The Big Loop is a 30-mile connected trail system north of the Colorado River and the Shoal Creek Trail is the 11-mile western link within it.

Once gaps between the major trails are reconciled, the Big Loop will allow Austinites to walk, run, or bike from the Butler Trail at Lady Bird Lake north to the Northern Walnut Creek Trail at the Domain by way of the Shoal Creek Trail and Red Line Trail, then head southeast to the Southern Walnut Creek Trail and back downtown along the Lance Armstrong Bikeway. The 30-mile loop will eventually frame an urban trail network that connects to numerous other existing or proposed trails within Austin and beyond.

 

Shoal Creek Trail Southern Terminus

The southern end of the Shoal Creek Trail currently connects to the Lance Armstrong Bikeway on 3rd Street as well as to the Ann & Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail south of W Cesar Chavez Street. While the connection to the south end of the Big Loop does exist, ambitious plans are in work to improve safety, access and connectivity for people on foot and bike in the area around Shoal Creek and 3rd Street.

Shoal Creek Trail Northern Terminus

The northern terminus of the Shoal Creek Trail is currently just north of Hwy 183, without a clear and safe connection to the Red Line Trail and the Northern Walnut Creek Trail, but the envisioned Big Loop aims to close that gap.

In September 2024 the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department collected feedback from the community on their safety and mobility project on Rutland Drive, Longhorn Blvd and Neils Thompson Drive in north Austin. The plan proposes to extend the Shoal Creek Trail by 0.7 miles and helps to close the gap between the Shoal Creek Trail and the Red Line Trail! Click the map below for a closer look at the proposed project area.

The extended Shoal Creek Trail along Longhorn Blvd shown in yellow, labeled “Proposed Urban Trail”

 

Read SCC comments on the Rutland Drive Project

Learn more about the City’s Rutland Drive Project

 

On October 18th, the city’s project team announced that, in response to the feedback received, they are moving forward with the planned design, which includes a concrete urban trail on the west side of Neils Thompson Drive and the north side of Longhorn Blvd with separation between people walking and bicycling. Construction along Rutland Drive will begin late 2024 and construction on the urban trail extension will occur spring 2025.

 


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