Let's Go For A Walk--Lady Bird Lake

I was going to blog about this last Friday when it was a dark and dreary day, but my to-do list got the best of me. Lady Bird Lake and the Hike and Bike Trail are my two favorite places in Austin, and I did not discover them until after I graduated college. Lady Bird Lake, formerly known as Town Lake, was given its current name in 2007 after Lady Bird Johnson passed away. Lady Bird was instrumental in cleaning up and beautifying Town Lake and creating the current trail that spans the circumference of the lake.

The trail is 10.1 miles (16.3 km) long and mostly flat, with 97.5% of it at less than an 8% grade. The trail's surface is smooth and is mostly crushed granite except for a few lengths of concrete and a short detour over city sidewalks on the South-side of the lake. A pedestrian bridge incorporated into the trail bridges Barton Creek. The Roberta Crenshaw Pedestrian Walkway spans Lady Bird Lake beneath MoPac Boulevard and provides the trail's westernmost crossing of Lady Bird Lake.

A few years ago, a new fabulous pedestrian bridge was built at Lamar Street. You can just hang out on the bridge and enjoy some amazing views of Austin and people enjoying the lake.

Lady Bird Lake is the easternmost lake of a chain of reservoirs on the Colorado River. This chain, known locally as the Texas Highland Lakes, also includes Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, and Lake Austin.

Lady Bird Lake is home to the Texas Rowing Center where you can take rowing lessons. You can also rent canoes and kayaks to enjoy the beauty of the lake, but no motorized watercraft is allowed.

The new "cool" thing (that my hubby is dying to try) is stand-up paddle boarding.

The trail is the busiest in Austin, and I get excited when I see couples and families enjoying it together. Even though the trail is 10.1 miles, because of all the bridges you can make your walk as short or as long as you like without just turning around and back tracking.

There are several other attractions around Lady Bird Lake: Zilker Park, Barton Springs Pool, Umlauf Sculpture Garden, Botanical Gardens, and the Austin Nature and Science Center, but more on those is other posts.