Overview of biking the Town Lake Trail, Austin, Texas

Biking

Town Lake Trail - aka Zilker Park

Austin, Texas

Town lake Trail – Official Description

Meandering through downtown Austin, the Trail is a 10.15 mile loop bordered by Tom Miller Dam to the west and Longhorn Dam to the east. It surprises people to find out that around 40 years ago, the banks of the Colorado River here were practically barren. Regular floods, common in the Hill Country at that time, regularly swept trees and brush away. The tree-lined shores you see today are result of the stablity introduced by damming the river. Tom Miller Dam, or The Great Granite Dam as it was originally called, was first constructed from 1890 to 1893. That structure was destroyed by a massive flood. It was rebuilt as Austin Dam from 1909 to 1912. That structure was also destroyed by flood. Each of these floods wiped out the great majority of trees that lined the river. The current structure was built from 1938 to 1940 atop the remains of the previous structures (somewhere between two and seven depending on who you ask).

In 1960, the Colorado River was impounded by Longhorn Dam to the east and Town Lake was created. Another decade would pass before the Town Lake Beautification Committee was formed in 1971. The committee included many notable Austin citizens including honorary chair Lady Bird Johnson, Les Gage, Mrs. Roy Butler, Carolyn Curtis, Emma Long, and Jim Pflueger among others. In cooperation with Mayor Roy Butler, they set out to create a scenic corridor of hiking trails and landscaping that would allow residents and visitors the opportunity for a rural escape in an urban setting. The gazebos at Auditorium Shores (S. 1st St. at Riverside) and Lou Neff Point (where Barton Springs flows into Town Lake) were dedicated around this time also.

35 years later, the Trail stands as a testament to the vision and hard work of these individuals and the support of the citizens of Austin. It is Town Lake Trail Foundation's mission, duty, and responsibility to see that their work is carried forward.

Road Biking

Town Lake Trail Review

Austin, Texas

Aggresive swans, nice trail and Stevie Ray Vaughn

by Dana Farnsworth, Outdoor Travels

How do aggressive swans, really cold beer and a little bike riding around a pretty lake while you dodge and weave politely through crowds of people sound to you? If you are intrigued by this somewhat anomalous collection of things, then the Town Lake Trail in Austin might just be the leisure time amusement you are looking for.

There’s a really good reason we decided to access the Town Lake Trail at Eilers Park. Here’s a hint, the park’s address is 401 Deep Eddy Avenue. Okay. Give up? Located pretty much at the entrance to the park is an Austin landmark. A landmark, that is if you are into dive bars. Deep Eddy offers up ice cold inexpensive pitchers of beer in an eclectic atmosphere that could best be described as your uncle’s swanky basement from the seventies – after a flood. Just the perfect place for post-ride refreshments!

With a final destination in mind and a preverbal beer carrot hanging in front of my nose, we mounted our rented Electra Townies (which were well suited for this type of trail) and were off – that is with a little motivation from a few perturbed swans chasing after me. If you haven’t been up close to one before, let me tell you, they are huge. I can’t imagine what I would do if I had to defend myself against a swan attack.

We decided to ride clockwise from our start point. The Town Lake Trail is well loved by Austin residents. What does this mean? Well two things at least. The trails are well maintained and very bustling on the weekends with joggers and walkers. Caution and patience were much needed during the time we were closest to downtown. After about a mile and the further we pedaled along the shores of Town Lake, the more open the trail became. There are a few small hills along the way, but for the most part, the trail’s character is curvy and relatively flat.

Although it seems easy enough to navigate a trail that travels in a circle around a lake, I would recommend the first time rider to print out a map. Yes, in true form we got a little turned around, and yes, there actually is a point that is a little tricky to navigate as the trail connects via city sidewalks for a bit on the south shore east and west of the I-35 bridge. Yes, we rode up and down the bridge access several times before figuring it out.

Back on the south shore trail, we passed the Palmer activity center, and a bronze statue of Stevie Ray Vaughn on our way towards Zilker Park. Zilker Metropolitan Park is considered "Austin's most loved park." This 351 acre park is home to a variety of recreation opportunities and special events for the individual or the whole family. Once again, what does that mean? You’re catching on fast. Yes! That means hordes of folks out for a nice day in the park (i.e. road hazards).

Bob, weave, start, stop, “excuse me”, accelerate, slam on the brakes, “excuse me”, “on your left”, “look out for the tourist train”. With a little effort we safely and politely I might add, navigated our way through the Zilker Park people maze. Zilker Park would actually make a nice stop during a leisurely ride around the lake. Remember my beer carrot? I was ready for a cold one and we were close! After crossing the pedestrian portion of the Mopac Bridge, we found ourselves back at Eilers Park and Deep Eddy. It’s amazing how rewarding several ice-cold pitchers of Shiner Bock can be. The Town Lake Trail isn’t about practicing for a time trial. In fact it isn’t about being in a hurry at all (if you are on a bike). Riding the Town Lake Trail is about being outside, getting a little exercise, stopping to smell (and imbibe) the cold beer, oh and run from a few angry territorial overgrown, fowl.