Austin: Must See Parks & Green Spaces

By Charlie McCabe

A view from the Butler Trail boardwalk, looking west toward Downtown Austin.

If you're attending the Greater and Greener Parks Conference in Austin beginning in Saturday, June 12 and running through Tuesday, June 16, you'll get to see a number of parks and public spaces during the scheduled activities, including:

• Auditorium Shores and portions of the Butler Trail at Lady Bird Lake on Sunday evening's opening reception at the Palmer Event Center.

• Waterloo Park, the heart of Waterloo Greenway, at the Tuesday night closing reception.

A portion of Waterloo Park, Austin

But there's a lot more to see, including some newly opened portions of parks and facilities. At the top of my list are:

Waterloo Greenway Confluence Phase 2. This section of this linear park just opened on June 6th, reworking one of the more challenging (urbanized and eroded) sections of the creek, providing a trail connection from Lady Bird Lake and the Butler Trail up to 4th St. Over 1,600 trees and 200,000 native plants cover over 10 acres. This phase also features a new biofiltration pond, treating runoff from a surrounding 26 acres. (Nearby is the just expanded Mexican American Cultural Center (aka the MACC) along the Butler Trail just east of Waller Creek.

Wishbone Bridge on Lady Bird Lake, Longhorn Dam in the foreground.

Butler Trail at Lady Bird Lake: Wishbone Bridge and Unity Underpass Project. This is a new over water boardwalk that replaces a very narrow sidewalk route over Longhorn Dam. (When biking, one had to stop and tuck into several spots to let other bikers or runners pass you headed in the other direction). The Unity Underpass connects the Butler Trail with the trails in Roy G. Guerrero Park under Pleasant Valley Road. A narrower tunnel served this function for many years but it was both dark and didn't smell all that great. Video of both on opening day. While I'm there, I'm also going to check out the new bridge and dam/erosion control project that was the largest ever undertaken by the City of Austin.

View of the artwork decorating the Unity Underpass.

Barton Springs Pool Bathhouse in Zilker Park. Barton Springs Pool is iconic and will be packed on hot summer days, especially on the weekends. The bathhouse has been undergoing a multi-year renovation and is close to complete, with the locker rooms and changing areas open as of October 2025.

And if you're a first time visitor to Austin, check out the following:

• Any portion of the Barton Creek Greenbelt (be sure to watch the new documentary - Foreverland before you arrive) and the Butler Trail at Lady Bird Lake.

• Any of the great pools in Austin, especially Barton Springs Pool (in Zilker Park) and Deep Eddy Pool (just east of where the Butler Trail runs beneath the Loop 1 (aka Mopac) highway.

• Bat Colony emergence at the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin.

• The Shoal Creek Greenbelt, leading to Pease Park, both supported by nonprofit partnerships working with the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department.

Further afield, but worth considering:

• Mueller Austin, the former Austin airport, is a mixed use neighborhood a few miles north of downtown, boasting 140 acres of parks and open space. You can bike there via Austin's bicycle network.

• Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park. While Barton Creek Greenbelt gets lots of attention for mountain biking, Walnut Creek is worth a visit and is connected with both City trails and bike lanes.

Remember to hydrate!