While hikes in Austin may not offer the same thrills as mountain hiking, the beautiful Hill Country setting offers many of its own pleasures. Oak and juniper trees dominate the landscape, but you’ll find other species–including mesquite, cypress, pecan, and sycamore–along the trails, especially when you hike near the region’s many creeks and waterways. Despite the abundant greenery, there are plenty of prickly pear cacti to remind you that Austin isn’t far from the desert. Finally, in spring and summer seasons, Austin is awash in wildflowers, including the state’s famous bluebonnets, which are best seen in March and April.
In some ways, Austin is ideal for hiking with young kids since most hikes don’t involve much climbing. Hikes do become more hilly to the west of the city, and some wind through creek-carved canyons, but steep drop-offs are rare. Thanks to all the trees, many trails offer plentiful shade, making them comfortable (or at least reasonable) options even in the hottest months.
Ready to head outdoors? All ten of these family-friendly hikes in Austin are less than an hour’s drive from downtown. At the end, I’ve also included brief information about a few favorite hikes located 1-2 hours away.
Top Ten Family-Friendly Hikes in Austin
1. Barton Creek Greenbelt
This well-loved, nearly 8-mile trail and adjacent wilderness area follows Barton Creek to downtown Austin’s Zilker Park, where Barton Creek flows into Lady Bird Lake. The mildly rocky trail feels surprisingly remote despite being nestled in the heart of the city.
You and plenty of other hikers, joggers, and mountain bikers can access the trail at Zilker Park or from one of a number of other trailheads, including Gaines Creek, which is close to the popular swimming holes at Twin Falls and Sculpture Falls. Once you’re on the trail, you can hike as little or as long as you like! (Keep in mind — parts or even all of the creek are often dry.)
Note: The Gaines Creek trailhead can be extremely crowded on evenings and weekends, and you must pay to park at the Trail’s End trailhead. Zilker Park requires payment for parking on weekends and holidays from March to September. For free and usually less-crowded parking, try the Spyglass, Grus Fuh, or 360 entrances.
While You’re There: Our family loves the Spyglass entrance because we can stop for breakfast tacos at Tacodeli before we hike and play in the water. The Zilker Park trailhead is close to The Picnic, a popular food truck park, as well as restaurants such as Chuy’s.
Distance: About 7.5 miles (one way)
Shade: Partial to mostly shady
Dog-friendly: Allowed on leash
2. Turkey Creek Trail
Located inside Emma Long Metropolitan Park, Turkey Creek Trail is probably my favorite Austin hike for kids. It’s mostly shady with mild elevation changes and just enough rocky terrain to make the trail fun for hikers of all ages. The trail also offers numerous water crossings with strategically-placed rocks so you don’t have to get wet–unless you want to. The trail extends for 3/4 mile before turning into a 1 1/4-mile loop. Once you complete the loop, you’ll repeat the initial 3/4-mile section to return to the parking lot.
Note: Since Turkey Creek is a designated off-leash trail for dogs, no one in the family should mind the possibility of dogs running freely around them.
While You’re There: After the hike, you can drive farther into Emma Long Park to reach the shore of Lake Austin. There’s a sandy beach with a roped-off swimming area between two piers that kids love. While Turkey Creek Trail is always free, there’s a fee for this very popular waterfront section of the park and day-use reservations are required on weekends and summer holidays. Check the city’s website for more details.
Distance: Approximately 2.75 miles
Shade: Mostly shady
Dog-Friendly: Allowed off leash
Address: 1600 City Park Road in Austin
3. Bull Creek Preserve
Info coming soon!
4. Mayfield Park
Come to this gem of a city park not just for light hiking, but also for free-roaming peacocks, a 19th-century cottage, historic gardens, and lily pad-filled ponds. Though it’s just 23 acres, there’s a lot to explore and much to delight even the youngest hikers. The small network of trails is generally easy to navigate, though it does rely on some built-in stairs in steep areas. You’ll also encounter some creek crossings and views of a Lake Austin inlet.
Note: The gardens and ponds can be closed to the public for private functions. This is particularly an issue on weekends.
While You’re There: Mayfield Park is located right next door to The Contemporary Austin – Laguna Gloria, a former Italianate-style estate that now hosts a 12-acre sculpture park on its luxe grounds. You’ll also be just a few minutes’ drive from Mount Bonnell, which offers far-reaching views of the city and beyond.
Distance: 1-1.5 miles (estimate only)
Shade: Partial to Mostly shady
Dog-Friendly: No dogs allowed
Address: 3505 W. 35 St. in Austin
5. Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park
Come to north Austin for a large network of trails in busy, 293-acre Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park. Some trails include access to Walnut Creek itself, where you can simply enjoy the view as you hike or stop to cool off in the water. Dogs are allowed off leash north of the creek, so you’ll share many of the trails with frolicking pups. On certain Saturday or Sunday mornings, you may even encounter a horde of Viszlas on a group hike! (See the picture below–the dog in the bottom right corner is mine.) Walnut Creek Metro Park also has a network of single-track mountain biking trails, so you’ll encounter plenty of bikers as well as dogs when you visit.
For ideas on specific hikes within this network of trails, check out Best Trails in Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park at Alltrails.com.
While You’re There: Walnut Creek Metro Park offers a new nature play area as well as a traditional playground, swimming pool, sports facilities, and picnic areas.
Distance: Up to 15 miles
Shade: Partial
Dog-Friendly: Dogs allowed off leash north of the creek
Address: 12138 N. Lamar Blvd. in Austin
(Note: This picture was edited to erase a person whose face was visible.)
6. Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve
Located west of downtown in the wealthy Westlake neighborhood, Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve offers 3 miles of hiking trails in a gorgeous, 227-acre nature preserve. The trails are mildly rocky at times with occasional changes in elevation, making them interesting but not too challenging for hikers of all ages. The trails are also more of a network than a single path or loop, which makes it easy to shorten or lengthen your hike according to your needs. For many, the highlight of the hike will be the scenic waterfall.
Keep in mind that on weekends and holidays, visitors must make reservations and pay a day use fee. On regular weekdays, there is no fee and no reservations are needed. No dogs are allowed in the preserve!
Note: Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve was founded in 1976 as Austin’s first nature preserve thanks to the work of seven women who hoped to preserve this ecologically significant area, particularly before construction of the Loop 360 highway led to further development. As you explore this urban wilderness, be sure to take a moment to appreciate their efforts! You can also thank them by donating to the Wild Basin Creative Research Center.
Distance: 3 miles of trails
Shade: Partial shade
Dog-Friendly: No dogs allowed
Address: 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway in Austin
7. St. Edwards Park
More info coming soon!
Distance: Approximately 2.75 miles
Shade: Partially shady
Dog-Friendly: Allowed on leash
Address: 7301 Spicewood Springs Road in Austin
8. Commons Ford Ranch Metropolitan Park
Once a working ranch, Commons Ford is now a 215-acre city park that offers rare public access to the shore of Lake Austin (most Lake Austin shoreline is privately owned). Since it’s somewhat off the beaten path, it’s not well known despite its beautiful location. Still, enough people (and their dogs) visit that it can become quite busy in the summer (though it’s nowhere near as crowded as Emma Long Metropolitan Park, which also offers public access to Lake Austin).
There are a number of trails to explore, including some that lead to small waterfalls. Most visitors focus on the easy loop trail that passes through a restored prairie before leading them to a large grassy area along the lake. Visitors can picnic and play in the grass or lake as well as venture onto the fishing dock or use the volleyball net and tree swing.
Note: While Commons Ford is technically an on-leash park, it is nonetheless a popular place for people to bring their dogs for a romp in the grass or swim in the lake.
Distance: 1-2 miles of trails (far less distance to get to and from the lake)
Shade: Mostly sunny
Dog-friendly: Allowed on leash (but off-leash dogs are common)
Address: 614 N. Commons Ford Road in Austin
9. McKinney Falls
The only state park within Austin city limits draws hikers as well as bikers, swimmers, and campers. Located at the confluence of Onion Creek and Williamson Creek, it offers a network of nearly nine miles of trails, some of which are more rugged than others. Hikers (and bikers) can cross Onion Creek at the Lower Falls to reach moderate trails, including the 3.1-mile Homestead Trail, which provides access to the 1.5-mile Flint Rock Loop Trail, and the 1.1-mile Williamson Creek Overlook Trail. You’ll find a number of easier trails in the main section of the park south of the creek. In fact, the 2.8-mile Onion Creek Hike and Bike Trail has a hard surface that’s suitable for strollers and casual biking.
Visitors are welcome to wade, swim, and float in Onion Creek. The pools created by the Upper Falls and Lower Falls are the park’s swimming hot spots, but they’re by no means the only place to access the water.
As you explore the park, you’ll discover remains of Thomas McKinney’s 19th-century homestead, including his house, gristmill, and horse trainer’s cabin. Long before McKinney arrived, native people such as the Tonkawa Indians called this area home. The park’s Smith Rock Shelter, believed to have been used for centuries or even millennia, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. You’ll find it on the easy, .6-mile Rock Shelter Trail.
Note: I recommend reserving your day pass in advance on weekends and holidays.
While You’re There: McKinney Falls State Park is just 5 minutes from Skyline Park, a popular neighborhood park with an adventure playground and splash pad.
Distance: Approximately 9 miles (multiple trails)
Shade: Partial shade
Dog-Friendly: Allowed on leash
Address: 5808 McKinney Falls Parkway in Austin
10. River Place Trail
River Place Trail is the most challenging trail in Austin, but it’s still a great choice for many families since the bar for difficult hikes isn’t high! The main trail is a mostly shady, six-mile, out-and-back hike adjacent to Panther Creek with no steep drop-offs or extremely rocky terrain. The challenge is its change in elevation. If you start at the main trailhead, the first three miles of the hike climb around 800 feet up a canyon and include 2,763 built-in steps. It’s tough, but still manageable for many kids and/or parents who don’t mind rucking their little ones. We have often brought our kids on this hike to prepare them for hiking in the mountains.
How to make the hike easier (besides just turning around at any time)? River Place Trail is actually composed of three trails. The main trail combines the Panther Hollow Trail and the Canyon Trail. To shorten your trip, you can walk the Panther Hollow Trail and then choose the shorter Little Fern Trail spur instead of the step-heavy Canyon Trail. My family has also hiked the first three miles of the main hike and then waited at the Canyon Trail trailhead while a parent (not me) ran one mile via road to retrieve the car.
One downside to this hike is the admission fee. On weekends and holidays, every hiker over the age of 12 must pay $10 by credit card to access the trail. For more information, visit the trail’s website.
While You’re There: There’s a nice park with a playground across the street from the main trailhead, but you should probably visit after you hike so kids don’t get worn out before the climbing begins!
Distance: Approximately 6 miles
Shade: Mostly shady
Dog-Friendly: Allowed on leashes of less than six feet
Address: 8820 Big View Drive in Austin (main trailhead)
More Family-Friendly Hikes near Austin
If you’re willing to drive farther outside the city center, you’ll find even more fantastic hikes, including:
- Hamilton Pool. It offers not only a short hike to the famous pool itself, but also an additional trail leading to the Pedernales River.
- Reimer’s Ranch. This county park is popular with mountain bikers, but hikers are also welcome to use the trails or enjoy the scenic walk along the Pedernales River.
- Crockett Gardens. After hiking through woodlands, visitors are rewarded with beautiful views of Lake Georgetown.
- Pace Bend. Nestled inside a bend in Lake Travis, this popular state park has a number of hiking trails as well as access to numerous places to wade and swim in the lake.
- Pedernales State Park. Located west of the city in a gorgeous Hill Country setting, Pedernales State Park offers hikes of varying difficulty as well as opportunities to play in the river.
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