Lady Bird Lake Trail & Unique Austin Sights

This is a favorite 6-mile route of an Austin local, incorporating some of the best, centrally-located sections of the Lady Bird Lake Trail and passing by some fun Austin sites: an old stone windmill marking a former homestead, the graffiti park at Castle Hill, and the original Whole Foods!

Start at Austin’s newspaper: the Austin American-Statesman—, on the south side of the Congress Ave. Bridge (or anywhere convenient), and run west for 1/2 mile to the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge, where you’ll do a quick jaunt over the water. Continue west for another mile along the Lady Bird Lake Trail, through Lamar Beach Metro Park, to Highway 1/MoPac Bridge. Run north along a section of the Johnson Creek Greenbelt paralleling the main road for 1 mile (this section a solid hill!) to the Stone Windmill at Enfield Rd. Then, cross the road to head back east along Enfield Rd. for 1/2 mile. Turn right on W. Lynn St, and run south through the Clarksville neighborhood for 1/4 mile. Turn left at 12th St., in front of Nau’s Enfield Drug, and run east 1/2 mile to N. Lamar Blvd.  Turn RIGHT on N. Lamar Blvd. to run south, passing the  graffiti park at Castle Hill at the 1100 block. At the 900 block, you’ll see the site of the original Whole Foods. At the 500 block, you will see the present-day Whole Foods world headquarters. For the final section, turn LEFT on W. 5th, to briefly join a section of the Shoal Creek Trail heading toward the water, passing the spectacular, modern Austin Central Library, which opened in 2017.

Add-Ons: More of the Lady Bird Lake Trail.