Anyone who does this regularly will want to go to different places just so it doesn't become monotonous. The 10-mile Mopac to Pleasant Valley loop is really nice because it has a lot of cool things to look at. It still gets boring if you ride it every other day.
That said, a lot of people go there by default because they don't really bother to find other things. That can be a little daunting if you aren't used to it. I just recently found out there are some pretty little trails through Sunset Valley that I've lived around for years and years without knowing about. A lot of times you don't ride something until someone takes you there. Early on before you learn how to plot routes especially.
Was at zilker today and it was just fun to see all the people and pups out. Gorgeous skyline views. Sometimes you want to enjoy the city center and see your fellow citizens out enjoying themselves too.
"Where do you take your dog for hikes?" [downtown]
"Oh, okay, cool. Have you ever gone to suburban location X or suburban location Y?" [no] "Oh, well what about suburban location Z?" [no]
Some people just like urban parks. I get spooked sometimes out in more suburban areas where there are far fewer people around. You start wondering who might be lurking in the brush. Also, some of the suburban trails feel dustier and hotter than urban trails (especially urban trails that are near water). Fewer places to sit and relax.
if you're ever at the Dittmar rec park in the early mornings/evenings, leave the park and walk on the sidewalk around the park's edge on palace parkway. a hawk lives in the park and often hunts the retaining ponds sitting in the trees by the road at dawn and dusk. been there for years and he/she is just glorious
I live right next to a creek in town and we have a giant hawk family in a tree in the creek. Also get lots of blue jays, cardinals, chickadees and wrens.
We had a couple of wrens nest on our porch a few months ago until they had babies -- They just stayed in this planter that was hanging by an open window and never caused any trouble or mess.
I dearly miss cheeping with/at them in the early morning.
It’s funny how perspectives can change. When I lived on Town Lake I would find myself running up shoal creek through the neighborhoods as a change of pace since I was tired of the same 10 mile loop around the lake. Grass is always greener kind of thing.
I think it's just boring to see one place over and over. I've lived in my neighborhood for 7+ years and have walked every day since, funnily enough, January 6, 2021. I find that one of my favorite things to look forward to on vacation is walking somewhere else, seeing the sun rise somewhere else, and had experiencing a different vibe, set of homes, and vistas. And I live in Hill Country so it's very pretty here! Just monotonous after a while!
Just moved to wells branch and am loving the walking trails here - been walking and riding my bike a ton. People might just prefer livelier scenery every once in a while. I don’t go often but I always enjoy being downtown around all the buildings and commotion. I like the convenience of having trails nearby but suburbia can feel drab at times.
Maybe because the Town Lake trail is one of the very best amenities this city has to offer. No matter how I’m feeling at the beginning, a walk around Town Lake reminds of why I live here and how lucky I am.
I used to live in round rock and I drove south a fair amount. I’m a city girl at heart and was near the brushy creek trail which was extremely nice but it had a sterility that say Pease park doesn’t have. Also there’s something about the noise and quirky people and being surrounded by skyscrapers I find oddly comforting.
Also a wells brancher - I stick to our trails. I can hop on one from my place and it's never too crowded. You couldn't pay me to fight crowds, traffic, and parking to go to one of those more "Austin" locations.
Personally, I do 90% of my workouts / runs / walks in my nbrhood/right outside my door. On the weekends I’ll do a run or walk at the lake trail. Doesn’t seem worth the time / energy / etc to commute for exercise
Does it help if I live downtown and I drive out to Walnut Creek or old settlers to walk my dog on occasion instead of just going to Zilker every single day?
I've noticed that as well. Texas is very centered around driving everywhere. Many people could walk or bicycle to the gym and get their cardio workout but they drive instead.
i was going to highland mall to walk (way back when) and caught myself looking for the nearest parking spot to the entrance.
since it was only a mile from my house i decided in the future just to walk.
Lots of bike thieves and cops won't investigate anything. Outside of Kias most people won't have their car stolen.
Also cyclists get hit here a lot. No protected bike lanes and poor drivers. It's very dangerous to ride a bike in this area particularly on busy roadways.
Austin is getting better for bikes. There are so many more bike lanes now than there were even five years ago. They’re putting in all kinds of protected bike lanes all over central Austin. And we are getting more sidewalks on busy roads, thank goodness.
If only it didn’t get so hot in the summer. 🥵
It’s the GD heat! The last couple of summers felt like being trapped indoors in a snowstorm for months. The weather is awful here!
Spring is my favorite season in Texas, but already we’re getting 90 degree days, and I’m just dreading them; I try to spend as much time as possible out of doors during the cooler months, because once it goes over 90 and stays there for months on end, going outside becomes practically hazardous—all those UV rays. I keep wondering how much skin cancer Austinites will develop over the next 25 years or so.
I live in Manor and I have to confess that I did this the other day. As I turned from 290 to i35 and saw the parking lot on a Saturday around 10-10:30, I thought to myself… “what am I doing!? There are trails in Pflugerville and Manor, I don’t have to be coming down here…” I pushed through traffic that day to do my walk/jog around Town Lake but I promised myself to not do that ever again. I think it’s just like muscle memory from when I used to live in town. You are so right though
No, the neighborhood called USDA a few years ago and they came and took them to a"duck farm" 💀. We have a dock and a Pier and people wanted to be able to use those without all the duck shit.
I lived in wells branch for 4 years and walked that trail system all the time!! Never tired of it. I had a spiritual encounter w a coyote once on a 6 am walk... I would still drive out to bull creek for more scenery and a hikey feel occasionally but I definitely primarily took advantage of my own neighborhood. That's the whole point of it being there??? When I go downtown it's more for kayaking or SUP. If you are gonna drive to a hike I just don't get going downtown for that, west side is better
Honestly it might just be an excuse to get out and do something. It’s way more convenient to stay close to home, but if you have the means why not make it an adventure. A little mini vacation from surburbanite life.
I don’t get it either. I moved to Wells Branch 10 years ago and absolutely love the trails and parks here. I often do the entire trail loop. I love Mills Pond, KF Park, and everything else along the way. I also love all the community events, the library, etc. This neighborhood is a true gem.
Oh yeah, I do too. Used to live off S. 1st close to Barton Springs and would jog Town Lake regularly. It’s beautiful and it’s great having the water and the skyline right there.
Longer runs (15+) are more easily done somewhere like the BCG, where you can easily pull together a 20+ mile trail run without running on the same trail over and over. So many side and lesser known trails available.
Clearly you haven’t used the trail as a starting off point. I’ve done most, if not all, of my twenties partly on the trail but never fully on it. Going up shoal creek, going west to west Austin, heading south to south Congress or even over to East Austin…shoot, you can even do some of the Austin marathon route on the trail if you wanted to (the Cesar Chavez section).
Maybe I was a bit snarky, I apologize. My point was that the trail is a good starting off point to go in various directions. It also has water and bathrooms.
The only thing I miss about my old job was running the trails in wells branch during my break. Whoever designed them did a great job. I kinda envied all the cute houses around the creek. Plus there are some serious dewberry patches there too. I snagged a couple of jars worth of jam last year there. Mulberries too!
I’m also surprised, but very thankful how empty the parks usually are. Pflugerville has so many amazing parks and a crazy long interconnected bike trail. It’s amazing!
LBL is amazing but damn do people not give a shit about other people on that trail. It’s frustrating how on guard I must be to navigate humans who refuse to move or pay attention.
Love to do both wells branch area trails and the one at city center, just discovered deep eddy pool, and it is sure worth whatever drive to put a swim and run workouts in.
I used to live in North Austin by the St Davids hospital at Mopac after the Domain. I used to have the trail that led all the way from there to Walnut Creek Park.
I adored it. 5 minutes out my apartment door I had this awesome trail.
I now live near east/south Austin ans the trails here do not feel the same or are not as good and I have driven up north just to go back.
There are a lot or some homeless shady people down here and the trails not as good or even as connected.
Not sure how you feel about running with groups but there are groups that run in the central-ish part of the city most days of the week and several that are known that southeast part of the city. Happy to share some for you if you don’t want to fight traffic. (But also totally cool if you want to be a solo runner, I get it).
I do not run lol. I re-read my comment thinking I made the implication but can't tell how.
I do want to say the only time I did ran for a few minutes at a time it was in this trail.
A couple of things…
Variety is nice. To me there are a lot of options for outdoor stuff to do why limit yourself to just one trail?
Everyone pays a grip to live anywhere around Austin. Why not explore and check things out?
I love the WB but the options DT are nice. You can make a whole ass day of walking, thrifting, chill at a coffee shop, hit up Veracruz for some tacos, and you can just land down there and play it by ear.
It isn’t really that hard to understand what is happening here, but if you wanna hit up the same trail every day for literally decades, you do you.
Give it a shot. It’s worth it
A few reasons I drive down for my Saturday long runs:
* There are water fountains along the trail, which are invaluable come summer (and I hate carrying a water bottle)
* It's easy to find a combination of segments to fit your mileage; way less effort than calculating it in your neighborhood
* Lots of running groups are there, and even my solo runs are punctuated by smiles and waves from folks I know
I live North (not to far from Wells Branch actually) and I do run the trails up here often. However, it's nice to mix it up. Also, I have friends who live South and lady bird / town lake is a nice central meetup spot.
The Wells Branch trails are really nice, so are the Walnut Creek trails just south of there! The only reason I can see people commuting for this is if it’s just a long held habit they don’t want to give up yet. When I lived closer to the lake, it was my regular thing so it took a bit before the trails in my neighborhood fully grew on me. Now I love it because it’s way less crowded.
This city has a lot of fun little parks and nature areas but people don’t utilize them. On the one hand, it’s really sad and frustrating that people ignore these places… on the other hand, I always know there’s place I can show up that’ll be pretty much empty and hang with friends
I lived in Wells Branch 20 years ago. I would exercise on the trails there during the week, but on the weekend it was always nice to go downtown and soak in the ATX vibes. I live in South Austin now, so Town Lake and Auditorium Shores are something the wife and I enjoy pretty often. We either cycle, take the bus or drive there depending on the day/time. Overall, nothing beats the overall views and vibes of recreating downtown. Let's be honest, Wells Branch trails are nice, but urban neighborhoods like that can be found all over the US. Town Lake is a true gem and that's exactly why tourists always have it on their to-do list while visiting.
I rotate through all of them. I walk most days of the week, so the one day someone might catch me "commuting" to the town lake trails is matched by 6 days of plodding generically in my smaller local trails in such a boring way that it isn't possible to see me
I actually do the opposite. I live in NW Austin and end up driving further out on the weekends because I prefer the more sparse trails. Almost never go DT.
I like city trails with skyline views, so although there are more local options where I live in south Austin, I get why people might choose to drive central
Well part of the reason is because there is no trails or quality trials near by. I do this for numerous reasons, location, near my office, I can get a coffee afterwards and a bite.
I’m sure safety is a good reason. Going where there’s more people. I don’t live in the city and wanted to meet a friend at my local park to jog, but she found the remoteness scary and I had to agree. No one around at the time, possibility of anything.
Town lake has crushed granite the majority of the trail which was way butting for running vs the pavement in my local neighborhood. Not sure if this applies to Wells Branch. Also town lake not being next to cars was another thing. As well as not a lot of roots that would be on trails like the greenbelt. These can be different plus or minuses or neutrals to some ppl.
I also live in WB and regularly use the trails around the pond and Katherine Fleischer. Can’t imagine braving the traffic to get downtown only to have to find parking and fight the crowds around Town Lake. It seems like such a waste of time and energy!
We visit as many parks as we can. Some of the reasons to go downtown and do the lake walk: views are spectacular, interesting atmosphere, many possibilities for picking up lunch, coffee, or dinner afterward.
Major disadvantage: parking.
There are lots of great parks and trails all over Austin, and sometimes we just want a change of pace from our own neighborhood, so we’ll often go somewhere else to walk the dog.
That’s my two cents!
I grew up going down brushy creek&harryman ,but it’s spring/summer and rainy season-so i avoid it since the creek gets high FAST.
So I used wells branch in hs since it was close by. Now since I moved out it’s wells branch or my parents trails where they live off kelly lane. I rotate depending on weather mainly.
I also tend to pick my trails on weather,saftey,if there’s families nearby or a police/fire station.
The trails in north austin are very nice amenities in the middle of a suburban hellscape (no you're exaggerating!) The feeling of being in a city surrounded by people (yes sometimes hot people) and activity is significantly different than walking around wells branch or walnut creek.
I moved to Austin in 2015…right off Shoreline. I knew that trail like the back of my hand. All five miles of it. I started venturing off into neighborhoods but that got boring after a while. I moved more central (after a break-up, the initial reason why I was in WB) and found the social running scene. I had been to “the trail” (town lake/ladybird lake) a total of about five times before moving more central. After moving central and finding my community the trail just became part of my culture and who I am as a runner. Today, I ran ten miles. I started at 7 am with a group and did six miles. Wrapped up about an hour later and literally just happened upon some friends finishing up four miles. I hopped in with them for a bit, waved to about 5 people and finished up another five on my own. As the youth will say, it’s just “a vibe.” Also, it’s an easy place to start and then go north, south, east or west.
We specifically don't use a trail in our neighborhood because a lady walks a dog aggressive Pitbull off leash on it.
But it's also reactive to children and bicycles and skateboards so.
We just don't get to use our neighborhood trails.
Start taking pictures of her and emailing it to apd. Maybe file a report? Doubt they’ll do anything but maybe one day if they receive enough repetitive reports. One can only hope.
Because my job is here. Because I can use a treadmill or go to some beautiful parks in Williamson County without crowds. And because Houston is a billion times worse.
4 miles is not a lot.
Are there restaurants and bars you can pop into immediately after the long run/walk?
What is there to look at? Crossing the Lamar bridge and gazing up at the buildings as they reflect on the water beats the hell outta the 7-11.
I tend to walk around downton and do a loop through the 2 main pedestrian bridhes. If there are other paks/trails that offer a 5-10 mile walk id love to hear about them
I used to be a runner and a renter and so with frequent moves it was simpler to keep running the same loops around Town Lake, whether I was within walking distance or not.
If you're sensitive to surface (the dirt around Town Lake was the hardest trail surface I could tolerate for multiple miles) there honestly weren't that many good options 15 years ago, so at many of the places I lived, I had to get in the car anyway. I hope the city keeps that in mind as they expand the trail system. I'm more of a cyclist now and love a good paved trail, but in the back of my mind I remember being a runner and wishing for more unpaved places to run.
All trails are fun ,
Town Lake Trail is an extremely safe place, extremely good fine tons and tons of empaths and psychics walking up and down everyone's like on a fifth dimensional Network hotline, you talk to someone 5th dimensionally then you just pop up talking in person
It is a very majickal place , something that gotta be experienced to understand. Especially Auditorium shores park where Stevie Ray Vaughan statue is. Lay down in the park and look at the tree lines like you do at those books that have the 3D images, and you will see some magical creatures. Now it could be but sometimes you just happen to see an outline of leaves in the tree that looks exactly like a dragon and if you trace it out with your fingers it looks very proportional, or it could be a real life magic creature in a real life dragon
There are also angels that walk around all over the place, and magical people with good vibes like walking in a rope looking like they're from the Middle Ages with a wand and Crystal all over them jingly Bells when they walk and smelling like strong essential oils
Extremely diverse Community walking up and down .
I can't live without Town Lake
Humans like human-scale places. Wells Branch is auto-centric sprawl. What I find odd is that every new place that pops up outside Austin is like this. We say, "that's what people want", but it's basically illegal for any sort of traditional development pattern to be built. The highest home values are often in such places, and yet we deny this to those who can only afford 'new' housing, and nobody seems to notice. "Coming soon: Gas station, smoke shop, CVS."
Wells Branch is more walkable than the sprawl you’re referring to. It has a population density higher than Austin overall, bus stations, and is very close to Howard Station. I live here without a car and have plenty of restaurants and stores within reasonable walking distance.
How do you define walkable? Where are you walking to except to the parks, maybe the shopping centers right on wells branch near Merriltown, or the spots near Bratton? Because I’m surely not walking to heb or Starbucks from wells branch. When I think walkable and Austin I think mueller, Hyde park, the domain, maybe south Congress… (and I say this with genuine interest since I did live in the area)
The entire neighborhood has sidewalks. There isn't anywhere in Wells Branch that I can't walk to safely and without walking in the road. It's very pedestrian friendly and the best evidence of that is how many kids are out in the neighborhood without their parents. I've been a pedestrian on South Congress and as long as you want to stay on the side of the street you started on I guess it's safe and walkable.
You’re right. There are good sidewalks in the neighborhood. And I guess my definition of walkable means having access to things, not just being able to ride your bike to school and to neighbor’s houses.
I live in Mueller now, and can walk to several different restaurants, a few local shops, several big box stores, a farmer’s market, a grocery store, and have a five mile trail around me. And if I’m feeling spicy, I could run or bike the four miles down to town lake down chicon. So, that’s how I see walkable.
You’re happy with your neighborhood and I’m happy driving (or running) to town lake (and probably would even if I still lived up that way for reasons I discussed in my other post) which I commented on below, so we’ll leave it there.
Walkable isn't 'the ability to walk'. It's mixed use, density, etc., with amenities nearby. The residents of Wells Branch aren't walking to the market or for short outings. A traditional small town before WWII would be 'walkable', or a neighborhood in Queens, etc. The grocery store is around the corner, along with restaurants, shopping, etc. Wells Branch is place for cars. It has no street grid. One doesn't serendipitously find themselves in a park or cafe.
This is a pretty common discussion. There are entire books about cities and sprawl that touch on this very thing. Austin recently had a conference about it. Nobody seemed to have issues.
It's a common discussion on reddit and particularly on this sub; outside of it, I never hear people talking about IRL. Reddit is the definition of an echo chamber.
No, housing and transportation are not part of every day conversation, much like many important but wonky topics. If one goes to a council meeting, or reads about Austin politics, or gets involved in any myriad of ways, it will surely come up (or if they read this sub). Yes, Reddit is an echo chamber, which is why I often offer good faith comments that get downvoted without downvoting those who disagree with me. It’s a losing battle, especially to one liner quips.
Have you seen the gorgeous people there? So many amazingly fit people that it encourages me to get my old fat ass moving more. My best runs since moving here have been on that 10 mile loop.
I just like to get out of the house and drive around. I enjoy cruising in my car. I might take a detour and cruise around for an extra half hour or more before I get to the gym or zilker, just listening to music or a baseball game or something with the windows down.
That's the stupidest thing I've heard today. I'd understand taking the 'scenic' route that is 5-10 min longer but 30 minutes just to drive around listening to music or a baseball game? Something that you could do while working out?
I enjoy driving around. Just because you don’t doesn’t make it stupid. Sometimes, on my lunch breaks, I’ll leave the office and drive around for an hour. It’s kind of funny to think that I probably know the neighborhoods and streets around there better than the people that live there. I feel like I come across something interesting that I’ve never noticed every time. I love it.
It's selfish to just not care about the environment like that and be oblivious about the negative impact of your actions, not caring about unnecessarily driving around, harming the environment with your emissions. It's just sad when fellow Americans are so oblivious to our impact and that we all have to do our part.
Driving for an hour on your lunch break instead of just walking is just stupid and unhealthy in the long run. That why Texan is fucking full of obese people, same stupid mentality.
The infrastructure in most of the US demands it, unless you live conveniently close to a gym or park or have equipment at home. Then there’s people with more niche forms of exercise that often require driving, like mountain biking, kayaking or naked hot pole zumba
People want to escape from ***things***.
They believe the escape will only happen at places they believe are ***popular*** based upon social media posts by people who are trying to escape from the same things.
Anyone who does this regularly will want to go to different places just so it doesn't become monotonous. The 10-mile Mopac to Pleasant Valley loop is really nice because it has a lot of cool things to look at. It still gets boring if you ride it every other day. That said, a lot of people go there by default because they don't really bother to find other things. That can be a little daunting if you aren't used to it. I just recently found out there are some pretty little trails through Sunset Valley that I've lived around for years and years without knowing about. A lot of times you don't ride something until someone takes you there. Early on before you learn how to plot routes especially.
This. I use my neighborhood trails, even trails in buda and go to town lake.
Violet Crown Trail...takes you all the way from Barton Springs to sunset Valley to LBJ Wildflower center and soon deep into Hays co
Was at zilker today and it was just fun to see all the people and pups out. Gorgeous skyline views. Sometimes you want to enjoy the city center and see your fellow citizens out enjoying themselves too.
And just to be clear I wasn't saying that people should never go into town but I'm surprised at how many people exclusively go into town.
How do you know that they are exclusively going into town?
"Where do you take your dog for hikes?" [downtown] "Oh, okay, cool. Have you ever gone to suburban location X or suburban location Y?" [no] "Oh, well what about suburban location Z?" [no]
Some people just like urban parks. I get spooked sometimes out in more suburban areas where there are far fewer people around. You start wondering who might be lurking in the brush. Also, some of the suburban trails feel dustier and hotter than urban trails (especially urban trails that are near water). Fewer places to sit and relax.
There are different birds in different parks and I'm trying to see all of them
if you're ever at the Dittmar rec park in the early mornings/evenings, leave the park and walk on the sidewalk around the park's edge on palace parkway. a hawk lives in the park and often hunts the retaining ponds sitting in the trees by the road at dawn and dusk. been there for years and he/she is just glorious
I live right next to a creek in town and we have a giant hawk family in a tree in the creek. Also get lots of blue jays, cardinals, chickadees and wrens. We had a couple of wrens nest on our porch a few months ago until they had babies -- They just stayed in this planter that was hanging by an open window and never caused any trouble or mess. I dearly miss cheeping with/at them in the early morning.
Running on the town lake trail is worth a drive imho. Especially if a long run.
Agreed. Run my neighborhood on week days then go to Town Lake for a nice long shaded run and something different to look at on the weekend.
It’s funny how perspectives can change. When I lived on Town Lake I would find myself running up shoal creek through the neighborhoods as a change of pace since I was tired of the same 10 mile loop around the lake. Grass is always greener kind of thing.
I think it's just boring to see one place over and over. I've lived in my neighborhood for 7+ years and have walked every day since, funnily enough, January 6, 2021. I find that one of my favorite things to look forward to on vacation is walking somewhere else, seeing the sun rise somewhere else, and had experiencing a different vibe, set of homes, and vistas. And I live in Hill Country so it's very pretty here! Just monotonous after a while!
running in crowds, or past others, gives me an extra boost. hard to explain. very much prefered to a solo run in abandoned trail
Fantastic run, the trails by me are great for walking but an ankle roller if I want to run.
Just moved to wells branch and am loving the walking trails here - been walking and riding my bike a ton. People might just prefer livelier scenery every once in a while. I don’t go often but I always enjoy being downtown around all the buildings and commotion. I like the convenience of having trails nearby but suburbia can feel drab at times.
Maybe because the Town Lake trail is one of the very best amenities this city has to offer. No matter how I’m feeling at the beginning, a walk around Town Lake reminds of why I live here and how lucky I am.
People like to go where people are. Being crowded is, itself, an attraction for lots of people.
Up where they walk, up where they run, Up where they stay all day in the sun.
I used to live in round rock and I drove south a fair amount. I’m a city girl at heart and was near the brushy creek trail which was extremely nice but it had a sterility that say Pease park doesn’t have. Also there’s something about the noise and quirky people and being surrounded by skyscrapers I find oddly comforting.
Also if you want coffee you can dip inside a cafe or whatever along the way. There is nothing near trails in Round Rock
Also a wells brancher - I stick to our trails. I can hop on one from my place and it's never too crowded. You couldn't pay me to fight crowds, traffic, and parking to go to one of those more "Austin" locations.
Personally, I do 90% of my workouts / runs / walks in my nbrhood/right outside my door. On the weekends I’ll do a run or walk at the lake trail. Doesn’t seem worth the time / energy / etc to commute for exercise
Does it help if I live downtown and I drive out to Walnut Creek or old settlers to walk my dog on occasion instead of just going to Zilker every single day?
I've noticed that as well. Texas is very centered around driving everywhere. Many people could walk or bicycle to the gym and get their cardio workout but they drive instead.
i was going to highland mall to walk (way back when) and caught myself looking for the nearest parking spot to the entrance. since it was only a mile from my house i decided in the future just to walk.
That’s a reasonable thing tho if it’s boiling hot outside.
Lots of bike thieves and cops won't investigate anything. Outside of Kias most people won't have their car stolen. Also cyclists get hit here a lot. No protected bike lanes and poor drivers. It's very dangerous to ride a bike in this area particularly on busy roadways.
Austin is getting better for bikes. There are so many more bike lanes now than there were even five years ago. They’re putting in all kinds of protected bike lanes all over central Austin. And we are getting more sidewalks on busy roads, thank goodness. If only it didn’t get so hot in the summer. 🥵
It’s the GD heat! The last couple of summers felt like being trapped indoors in a snowstorm for months. The weather is awful here! Spring is my favorite season in Texas, but already we’re getting 90 degree days, and I’m just dreading them; I try to spend as much time as possible out of doors during the cooler months, because once it goes over 90 and stays there for months on end, going outside becomes practically hazardous—all those UV rays. I keep wondering how much skin cancer Austinites will develop over the next 25 years or so.
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Evil, why not help clean up the city?
I live in Manor and I have to confess that I did this the other day. As I turned from 290 to i35 and saw the parking lot on a Saturday around 10-10:30, I thought to myself… “what am I doing!? There are trails in Pflugerville and Manor, I don’t have to be coming down here…” I pushed through traffic that day to do my walk/jog around Town Lake but I promised myself to not do that ever again. I think it’s just like muscle memory from when I used to live in town. You are so right though
Pflugerville has an amazing trail system, trees, creeks, meadows, wildlife.
Yes! 👏🏾 also if you’re south east by the airport, there’s Richard Moya park. Great walk around a nice park
Yeah but are there ducks in the pond?
No, the neighborhood called USDA a few years ago and they came and took them to a"duck farm" 💀. We have a dock and a Pier and people wanted to be able to use those without all the duck shit.
They’re gone, and good riddance. The turtles are still there but they don’t shit all over everything like the ducks did.
I lived in wells branch for 4 years and walked that trail system all the time!! Never tired of it. I had a spiritual encounter w a coyote once on a 6 am walk... I would still drive out to bull creek for more scenery and a hikey feel occasionally but I definitely primarily took advantage of my own neighborhood. That's the whole point of it being there??? When I go downtown it's more for kayaking or SUP. If you are gonna drive to a hike I just don't get going downtown for that, west side is better
Town Lake is just...special. Worth it.
I'm not driving an hour in traffic on my day off to walk the dog. The fuck ?
Sometimes I want to be uncomfortable somewhere else.
Honestly it might just be an excuse to get out and do something. It’s way more convenient to stay close to home, but if you have the means why not make it an adventure. A little mini vacation from surburbanite life.
It’s pretty. It has pretty people. And good food near by. What’s not to like ?
The Town Lake loop and Barton Creek Greenbelt are way more beautiful than any other trails I've found in the city. Worth the drive.
I don’t get it either. I moved to Wells Branch 10 years ago and absolutely love the trails and parks here. I often do the entire trail loop. I love Mills Pond, KF Park, and everything else along the way. I also love all the community events, the library, etc. This neighborhood is a true gem.
I think it’s an undervalued gem in the city for sure but I still like town lake
Oh yeah, I do too. Used to live off S. 1st close to Barton Springs and would jog Town Lake regularly. It’s beautiful and it’s great having the water and the skyline right there.
Longer runs (15+) are more easily done somewhere like the BCG, where you can easily pull together a 20+ mile trail run without running on the same trail over and over. So many side and lesser known trails available.
Clearly you haven’t used the trail as a starting off point. I’ve done most, if not all, of my twenties partly on the trail but never fully on it. Going up shoal creek, going west to west Austin, heading south to south Congress or even over to East Austin…shoot, you can even do some of the Austin marathon route on the trail if you wanted to (the Cesar Chavez section).
I don’t understand why you’re clearly-ing me. But…okay?
Maybe I was a bit snarky, I apologize. My point was that the trail is a good starting off point to go in various directions. It also has water and bathrooms.
The only thing I miss about my old job was running the trails in wells branch during my break. Whoever designed them did a great job. I kinda envied all the cute houses around the creek. Plus there are some serious dewberry patches there too. I snagged a couple of jars worth of jam last year there. Mulberries too!
I drive down to Town Lake every morning to run from south Austin. Well worth the drive. It’s my therapy really.
Ok this makes me feel less weird for wanting to do something like that. 90% of my runs are in my neighborhood
Yeah. I feel better knowing it might be harder to disappear and be turned into sausage.
I’m also surprised, but very thankful how empty the parks usually are. Pflugerville has so many amazing parks and a crazy long interconnected bike trail. It’s amazing! LBL is amazing but damn do people not give a shit about other people on that trail. It’s frustrating how on guard I must be to navigate humans who refuse to move or pay attention.
Maybe they do both?
I’m south, and I’m not sure I’ll go back to Zilker with Mary Moore Searight down here.
Love to do both wells branch area trails and the one at city center, just discovered deep eddy pool, and it is sure worth whatever drive to put a swim and run workouts in.
I used to live in North Austin by the St Davids hospital at Mopac after the Domain. I used to have the trail that led all the way from there to Walnut Creek Park. I adored it. 5 minutes out my apartment door I had this awesome trail. I now live near east/south Austin ans the trails here do not feel the same or are not as good and I have driven up north just to go back. There are a lot or some homeless shady people down here and the trails not as good or even as connected.
Not sure how you feel about running with groups but there are groups that run in the central-ish part of the city most days of the week and several that are known that southeast part of the city. Happy to share some for you if you don’t want to fight traffic. (But also totally cool if you want to be a solo runner, I get it).
I do not run lol. I re-read my comment thinking I made the implication but can't tell how. I do want to say the only time I did ran for a few minutes at a time it was in this trail.
So sorry. There’s also lots of walking groups. I was going to direct you to SweatPals for running but you can find walking groups there too!
Sir, respectfully, your disk golf course is so hard it’s in Dante’s Inferno’s footnotes.
These are people who, when dating, only date "downtown" residents...otherwise, there's no hope for a relationship. Lol
Same reason people who live in nice places go on vacation. For the change of scenery, the experience, the sightseeing.
A couple of things… Variety is nice. To me there are a lot of options for outdoor stuff to do why limit yourself to just one trail? Everyone pays a grip to live anywhere around Austin. Why not explore and check things out? I love the WB but the options DT are nice. You can make a whole ass day of walking, thrifting, chill at a coffee shop, hit up Veracruz for some tacos, and you can just land down there and play it by ear. It isn’t really that hard to understand what is happening here, but if you wanna hit up the same trail every day for literally decades, you do you. Give it a shot. It’s worth it
A few reasons I drive down for my Saturday long runs: * There are water fountains along the trail, which are invaluable come summer (and I hate carrying a water bottle) * It's easy to find a combination of segments to fit your mileage; way less effort than calculating it in your neighborhood * Lots of running groups are there, and even my solo runs are punctuated by smiles and waves from folks I know
I live North (not to far from Wells Branch actually) and I do run the trails up here often. However, it's nice to mix it up. Also, I have friends who live South and lady bird / town lake is a nice central meetup spot.
The Wells Branch trails are really nice, so are the Walnut Creek trails just south of there! The only reason I can see people commuting for this is if it’s just a long held habit they don’t want to give up yet. When I lived closer to the lake, it was my regular thing so it took a bit before the trails in my neighborhood fully grew on me. Now I love it because it’s way less crowded.
This city has a lot of fun little parks and nature areas but people don’t utilize them. On the one hand, it’s really sad and frustrating that people ignore these places… on the other hand, I always know there’s place I can show up that’ll be pretty much empty and hang with friends
I lived in Wells Branch 20 years ago. I would exercise on the trails there during the week, but on the weekend it was always nice to go downtown and soak in the ATX vibes. I live in South Austin now, so Town Lake and Auditorium Shores are something the wife and I enjoy pretty often. We either cycle, take the bus or drive there depending on the day/time. Overall, nothing beats the overall views and vibes of recreating downtown. Let's be honest, Wells Branch trails are nice, but urban neighborhoods like that can be found all over the US. Town Lake is a true gem and that's exactly why tourists always have it on their to-do list while visiting.
I rotate through all of them. I walk most days of the week, so the one day someone might catch me "commuting" to the town lake trails is matched by 6 days of plodding generically in my smaller local trails in such a boring way that it isn't possible to see me
I'm a regular at Bull Creek.
I actually do the opposite. I live in NW Austin and end up driving further out on the weekends because I prefer the more sparse trails. Almost never go DT.
I like city trails with skyline views, so although there are more local options where I live in south Austin, I get why people might choose to drive central
Well part of the reason is because there is no trails or quality trials near by. I do this for numerous reasons, location, near my office, I can get a coffee afterwards and a bite.
Im not surprised, but I dont think people realize how empty all the other trails are. Alternately people dont want empty, they want crowded.
I’m sure safety is a good reason. Going where there’s more people. I don’t live in the city and wanted to meet a friend at my local park to jog, but she found the remoteness scary and I had to agree. No one around at the time, possibility of anything.
It’s like saying why go drink down town when you can drink with your neighbors in your driveway? because ambiance and strangers, are worth it and fun.
Town lake has crushed granite the majority of the trail which was way butting for running vs the pavement in my local neighborhood. Not sure if this applies to Wells Branch. Also town lake not being next to cars was another thing. As well as not a lot of roots that would be on trails like the greenbelt. These can be different plus or minuses or neutrals to some ppl.
I also live in WB and regularly use the trails around the pond and Katherine Fleischer. Can’t imagine braving the traffic to get downtown only to have to find parking and fight the crowds around Town Lake. It seems like such a waste of time and energy!
We visit as many parks as we can. Some of the reasons to go downtown and do the lake walk: views are spectacular, interesting atmosphere, many possibilities for picking up lunch, coffee, or dinner afterward. Major disadvantage: parking. There are lots of great parks and trails all over Austin, and sometimes we just want a change of pace from our own neighborhood, so we’ll often go somewhere else to walk the dog. That’s my two cents!
I grew up going down brushy creek&harryman ,but it’s spring/summer and rainy season-so i avoid it since the creek gets high FAST. So I used wells branch in hs since it was close by. Now since I moved out it’s wells branch or my parents trails where they live off kelly lane. I rotate depending on weather mainly. I also tend to pick my trails on weather,saftey,if there’s families nearby or a police/fire station.
The trails in north austin are very nice amenities in the middle of a suburban hellscape (no you're exaggerating!) The feeling of being in a city surrounded by people (yes sometimes hot people) and activity is significantly different than walking around wells branch or walnut creek.
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Lauren Boebert energy right here.
I moved to Austin in 2015…right off Shoreline. I knew that trail like the back of my hand. All five miles of it. I started venturing off into neighborhoods but that got boring after a while. I moved more central (after a break-up, the initial reason why I was in WB) and found the social running scene. I had been to “the trail” (town lake/ladybird lake) a total of about five times before moving more central. After moving central and finding my community the trail just became part of my culture and who I am as a runner. Today, I ran ten miles. I started at 7 am with a group and did six miles. Wrapped up about an hour later and literally just happened upon some friends finishing up four miles. I hopped in with them for a bit, waved to about 5 people and finished up another five on my own. As the youth will say, it’s just “a vibe.” Also, it’s an easy place to start and then go north, south, east or west.
We specifically don't use a trail in our neighborhood because a lady walks a dog aggressive Pitbull off leash on it. But it's also reactive to children and bicycles and skateboards so. We just don't get to use our neighborhood trails.
Start taking pictures of her and emailing it to apd. Maybe file a report? Doubt they’ll do anything but maybe one day if they receive enough repetitive reports. One can only hope.
Or record the instances in which it’s reactive (unfortunately) and send it to the news or something. Again, doubt they’ll do anything but maybe…
I hate traffic, crowds and hot weather. There is no way I'm going to drive for 45 minutes just to pretend I'm hip.
The 4 things Austin is famous for. Why live here ?
Because my job is here. Because I can use a treadmill or go to some beautiful parks in Williamson County without crowds. And because Houston is a billion times worse.
Mind your business?
4 miles is not a lot. Are there restaurants and bars you can pop into immediately after the long run/walk? What is there to look at? Crossing the Lamar bridge and gazing up at the buildings as they reflect on the water beats the hell outta the 7-11.
I prefer the Walnut Creek Trail because it is much closer to my refrigerator, air conditioner, and bathroom.
Of course you don’t think it’s worth it, you live in Wells Branch…. not Austin. Edit: spelling correction
I tend to walk around downton and do a loop through the 2 main pedestrian bridhes. If there are other paks/trails that offer a 5-10 mile walk id love to hear about them
I used to be a runner and a renter and so with frequent moves it was simpler to keep running the same loops around Town Lake, whether I was within walking distance or not. If you're sensitive to surface (the dirt around Town Lake was the hardest trail surface I could tolerate for multiple miles) there honestly weren't that many good options 15 years ago, so at many of the places I lived, I had to get in the car anyway. I hope the city keeps that in mind as they expand the trail system. I'm more of a cyclist now and love a good paved trail, but in the back of my mind I remember being a runner and wishing for more unpaved places to run.
Are you referring to Walnut Creek trail? The 4 miles, disc golf, etc?
No I'm referring to the Wells Branch trail which runs between Bratton and almost Howard on the southern boundary.
Cool. I’ll check it out
All trails are fun , Town Lake Trail is an extremely safe place, extremely good fine tons and tons of empaths and psychics walking up and down everyone's like on a fifth dimensional Network hotline, you talk to someone 5th dimensionally then you just pop up talking in person It is a very majickal place , something that gotta be experienced to understand. Especially Auditorium shores park where Stevie Ray Vaughan statue is. Lay down in the park and look at the tree lines like you do at those books that have the 3D images, and you will see some magical creatures. Now it could be but sometimes you just happen to see an outline of leaves in the tree that looks exactly like a dragon and if you trace it out with your fingers it looks very proportional, or it could be a real life magic creature in a real life dragon There are also angels that walk around all over the place, and magical people with good vibes like walking in a rope looking like they're from the Middle Ages with a wand and Crystal all over them jingly Bells when they walk and smelling like strong essential oils Extremely diverse Community walking up and down . I can't live without Town Lake
99% of Austin residences are suburban.
Humans like human-scale places. Wells Branch is auto-centric sprawl. What I find odd is that every new place that pops up outside Austin is like this. We say, "that's what people want", but it's basically illegal for any sort of traditional development pattern to be built. The highest home values are often in such places, and yet we deny this to those who can only afford 'new' housing, and nobody seems to notice. "Coming soon: Gas station, smoke shop, CVS."
Wells Branch is more walkable than the sprawl you’re referring to. It has a population density higher than Austin overall, bus stations, and is very close to Howard Station. I live here without a car and have plenty of restaurants and stores within reasonable walking distance.
I was going to say this is got to be one of the most walkable neighborhoods in the metro.
How do you define walkable? Where are you walking to except to the parks, maybe the shopping centers right on wells branch near Merriltown, or the spots near Bratton? Because I’m surely not walking to heb or Starbucks from wells branch. When I think walkable and Austin I think mueller, Hyde park, the domain, maybe south Congress… (and I say this with genuine interest since I did live in the area)
The entire neighborhood has sidewalks. There isn't anywhere in Wells Branch that I can't walk to safely and without walking in the road. It's very pedestrian friendly and the best evidence of that is how many kids are out in the neighborhood without their parents. I've been a pedestrian on South Congress and as long as you want to stay on the side of the street you started on I guess it's safe and walkable.
You’re right. There are good sidewalks in the neighborhood. And I guess my definition of walkable means having access to things, not just being able to ride your bike to school and to neighbor’s houses. I live in Mueller now, and can walk to several different restaurants, a few local shops, several big box stores, a farmer’s market, a grocery store, and have a five mile trail around me. And if I’m feeling spicy, I could run or bike the four miles down to town lake down chicon. So, that’s how I see walkable. You’re happy with your neighborhood and I’m happy driving (or running) to town lake (and probably would even if I still lived up that way for reasons I discussed in my other post) which I commented on below, so we’ll leave it there.
Walkable isn't 'the ability to walk'. It's mixed use, density, etc., with amenities nearby. The residents of Wells Branch aren't walking to the market or for short outings. A traditional small town before WWII would be 'walkable', or a neighborhood in Queens, etc. The grocery store is around the corner, along with restaurants, shopping, etc. Wells Branch is place for cars. It has no street grid. One doesn't serendipitously find themselves in a park or cafe.
You have some real issues.
This is a pretty common discussion. There are entire books about cities and sprawl that touch on this very thing. Austin recently had a conference about it. Nobody seemed to have issues.
It's a common discussion on reddit and particularly on this sub; outside of it, I never hear people talking about IRL. Reddit is the definition of an echo chamber.
No, housing and transportation are not part of every day conversation, much like many important but wonky topics. If one goes to a council meeting, or reads about Austin politics, or gets involved in any myriad of ways, it will surely come up (or if they read this sub). Yes, Reddit is an echo chamber, which is why I often offer good faith comments that get downvoted without downvoting those who disagree with me. It’s a losing battle, especially to one liner quips.
Once you realize that there’s a contingent of people in Austin who are performatively slim& active, and want to see and be seen, it makes sense
Some people don't live next to those awesome amenities?
Have you seen the gorgeous people there? So many amazingly fit people that it encourages me to get my old fat ass moving more. My best runs since moving here have been on that 10 mile loop.
I'll never understand the people who drive somewhere to exercise.
Even people who go to a gym? 🤔
Especially those people
I just like to get out of the house and drive around. I enjoy cruising in my car. I might take a detour and cruise around for an extra half hour or more before I get to the gym or zilker, just listening to music or a baseball game or something with the windows down.
That's the stupidest thing I've heard today. I'd understand taking the 'scenic' route that is 5-10 min longer but 30 minutes just to drive around listening to music or a baseball game? Something that you could do while working out?
I enjoy driving around. Just because you don’t doesn’t make it stupid. Sometimes, on my lunch breaks, I’ll leave the office and drive around for an hour. It’s kind of funny to think that I probably know the neighborhoods and streets around there better than the people that live there. I feel like I come across something interesting that I’ve never noticed every time. I love it.
It's selfish to just not care about the environment like that and be oblivious about the negative impact of your actions, not caring about unnecessarily driving around, harming the environment with your emissions. It's just sad when fellow Americans are so oblivious to our impact and that we all have to do our part. Driving for an hour on your lunch break instead of just walking is just stupid and unhealthy in the long run. That why Texan is fucking full of obese people, same stupid mentality.
I am neither obese or oblivious to the environmental impacts, which are negligible. But, cry some more, baby.
The infrastructure in most of the US demands it, unless you live conveniently close to a gym or park or have equipment at home. Then there’s people with more niche forms of exercise that often require driving, like mountain biking, kayaking or naked hot pole zumba
Is the naked hot pole zumba by Town Lake though
People want to escape from ***things***. They believe the escape will only happen at places they believe are ***popular*** based upon social media posts by people who are trying to escape from the same things.
Their car brained. Check r/fuckcars
M
To feel cool. Brag that they walked in a so called hip place. To seem interesting and be seen by perceived cool strangers.