Cycling in Austin

Neighborhood Streets are generally very safe places to ride your bike. If you live in a suburban environment and aren’t on a major thoroughfare, your own neighborhood is probably a good choice for riding. If you live in a more urban environment, it will be worth looking into designated bike lanes and corridors, or automobile-free trails.

Emma Long Metropolitan Park (all trail) has a dedicated motocross trail. It is pretty technical, so if you’re a beginner, be careful. Over the years it has become more popular as a mountain bike destination, but remember motorcycles have the right-of-way, if they are there. This trail is also one-way. Be sure to check the direction before you start riding.

Barton Creek Greenbelt (all trail) is probably the city’s most popular trail system for all types of recreation. The trailhead connects to the rest of the Butler Hike and Bike trail at the western end of the Barton Springs parking lot. After that there are access points at Spyglass Drive, Homedale Drive behind Barton Hills Elementary, Gus Fruh on Barton Hills Drive, 360 Trail where 360 crosses Barton Creek, Violet Crown near Specs on the Highway 290 access road, the southwest end of the Mopac Mobility Bike and Pedestrian bridge on the Mopac access road near Best Buy, Twin Falls Trailhead on the Mopac frontage road south of 360, Hill of Life access in Woods of Westlake on 360. These trails range from easy to more challenging technically. Here is a link to the Austin Parks Foundation website for the Barton Creek Greenbelt.

Ladybird Lake Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail (mixed crushed granite, paved) is a great resource in the heart of the city. It is both a paved and crushed granite trail system that wraps Ladybird Lake with a significant portion of “boardwalk” suspended above the water that runs from The Austin American Statesman grounds to International Shores. It is a very easy trail to ride technically and one can put in many miles without being forced to share the road with automobiles. If you’re just getting started, this is a good place to ride. Here is a link to the Trail Foundation website. There is a full description of the trail system, its history and maps. It’s important to note that the City of Austin has limited park parking at this time and that the trail is limited to one way travel at this time. Signs are posted daily to let people know which direction they must travel. This directional restriction does not apply to bridges.

Lance Armstrong Bikeway (paved) is an entirely paved path that runs across town from east to west, through downtown. If you were to continue riding east past the Pleasant Valley beyond the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail, you can ride all the way through Roy Guerrero Park. On the east end of Guerrero Park you can enter the old Hwy 183 through truss bridge over the Colorado River. The Lance Armstrong Bikeway begins there. It is a combination of separate paved bikeways and dedicated bike lanes on city roads. It travels from there along Levander Loop, East 5th Street, East 4th Street and 3rd Street through downtown. After crossing Shoal Creek, it joins the Shoal Creek Greenbelt for a short stretch south and then heads west along Cesar Chavez St. From there it loops under Cesar Chavez and passes around Austin High School. It terminates at the intersection of Veterans Drive and Lake Austin Blvd. just west of Mopac. However, you can keep heading west! Lake Austin Blvd. has a bike lane that continues west.

Shoal Creek Trail (paved, crushed granite) is an extensive mixed trail system that begins at the mouth of Shoal Creek on Lady Bird Lake. It begins as a paved greenbelt trail along Shoal Creek. It runs along the creek separated from roadways until 31st St. near St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. After a short section back alongside the creek between 34th and 38ith Streets, the trail follows Shoal Creek Blvd. with dedicated bike lanes. The trails terminus is just north of Hwy 183 at the headwaters of Shoal Creek. This is one of the city’s major north/south bike routes. For maps and information here’s a link to the Shoal Creek Conservancy website.

Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park (trail) is a large mountain bike destination with trails managed and maintained by volunteer labor from groups like Austin Ridge Riders. There are miles of trails weaving throughout this park with varying degrees of difficulty. The trails here are mostly dirt, unlike the rocky trails of West Austin.

Southern Walnut Creek Trail (paved) is a 10+ mile trail completely separated from traffic. Along its entire length, riders must cross a road only three times. The trail is paved and often shaded. It runs along Boggy and Walnut Creek. It begins at Govalle Neighborhood Park and terminates at the northeastern tip of Walter E. Long Metropolitan park. This is a great trail for young and beginner riders, but experienced cyclists can enjoy it too.

Circle C Metropolitan Park on Slaughter Creek & The Veloway (crushed granite, paved) are two separate, but connected trails in Southwest Austin. Circle C park has several miles of improved, crushed granite trails that are easy to ride. You can access Circle C trails on Vinemont Dr., Escarpment Blvd., La Crosse Ave. The Veloway is a paved, dedicated bikeway and inline skating trail, no

45 SW Trail (paved) is a wide paved trail with educational displays scattered along its length. It is a relatively new trail system that runs along the stretch of Texas 45 from 1626 near Buda to the intersection of Escarpment Blvd., but you don’t have to stop there. Escarpment Blvd. has a dedicated bike lane that runs north from there all the way to William Cannon Dr.

Online Resources

Austin Ridge Riders is an Austin area mountain biking organization.
Austintexas.gov city biking information, including bike route maps.
Bicycle Rider Routes is an open source website that allows Austin riders to contribute to information about dedicated routes and trails for bikes. It gives descriptions about how comfortable and safe different routes are around town, provided by cyclists.
Googlemaps Bike Routes can be found if you go to Googlemaps, click on the menu in the top left corner and select Bicycling. It will highlight dedicated bike routes throughout the city.

Many bikes shops are open right now for service or curbside sales.  If you need some work done on your bike, or you’ve discovered you and your family have outgrown your bikes, you don’t have to wait to remedy that problem.

If you have questions, or need suggestions about bikes, or where to ride them, feel free to contact me at cperry@sstx.org.