With college in the middle of winter break and the mercury in New York dipping below -10 degrees Celsius, it took little persuasion to hop on a flight to balmy Austin, Texas this past week. While it gets brutally hot out there in the summers, in January it clocks in at a mild 5-10 degrees Celsius which is great when you want to not wear 3 layers before stepping outside. Downtown Austin is an amazing place with all the bright lights and nightlife you could want and the low cost of living (and hence going out :P) means that alone is a great reason to visit. Not to mention that it is also known as the Music Capital of the US so visiting in time for the South by Southwest festival is ideal. Quite on the contrary though, I headed out there for an outdoors vacation after being cooped up indoors first by Finals and then the seemingly sadistic weather.

Barton Creek Greenbelt

Courtesy TEXASOUTSIDE.COM

The red trail running along Barton Creek is notable for the many different access points that you can get in and out from. Which is really useful if you only want to do some of the hike, and conveniently all these access points are accessible by road and within Austin itself so you get cabs in and out. The length of the trail is a little over 7.25 miles and the far end is at a place called Trail’s end (here is a Google Maps link with the full address) and we went out there and trekked the whole way back to the Zilker Access point at the other end. Coming from NY which is more tightly packed than Noah’s ark itself, seeing these vast expanses within city limits took me entirely by surprise. This end is marked by the Hill of Life, which is a steep half mile stretch that can either be a challenge going up if you’re ending northwards at Trail’s End or a breeze heading down heading south in the opposite direction as we were. What was striking was how peaceful and quiet the place was, lesser people venture out here than the other end of the trail. As you follow the creek downwards the water becomes steadily more rough and you come across the Scultpure Falls and Twin Springs. This is also the point where you start to encounter more people (and their pet dogs :P) which is a bonus or a hindrance depending on how you look at it.

A long way from NY

One stunning view presented itself in this stretch where there is a stone edge extending out over the creek but there’s a visible gap below it where the creek ends in what looks like some caves under the stone. Might make for an interesting picnic spot or exploring point in the summer but seeing as the water was too cold we soldiered on.

Might be an interesting picnic spot?

Now look closely at the image, you can see a place where you need to cross the river. You could either choose to wade across it if the water is shallow enough or you can take the Mopac exit, cross over on the pedestrian bridge and head down the other side back to the trail but this is probably an extra half mile up and down the hillside. Makes for a great view from the bridge though!! As the river loops back upward, the terrain becomes distinctly harder as you are crawling along the rock face at times with a large drop if you slip, but rangers have kindly laid out chains on the rocks to aid you. It also serves as a reminder that you’re headed the right way. You come across what’s called the Seismic Wall here (#7 on the image), if you’re into that stuff a lot of people go rock climbing here but there’s a warning sign that says if you break your neck you’re on your own so you might want to table that particular instinct.

Mopac Pedestrian Bridge

After successfully completing the rocky stretch you start seeing signs of the Violet Crown trail too which can get confusing at times, so keep making sure that you’re following the right path, whichever one you choose. Google maps can always help you out though, with strong phone signal through the entire distance.

Fancy a climb anyone?

This is another point where you need to cross the river, the sign clearly points where you need to do it but some fallen debris in the center of the creek obscures where you need to go which led to some needless exploration for us but taught us the important lesson that the signs are always right, however counter-intuitive it might seem. This is slightly before #5 on the image so you can track yourself with regards to the river trajectory and cross it at any point before it makes the U-bend.

Which leads on to the final 3 miles of the trail which, given all the other things you’ve done upto this point, is an absolute breeze. In the summer this is prime swimming pool area with calm waters and pristine views and you start encountering houses along the sides of the trail itself within the last mile. You can in fact just come in from here if all you want to do is lounge around in the water to beat the heat in July but you can count on it being pretty full.

On the whole, a really satisfying hike combining a good distance with a whole host of things you need to do from wading to crawling to everything in between. Fairly easy to follow and not too difficult especially because you can quit at any point you want almost, it’s a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.