Walnut Creek Trails – Mountain Bike Trail

The Walnut Creek Trails is an intermediate-level network of trails allowing riders to curate their riding experience based on the trail sections they like most. There are many crisscrossing trails, and once you’ve gone through them once, you should be able to tell which ones are more technical, which ones to avoid, and which are fun and flowy. However, given how they crisscross each other, you may get lost once or twice as you’re mapping the area and end up taking longer on the trail than necessary.

Before you go:

Drinking water

Restrooms

Fee required

Lift service

Fat bike grooming

Family Friendly

Night riding

E-bikes allowed

Dogs Allowed

Obstacles

Shuttles

Detailed Trail Description

The main trailhead for the Walnut Creek Trails can be found near the Walnut Creek Municipal Pool parking lot off Walnut Creek Park Road. If you go through the main trail, there will be plenty of blue markers to indicate that you’re still on the main track. It should be looped so you’ll find yourself back near the parking lot if you stay on it.

There are also “P” trail markers that can help guide you back to the parking lot.

However, most of the other trails in the system aren’t as well marked, and with no signs to tell where you’re going, you can get lost. That said, being lost may be a good thing for those looking for an adventure since you don’t know what the next part of the trail holds in store for you.

From the trail entrance, you have a BMX loop to your left, which can be a great way to get your blood pumping before hitting any other trails. It consists of a flowy section of trail with mounds and jumps. However, you can also ignore it and go down the Windy Loop to your right.

This route will take you through several Walnut Creek Park trails, e.g., the Pool Lot Trail, Point Six Loop, Powerline Hill, Tangle of Trails, and others, as long as you follow the blue markers.

While these trails may not be the BMX jumps of the BMX loop, they are technical in their own right. There are bermed corners, small rocky, sustained elevation sections, creek crossings, etc.

At 15 miles, the trail is fairly long and should take a while to complete. However, given that there’s plenty of shade, it may not be as taxing as riding in the sun.

Also, since you’re in Austin, Texas, there are some sections of the trails with limestone canyons.

Walnut Creek Metro Park is a no-leash park, so while you may want to rip through the trail, be on a constant lookout for dogs. The trails are also open to runners and hikers.

In good weather, the trails are dusty. However, since they’re made of hard-packed dirt and loose rocks, the dust can turn into slippery mud, so riding here in the rainy season is not a good idea.

Sights of Interest, landscapes, views

There aren’t many interesting sites, with most of the trail covered and surrounded by woody trees.

Recommendations/precautions

• It can get pretty crowded on the weekend due to the baseball fields and public swimming pool nearby, so plan accordingly. The mixture of hikers, riders, and unleashed dogs can be a recipe for disaster.

Avoid this trail network in the rainy season since the trails become slippery and are fairly hard to navigate.