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A great day trip to explore the swimming holes, scenery, and rock climbing areas of lower Barton Creek Greenbelt.


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Map Key

7.8

Miles

12.5

KM

100%

Runnable

564' 172 m

High

487' 148 m

Low

167' 51 m

Up

167' 51 m

Down

1%

Avg Grade (0°)

4%

Max Grade (2°)

Dogs Leashed

Features River/Creek · Swimming · Views · Wildflowers

Overview

This is great day trip to explore the swimming holes, scenery, and rock climbing areas of lower Barton Creek greenbelt area.

This run is a fun and practical way to experience the entire Barton Creek greenbelt system as well as the scenic downtown Austin trails that continue off from the greenbelt through Barton Springs, Zilker Park, and the Shoal Creek downtown section. If you have already done the downtown day trip around Lady Bird Lake Trail, then this route will take you deeper into the Austin greenbelt experience.

Need to Know

Start early. Bring sunblock. Bring food or eat before you head out, and bring plenty of hydration as you won't find much along the way.

Description

For this trip you'll park just off the Spyglass Drive and Barton Skyway crossing. You'll see the trailhead for the Barton Creek Greenbelt Access Trail just across the street from Taco Deli (which, by the way, is a great locals taco stand!).

Along the greenbelt, there are a ton of nice spots to rest and even try some basic rock climbing if that's your interest. The highlight of this route is at the halfway turn-around point where you arrive at the Barton Creek Falls and sculptured rocks area. This one of the most popular locals spots around in the summer or whenever the water is up.

The run itself is pretty straightforward, and this route allows you to access the Barton Creek Falls without having to deal with the heavy traffic and often over-crowded upper trails near the falls themselves... this is the experts back way into the falls!

As with most trails and runs around Austin, this is a very dog friendly/fun route.

Contacts

Land Manager: Hill Country Conservancy

Shared By:

Donovan Acker

Trail Ratings

  4.4 from 8 votes

#2666

Overall
  4.4 from 8 votes
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Recommended Route Rankings

#33

in Texas

#2,666

Overall
18 Views Last Month
4,025 Since Sep 6, 2017
Intermediate Intermediate

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Photos

Barton Creek is lots of fun. Keep a good eye on your dogs and kids when playing the little waterfalls :)
Aug 28, 2017 near Rolling…, TX
So much fun exploring Barton Creek!
Aug 28, 2017 near Rolling…, TX
Beautiful views like this are along almost the whole trail.
May 4, 2016 near Rolling…, TX
This is cool sculptured rocks area where the water flows over just before going down the waterfalls in the background.
Aug 28, 2017 near Rolling…, TX
Can't beat Barton Creek for splashing around on a warm day ! It is always better on the weekdays.
Aug 28, 2017 near Rolling…, TX
1....2....3.... JUMP ! It's only about 10 feet deep (at this water level) and just a few stokes to get back to shallows.
Aug 28, 2017 near Rolling…, TX

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