7 Things To Do Around Baylor University When You’re Broke AF

As a freshman at Baylor, I know what it’s like to be low on cash. Suddenly the pizza you ordered a few days ago doesn’t look so bad and you find yourself eating at the dining hall whenever you can. Not having a lot of money can be a problem, especially if you’re like me and have a problem with procrastination. Because lets be honest, if you want to avoid studying for the religion test coming up or the English paper you have due in a few hours, it feels a lot better to pay $5 for a ticket rather than $20. Waco, TX is the perfect place for broke college kids (and broke grad students too) that are bored on a budget.

1. Waco Hippodrome Theatre

The Waco Hippodrome Theatre is the perfect place to go if you’re looking for a classic movie, live music, comedy, or theatre. The Hippodrome has it all! It’s also a restaurant, so if you’re feeling like a bit of a splurge you can sit at one of the tables for service throughout the movie. You can order as much as you like and whenever you like.

2. Cameron Park

Next door to downtown, Cameron Park is full of beautiful trees, two rivers, breathtaking cliffs, and a National Recreation Trail system. The William Cameron Family donated the parkland over 100 years ago and the park has been a center for parties, festivals, and more ever since. It is the perfect place to go for a quiet yoga session with a few friends, a peaceful hike up Jacob’s Ladder, or just to hang out with a loved one at Lover’s Leap. All of this is completely free, but if you feel like spending a few dollars you can also check out Cameron Park Zoo.

3. Cameron Park Zoo

I’ve been to the Cameron Park Zoo three times already in my first semester here at Baylor and it is so much fun (when it isn’t 100 degrees outside). After walking though the front door you can explore the Asian Forest, visit the African Savannah, or go through the Brazos River Country and its 50,000-gallon saltwater aquarium. The 52-acre zoo is the perfect place to go when you have nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon or when you’re avoiding that paper that’s due in the morning. Because what better way to have fun in a new place than going to see Lions and Tigers and {Baylor} Bears… oh my!

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js

4. Cottonbelt Trail

Cottonbelt Trail is the best place to go to wind down with a nice hike, run, or bike ride. The 2.5-mile-long trail is located on top of an old rail line along Highway 84 and crosses over the South Bosque River. Trail access points are located off of Harris Creek Road, Old Lorena Road and Hannah Hill Road.

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js

5. Tunnel Running

Tunnel Running is something not many people who move to Waco for college know about. In fact, the girl across the hall from me – a Waco native – taught me about it. There’s an old abandoned tunnel under one of the highways in Waco that people can run through with a light, spray paint the walls, or, if they’re brave enough, sprint though the pitch black tunnel and see who makes it out to the other side first. Just don’t trip!

6. Tortilla Tossing

Everyone says you go to college to get your bachelor’s degree and not your MRS degree. But why not find both? Tortilla tossing is a tradition a Baylor that “determines” if you will find your future spouse here. There are some pillars out at the suspension bridge. You just take some tortillas out to the bridge and try to throw one and make it on the pillar. If you make it, congrats because your spouse is here. If you don’t make it, you will probably still get married, just not to someone from Baylor. Now personally I don’t think I want to put my love life into the hands of a tortilla, but it is something super fun to do with friends on a boring Friday night.

7. Go see the bears!

Not only does Baylor have a bear as a mascot, but we also have a bear habitat on campus where our two current bears live, Lady and Joy. The 107th Engineer Battalion from Fort MacArthur donated the first bear, Ted, in 1917. In 1974 it was decided that all Bears would be named “Judge” followed by a surname in honor of the bear that served Baylor from 1961 to 1971. The current bears are Judge Joy Reynolds “Joy,” who came to Baylor in May 2001, and Judge Sue Sloan “Lady,” who came to Baylor in June 2002. The two bears are biological sisters and can be seen playing in the habitat everyday.