West Bouldin Creek Greenbelt

I saw this and thought YEAH, a new place to walk my dog until I saw the address. Don’t go there!!! This is a stone’s throw away from one of the worst housing projects in South Austin. Google Meadowbrook Housing Projects and decide for yourself. It is so sad that a beautiful area is full of dopers, transients and unsavory activity. I am not a hater, I just don’t want to read about you in the Statesman…

I checked out this greenbelt today at the raving review of Tara M. and decided to join Unilocal just to set things straight. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit of a country girl, or maybe I should have moved to Austin earlier (as I’ve been told a million times) but I was a bit mortified that anyone could think this was a beautiful wooded area. All I saw were empty Ice House cans and even more hobo camps, including several hobos (most of whom were nice and enjoyed playing with my dog and offered to share their food, but some were mean and screaming about how dumb Americans are). The trail follows the train tracks and the sounds of Peter Pan Mini-​Golf echo off the sparse trees. I never for one second forgot exactly where I was.
This is a great short cut to take from Barton Springs Rd. to S. 5^th, it has a few nice views of the creek and it looks great for BMX/​trick bike kids, but I would never recommend anyone go here for a nice walk in the woods. The other greenbelts, though more populated, are way less creepy and gross.

Limestone cliffs, native plants, hippies, hidden below urban environment. Quick nature gettaway without getting away.

Wow this hiking trail is awesome — right in the middle of 78 704 and literally in the woods. I cant believe I had never heard of this place before today and obviously not a lot of other people know about it since I am the first to review.
So, this morning I was talking to a woman at Auditorium shores and she told me about this place just a couple blocks away. If you park at Auditorium shores and walk through Butler Park to the Dawson/​Barton Springs intersection cross BS and it is just a couple blocks up Dawson on the right behind the Elk Lodge.
I had already ran at Lady Bird Lake and had to be somewhere at noon so I did not get to fully explore. What I did experience was a spooky sense of being alone in the woods and not knowing what Man or Beast might appear around the next turn while taking in the surrounding beauty. The trail is heavily wooded so even in the heat it seemed cooler. And what I liked the most was the rustic stone stairway built into the trail (check out the picture I took).
I only hiked in about ½ a mile and could not find any info when I googled the park so I am not sure how long the trail is; but, I plan on going back next weekend so I will update the actual miles of the trail then.