Best Trails near Austin, Texas

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Easy hike with beautiful water views. Love all of the small waterfalls throughout the hike!

My wife and I were bored, so she was like, "Let's go to UT, they have libraries, small museums, art galleries, etc. Plus you like to walk and explore, and we'll definitely have to find our way around." She was right!

Plenty of small science and history museums, and art galleries, some free some a few bucks. And the libraries are huge. Some of the buildings are college buildings, but others look grand and stately. And when you need a break, just head over to Starbucks.

The Capital Area (Congress Street, The Capital, and UT) is very good for walking and taking in urban sites. Many cool coffee shops, vintage stores, local restaurants and food trucks- you'll not go hungry. Also lots of cool looking buildings, architecture, art and statues, fenced in historic areas, etc.- good for aesthetics and history buffs. Also lots of stairs, alley ways, sidewalks between buildings, all leading to who knows where- good for exploring. Also (there's more? lol) lots of cars, people, cops, taxis, bikes, etc.- good for...well, it is urban!

Anyway, if you like walking and taking in sites, this is as good as it gets in Austin. Don't expect much in the way of parks, of peace and quiet. But do expect a good day in Austin.

I ran from Zilker Park to the Gus Fruh trailhead. Every trail i run, I seem to want to come on here and say, "This is the most rocky and rooty trail!" Well, I might've actually found it. While the Hill of Life at the west end of the greenbelt is definitely the most rocky part, this section definitely forces trailrunners to step carefully. Besides the very beginning, I hardly had a flat surface to run on. I was constantly "prancing" and "tip toeing" through and on top of rocks, loose and solid, ranging in size from golf balls to grape fruits and larger. You need some trail running practice for high stepping, careful stepping, etc? This is definitely your trail.

And if you get tired and wanna take a break from running, just cool your feet in the creek.

This is the Western trailhead to the Barton Creek Greenbelt, and I dare say, besides possibly the falls (Scultpure falls, Twin falls), this is the most popular spot of the greenbelt. Easy parking on Scottish Woods Trail, and the trailhead on Camp Craft road is very easy to spot. But then the "easy" ends.

This is a workout spot. A challenge spot. Though the few times I've been there, I've not seen anyone on bikes (I recall a kid on a bike, actually), I've read and heard that this place is very popular for working on your mountain biking skills. Lots of trail, runners and hikers do repeats on this hill.

Starting off, the hill rapidly looses elevation. And it continues, for about a half mile. And it is rocky. r-o-c-k-y ROCKY! Crushed rocks ranging from the size of grapes to watermelons. And there are, well, not ledges, that implies cliffs- but there are lots of spots on the hill where asphalt has been laid down, I guess to slow erosion, but due to erosion the asphalt now has turned into two to three foot drops. Warning: ankle twisting, knee skinning, tumbling head over hills is inevitable if you try and run down too quickly. And oh, did I mention there's almost zero shade? It's a very wide trail, but you could try and do the entire trail right by the treeline and get some shade.

But when you get about two thirds or so the way down, the rocks do start to get thinner, the terrain gets smoother, and finally you get to the bottom. But now comes the fun part: you have to go back up. The first time you'll swear it never ends. A half mile's not that long, but a half mile of steep tumbling rocks and two to three foot step ups and, again, almost no shade... it's a beast! This is why it's so popular.

Don't let my review scare you. Lots of people hike this a day, they just get tired in the process. Last time I ran this, I made it to the top only stopping to take a brief walk twice. Then I found out I had locked my keys in my car, and had to wait 45 minutes until my wife got there. To pass the time, I walked back down and up again. It wasn't too bad, you'll enjoy it.

Too many mountain bikes racing make it dangerous for dogs & kids.