Shoal Creek flows through the heart of Austin, Texas. In 1839, it was the city’s original western boundary. Today, it is an artery into its urban core. Shoal Creek is an eleven-mile natural waterway in a 13 square mile watershed. The creek’s headwaters spring from the ground in north Austin near Highway 183. An urban stream, Shoal Creek remains a green oasis embedded in Austin’s quickly changing landscape.
The creek meanders through neighborhoods, skirts the campuses of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and Seton Hospital near 38th Street, borders the western edge of the University of Texas, travels through Pease Park and ribbons through downtown Austin. The mouth of Shoal Creek, and the southern terminus of the trail, is located at Lady Bird Lake. A 3.9 mile trail follows the creek from 38th Street to Lady Bird Lake, providing a pathway for cyclists, walkers and runners.
Shoal Creek Conservancy is a proud steward of Shoal Creek watershed and the creek and trail running through it. We engage in thoughtful public and private partnerships, lead fun and meaningful educational programming, and spearhead on-the-ground improvements that make Shoal Creek and the Shoal Creek Trail safer, more accessible, and more inspiring places to be.
