, groups. Interesting for birders, though not known for any specific rarity.

We took our grandson here and had so much fun walking around and seeing everything.

person haven't been to this wonderful Park it is a must it has everything from a nature Center to glass bottom boat rides

Very beautiful. It wasn't even that sunny when we went, but the water was clear and the whole area was just pretty. We went on the Glass bottom boat tour and then the museum. Both the tour and museum was educational. Our guide was knowledgeable and passionate about what he was talking about.

Amazing educational experience. Summer camp for 9 to 12 was awesome

Is a good place to take family had a lot of fun me and my wife

If you go on the glass boat tour you will understand how special this place is. The trails around are beautiful also. The museum is great and helps you understand the uniqueness of the geology and water cycle in this area.

Breezy and very cool birding was very good however and very relaxing as is the norm when visiting here.

Great place for people from 1 to 100! Such a unique & educational experience!

Glass bottom boat was awesome. We got the new one and the Captain was very knowledgeable and spoke for an hour about the meadow and the history behind the meadow. Awesome.

Very informative, and the guides are extremely knowledgeable and accommodating. There were people on our tour talking and receiving phone calls and our guide was totally unfazed. Guide answered all questions and suggested all the other activities available at The Meadows Center. There is also a small museum exhibit and a boardwalk through the wetlands here. Super educational, bring your kids!

I honestly thought this was going to be boring. But I wanted some family time and made the short trip to San Marcos. It was way better than I expected. Very informative, relaxing and fun. I highly recommend it!!

Great place to experience nature and learn about local ecosystems.

Liked the boat, liked the guide, liked wetlands walk and small aquarium. Great choice to attend.

An abundance of nature above and below the waterline.

Marine research center fantastic. We took a ride on a glass bottom boat. The photos of the seabed are beautiful. Recommended for the whole family.

Great experience. Glass bottom boat ride is fun, educational and deep water views. Learned about the springs and the beauty of it. Highly recommended!

Went here as a chaperone for my kindergartens class field trip. Super fun glass bottom boat tour.

Beautiful. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the springs and their history. My almost 2 year old and 7 year old loved it. Will be coming back again.

Put this on your list to see, don't miss this history education and boat ride

Great experience! Tour was run a little too fast, weren't able to really see the exhibits for longer than a minute or two, but that may have been because we were with a school trip. We'll try it again on a different day.

This is the old Aquarena Springs. They still have glass bottom boats! The place is free to enter, parking is $3 and you only pay for the glass bottom boat ride. The guide we had was very knowledgeable and very informative.

We did the extended tour and loved it!!!! Alejandro was our student tour guy and he was awesome!!! Very knowledgeable young man.

A very laid back place with a slow pace. We called ahead to get the schedule for tours and planned our day as we were visiting from out of town. Arrived and then the same person we spoke to on the phone just 30 minutes prior, said that the tour was cancelled because everyone decided to take a "spontaneous" lunch break. We were put off by that after having planned our tight schedule. The unconcerned, laissez-faire attendant (bored college kid) suggested we kill an hour touring the museum(?) until the next boat tour. Really? Ok, finally the tour. Because of their impromptu schedule change we got a private tour being the only people on the boat. NICE ending. We will go again.

Wonderful place. Lovely grounds. Took the Supersized (45 min) glass bottom tour and was not disappointed. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly. All folks in our party had a great time. There is a small and informative display in the building across from the ticket booth. The boardwalk is nice too.

I used to come here as a kid, when it was Aquarena Springs, and it's totally different. Except the glass bottom boats are still here and still really awesome. It was fun to get to ride in them again. My kids loved it.

It's like diving in a clean well stocked fish tank. The Bass are big and used to divers, you can literally have your mask 3 inches from them and they do not spook. Great visibility!!

It was a beautiful tour, the guide was very knowledgeable and it was relaxing. Would go again!

We took a tour of the springs on a glass bottomed boat. It was wonderful! A glimpse into a picturesque waterscape. The water was crystal clear, the guide was very knowledgeable, the fish and turtles fascinating to watch.

Great family fun for everyone! I highly recommend this glass bottom boat tour.

Great destination. We really enjoyed the glass-bottomed boat ride.

This is an awesome place dedicated to water, environmental and native wild life conservation. The place is clean, has friendly and helpful staff. The water clarity is superb. You can also do volunteer SCUBA diving in the lake after you pass a special authorization class - find out more online.

Very interesting. Take the glass bottom boat tour of the lake and then check out the museum.

Went on one of the tours and was very interested in the history of this lake. I did not have enough time to walk through the swamp lands but I was very impressed by the muesum. I came away from that muesum with a better understanding of how auqafors and unground springs work.

Very much worth the price if you are in the area. The glass bottom boat tour was amazing. The water is clear and full of life including various turtles and not just fish. It's also close to WonderWorld. Snorkeling is new and requires advanced reservation. The boats we walked up for next available and didnt wait long. Our boat died and had to be towed back, so we had an extra long tour!

Informative & friendly staff. Definitely worth visiting. I would go back.

Well worth a visit even in the rain if you love info about nature, history, and Texas' diverse ecosystem

Awesome place. Glass bottom boats are super cool and educational. Take your kids,they'll love the experience.

Very much worth visiting. Glass bottom boats so you can see everything under the water. Very educational as well.

The person driving the boat was so informative! We learned and saw a lot of under water life.

This is a must-do Texas destination! The glass-bottom boat tour is spectacular with excellent historical and natural education, all while looking down on clear spring water, fishes and the springs bubbling up below. It s an up-close personal experience with the natural beauty of Spring Lake. And all this just moments off I-35, in the heart of San Marcos and Texas State University.

The tour could have been a bit longer and more info.

Hot but fun for my toddler. She did get bored after 5 minutes but overall fun.

It's a huge research area for the university. It's protected and you get to see some incredible wildlife. Although there is 3 things to do, one of them costs money. But it's very worth it. The staff are amazing, definitely a place for children and anyone who loves the outdoors!

I went to the amusement park that was here long ago - wanted my children to ride on glass bottomed boats.

Luckily the boats still run, but all the shows and crazy stuff (piano playing chicken, swimming pig, mermaid show, etc.) is gone - it is more educational.

Kids still loved it. Smashed some pennies in an old machine they kept around, looked at the fish aquariums and the turtle aquarium.

They loved the ride on the boat and pointing out every fish and turtle they saw. The water was perfectly clear, the plant life underwater thick and fantastic and the springs were a sight one must see to appreciate.

Although the amusements from when I was a child are long gone, the boats are still worth it for young and old alike.

5th time here Do not miss this tour. It is amazing to see the beautiful ecosystem God created through a glass bottom boat. It is stunning to look though 22 feet of crystal clear water from the bottom of a boat. The whole park is stepped an amazing history that makes you want to learn more and wander around. Take the time to walk out to the wetland board walk.

Lastly,Don't forget to tip the tour guides as they well deserve it they are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and usually a lot if fun.

Had my daughter's field trip here, we had a blast. Our guide was awesome. She was extremely knowledgeable!

Make sure you take part in the glass bottom boats, lots of knowledge and you'll see some pretty neat stuff under and above the water.

A beautiful area that's absolutely worth the trip - with friendly and helpful staff to boot!

Great place. Learned about the springs and had a good time.

Great place to take the family or significant other to learn more about the environment in a local gem.

So much fun!! Avoid days where schools are there on field trips because parking will be a nightmare.

Beautiful Clear water. Glass Bottom boat tour is awesome. 10.00. Free boardwalk through marsh habitat. Free Aquarium. Worth spending hour and half to see this awesomeness. Meadows Foundation doing great with this place

The springs are beautiful and naturally preserved. The tour guides give an educational narrative during the boat ride.