Fortlandia is an interactive art installation at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The exhibit runs from October 2, 2022, to January 29, 2023. I was pulled in by language like “secret hideouts” and the idea of exploring some cool forts that I assumed were for all ages. In reality, the forts are very small and meant for little kids. (Insert sad trombone riff.) In fact, the whole place seems to be geared toward kids, and most of the visitors were families with small children.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center itself is nice to walk around. A central courtyard complex includes an auditorium, gift shop, cafe, bathrooms, a kids’ activity center, and a beautiful observation tower. During my January visit, the activity center and education rooms were closed, and while the auditorium was open, there was nothing going on. (It’s a very nice space, though.)
Toward the back and to the left, there is a small stream garden. Beyond that, is the larger Central Gardens with plantings in raised beds. To be honest, in January, most of it looked pretty dead, or at least brown. Though I don’t think a Texas garden will have much green in it anyway. I imagine the whole place might be a different animal in the summer months when the wildflowers are blooming.
Kids’ Play Areas
Back and to the right is a path down to the Luci & Ian Family Garden, which is a kid’s play area. There’s a play lawn with a fantastic free library with glass cabinets full of books (mostly for kids) and integrated wooden seats for reading. A large pavilion stands nearby with steps for seating and bathrooms nearby. A group of outdoor exercise machines stands on one side of the lawn.
Then there are several play areas – a garden labyrinth, a concrete spiral, some tree forts, and oversized nests with eggs. A wide sand pit with tools for digging is under a tarp shade like an archeological dig. And my favorite is a waterfall grotto with branching streams. You can play in the water with buckets and pitchers, go behind the waterfall into the grotto, and duck through a second tunnel nearby.
Walks/Trails
The chief joy of a visitor without kids in January is just to walk around, and the Wildflower Center has a few trails to explore. A short Savanna Meadow Trail goes from the corner of the central complex around the long way to the play lawn on a spongy mulch path. Near the play lawn, you can find a small cave in the ground with signs about the underground water system. Even shorter is a likewise mulchy Woodland Trail back behind the play area. And while they’re not official trails, there is a short boardwalk overlooking a dry creek bed and a longer boardwalk from the play area back around to the central gardens.
Either from the central gardens or the central complex, you can walk the Hill Country Trails (which are actually flat.) The shorter John Barr Trail connects to the longer Simmons Research Trail. On the research trail, you can see meadows that are methodically burned or mowed to display different results.
The longest walk is to the Mollie Steves Zachry Texas Arboretum, and that’s only a mile. It honestly just looks like a field with trees. Even the “Hall of Texas Heroes” isn’t a structure, it’s just a ring of young trees that are seedlings of famous Texas trees. I will say, in a few hundred years, it will look really impressive! There are a few picnic tables and, even more fun, several swings among the trees around the larger loop. There are some vault toilets at the end of the loop where a short Roadrunner Trail connects to the Research Trail.
As an example, I walked from the cafe/central complex to the John Barr Trail, took the long way around the Research Trail, then took the Roadrunner Trail over to the Arboretum Trail and walked that all the way around and back to the central complex. The only thing to be aware of is that it’s mostly in the full sun, so sunscreen and/or a hat is a good idea. There are several water fountains around, even long some of the trails.
Fortlandia
The forts of Fortlandia are all found in the Family Garden area with the other play structures. I’m not going to say they’re disappointing, but some of them stretch the idea of a “fort.” And maybe that’s the point, but ugh. They’re too small to be appreciated by adults and too arty/conceptual to be appreciated by kids, so I’m not really sure who they’re made for. Fortlandia is clearly geared at drawing folks in during the less-blooming times of the year.
Mars Base
The best Fortlandia fort is by far Mars Base. And it’s probably the first one you’ll come to. A series of four connected wood huts contain four different styles of art on the inside, all depicting astronaut life in some way. Some interiors look hand-painted, while others are woodcut, or even seem printed. Kids can wiggle through tunnels or enter each one from outside.
(It’s also worth noting that I try hard not to include pictures of kids, so my pictures of each structure are limited in many ways since there were kids everywhere.)
Live Oak
The Live Oak fort is fun in that there is a pint-sized observation tower in the middle. Which is really the only part of the fort I saw kids interacting with. There are two net tunnels that kids can navigate to open nodes on the ends. It all looked plywood-cheap, to be honest.
Tree Free Fort
A little farther out in the field is the Tree Free Fort, basically a platform on hay bales. The construction is meant to be tree-free (obviously) which seems to mostly mean the use of bamboo, (hemp?) rope, and of course, lots of hay. I’d have to assume the platform is made of something other than wood, but it looks like 2x4s to me.
As far as forts go, this didn’t appeal much to me. (I see “forts” as something to hide in.) But I saw a crowd of kids playing all over it later, king-of-the-castle style, so it has its charms.
Chrysaline
Chrysaline at Fortlandia also stretches the idea of a fort, for me. It’s an oversized butterfly chrysalis, made from metal with iridescent inserts. I can imagine being a kid standing in here, gazing out at the distorted, colorful world outside. So it’s sort of exploration of the mind…? I mean, it’s cool. But it’s not a fort.
The Seeds We Plant
Throwing the concept of a fort right out the window, we come to The Seeds We Plant. Not a structure at all, this installation consists of abstract art flats hung in the trees along the Woodland Trail. There might be an implied story with vague flame shapes at the mouth of the path and possible flower/leaf shapes later, but I think that’s a stretch. It’s just art in the trees, y’all.
Fort Build
Maybe the best fort is the one you build yourself! Under the spreading branches of a huge tree are the makings of your own Fortlandia fort. Tires, blocks, and branches are piled around for you and your kid to construct their own idea of a fort. Maybe they can do better than the actual artists!
A last thing to consider for Fortlandia – the forts are generally for able-bodied kids. You have to be able to climb, crawl, or lift for almost all of them. Even these last three that could feasibly be wheelchair-accessible really aren’t. I get that that’s kind of the point, to explore, but it’d be nice to have some options for kids that aren’t as ambulatory.
EXTRA: Phoenix Trail
There is one last Fortlandia fort that is NOT located at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Called Phoenix Trail, this fort is big enough for adults! The curving, triangular structure is hung internally with multicolored ropes to walk through (or knot up, as I found them.) It makes a fun tunnel to walk through and play in.
You can find Phoenix Trail on the Ann & Roy Butler Hike & Bike Trail next to Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin. I put in directions to “Peace Point” park, which put me close by. There’s a small parking lot at Peace Park and is a decent place to park to walk along the lake in general.
Admission & Hours
Admission to Fortlandia is included with regular admission to the Wildflower Center. It costs $15 for adults, $13 for military with ID, $10 for seniors 65+, $8 for kids 5-17, and free for kids 4 and under. If you receive SNAP benefits, admission is $3 under Museums For All. You can purchase tickets online or from the admissions desk near the parking lot. Hours are daily from 9-5, and annual memberships are available.
Events
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Wildflower Center’s most ambitious offering at this time, British artist Bruce Munro’s Field of Light. Spreading across the fields of the Arboretum Trail are thousands of fiber-optic balls of light on poles. At night, the lights pulse with an array of colors, and it sounds pretty cool! The ticket price is pretty steep, however – $41 for adults and $20 for kids aged 4-10. Field of Light runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 5:30-9 pm until May 2023.
There are other, smaller, events at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, such as free daily garden tours at 10 am, sales, and kid’s activities. Always check the calendar before you go.
Bonus – The Veloway
Right across the street from the Wildflower Center is the Veloway, a winding path for bikers and inline skaters only. The 3-mile loop has curves and steep ascents for a fun and challenging ride.
This was really helpful, thank you!