Gay Guide
Listing and event details can change quickly. Please verify with the venue directly before visiting. Lavender Atlas is not responsible for third-party accuracy.
About LGBTQ+ Austin
Texas Penal Code 21.06 has criminalized what it calls deviate sexual intercourse with an individual of the same sex since 1973. The Supreme Court struck it down in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003. It is still printed in the Texas Penal Code today, because striking a law down does not delete it and only the Legislature can, and the Legislature has never voted to. Repeal bills have been filed again and again and have never passed. That Legislature sits in Austin, a short walk from the bars below, which is a reasonable summary of this city's relationship with its state.
The Warehouse District holds the compact core, almost all of it on Fourth Street. Oilcan Harry's is the long-running anchor, with Rain next door and Halcyon around the corner, and Highland Lounge and Lit Lounge a block over on Colorado. It is a genuine walking district in a city that mostly is not one.
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Red River and the east side carry the other half, and it is the more interesting one. Cheer Up Charlies sits in the middle of the Red River music strip and functions as much as a live venue as a queer bar, which is very Austin. Barbarella is next to it, the Iron Bear covers bears on Sixth Street, the Jackalope is nearby, and the Austin Eagle sits further out where the rent is lower.
Hippie Hollow on Lake Travis is the outlier worth the drive: the only legally clothing-optional public park in Texas, and a gay gathering place for decades before that status was formalized.
Austin Pride takes August, when the heat makes the whole thing an act of endurance. The Austin International Drag Festival and aGLIFF, the queer film festival that has run since the 1980s, fill out a calendar that is busier than the city's size suggests.
Austin's dedicated bear bar, with craft beer, DJs, karaoke, and themed nights drawing the bear, cub, and leather crowd downtown.
Warehouse District staple on Austin's gay strip with a busy dance floor, drag nights, and strong drinks.
Queer- and woman-founded bar and live music venue at 900 Red River St in Austin's Red River Cultural District. Known for inclusive bookings, vegan food and drinks, and an outdoor stage that hosts diverse acts from touring bands to drag nights.
Matt personally leads small, intimate trips to the places he knows and loves best: Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. Trips may be public or private, general interest or LGBT oriented.
The Frances Modern Inn is an Austin lesbian owned hotel in East Austin, co-founded by Vicki Faust. Our goal is to always make people feel welcome. We strive to provide a unique explorative experience.
Unique Victorian featuring spacious rooms, fireplaces, deck, continental breakfast, elegant antique furnishings. Centrally located close to downtown Austin, 6th Street, Town Lake Hike and Bike trail.
Independent Austin bookstore focused on feminist, queer, and social justice literature, plus community events and readings.
Austin-based queer-owned retail shop offering LGBTQ+ gifts, apparel, and community-centered merchandise.
Annual LGBTQ+ pride festival in Austin, Texas, featuring a parade, outdoor concert, vendor village, and community events. Typically held each August and one of the largest pride events in the South.
Annual Austin celebration of drag art held over four days each September, run by the Austin International Drag Foundation. Features drag performances, competitions, workshops, and community events.
Texas's only legally recognized clothing-optional public park, set on the shores of Lake Travis. A long-standing gay and nudist destination popular with the LGBTQ+ community, open to adults 18+ only.
LGBTQ+-owned artisan ice cream company founded in 2011, using locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. Multiple Austin locations; a genuinely queer-owned local institution.
Founded in 1987, aGLIFF is the oldest film festival in Austin and the longest-running LGBTQ+ film festival in the US Southwest. The annual flagship PRISM festival screens features, shorts, and docs each autumn; year-round programming runs under the Queer Spectrum series.
A judgment-free LGBTQIA+ neighborhood bar in Austin, a home base for local community groups and events.
A clinic providing free gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy, for transgender, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary Texans, with locations statewide.
The largest statewide, BIPOC trans-led advocacy, education, and policy organization in Texas.