My favorite spot in the whole Austin area might just be St. Edwards Park. It’s an 80-acre park that runs along Bull Creek and can be accessed via Spicewood Springs Road just west of 360. It’s a great area for hiking, wading, swimming and simply taking in nature in a pretty solitary fashion.
Check out our slideshow of St. Edwards Park.
St. Edwards Park has just under three miles of hiking trails, most of which crisscross each other throughout the park. From the main parking area on Spicewood Springs, you can go right from the trailhead to follow Bull Creek upstream on the Creek Trail, or you can go left on the Hill Trail, to cross the creek and hike up a rocky bluff that overlooks this watery paradise, eventually crossing back across the creek.
I imagine during wildflower season, the Creek Trail is really beautiful. It takes you through a wide open stretch that's probably dotted with blooms in the spring, and then along the creek for a while until you reach the trail end and have to turn around. There are several spots along this trail to wade into the creek, and at least a couple of places (including one with a rope swing) that are great for swimming.
The only bad thing about the Creek Trail is that the park narrows as you walk further upstream and eventually takes you really close to Spicewood Springs Road. The noise from the traffic and the litter that covers any area bordering a street is pretty off-putting. In addition to the Sonic cups and McDonald’s bags, there was actually one area where someone had dumped a few gallons of paint. Sad stuff from lazy, uncaring people.
The Hill Trail is the one I would recommend. The Hill Trail crosses Bull Creek in two spots. One is a man-made barrier to keep the creek from flooding the road that turns into a waterfall when the creek is running. There’s a gap you have to make a little leap over, and when you reach the other side, erosion has sort of eaten the trail, so it’s slick and steep. We call it “where that guy fell that one time” because one time we saw a guy fall there. The other area to cross is a bridge made of well-placed stepping stones that sometimes sit underwater. When we went recently (mid July), I simply took my shoes off and waded across.
Once you cross the creek, you go up about 50 feet, where the trail levels off and eventually splits. You can hike throughout this higher part of the park or stay near the bluff. You’ll end up in the same place either way, which is where you go back down and cross the creek again (when the creek is running, this is another great wading spot). On this side of the watercourse, the trail is flat and there are several spots to creek-gaze.
While hiking the Hill Trail, we came across one little stream that was coming down the hill and trickling off a 25-foot drop. Once on the other side of the creek, we found this little grotto and spent our post-hike afternoon in it. A rocky bluff and trickling waterfall on one side, overhanging trees on the other side, and Bull Creek, clear and cool, in between.
What a perfect afternoon, sitting in our pink inflatable floats, listening to the tinkling of the dripping waterfall, with the sun warming our faces and sunfish occasionally nibbling our butts. It was quiet and peaceful and everything you could want out of a creek, and only a 15-minute drive from our North-Central Austin house.
Enjoy a video vist to St. Edward's Park below.
