Zilker Nature Preserve

Took my 5 and 7 year old and the loved it. Best thing it’s free but you can donate. Good family outing with nature.

Loved running this trail. Scenic and engaging and rather populated since the weather has been so nice. Then went kayaking later in the day and it was a lot of fun and relaxing.

Like a mini zoo, sorry, without the elephants. There’s a central pond fed by a small creek and frequented by various birds, all bathing, frolicking, acting tough. Nearby, there’s a circle of cages housing rescued small wild-​life like bobcats, foxes and ducks and completing the reserve is a large sand-​covered play area for the kiddies, all well laid out to make the reserve look larger than it really is. I especially liked the pond, a nice place to sit and read a book, if you don’t mind the low roar of th nearby highway (really muffled and easy to block out, but one reason for 4 stars instead of 5).

Not the kind of preserve you would expect from a state like California but considering that you are still in Texas? It is a pretty nice little preservation of nature. There is no sea life, or mountainous animals, or a gazzillion different species of birds and amphibians but it is really quiet and nice. It has good walking areas that seem to be safe yet tucked away in a little piece of serenity.

FIVE star free fun and eye candy for all ages

Very very cool place to hang out at. Please DO NOT bring your pets. They are planting new flora fauna and don’t need all that trampled on. Also do not need the animals and insects that reside there to be scared off. Very quite place except for the sound of Mopac near by. Please do not ruin it with dog poop smell and noise.

Is there anything better than wild Central Texas? It’s easy to feel lost out there, but that’s the nice thing about being in town. You’re going to get to an edge soon enough. If you enjoy meandering in the woods, this is a great place to walk around.

Zilker Nature Preserve used to include all of Zilker Park before Mopac existed now it is about 65 acres. The main trail head is located at the curve in Barton Springs Rd under and just west of Mopac. The closest parking is under Mopac or you can park at Zilker Park and hike to the trail head as we did.
There is a sign that says «no pets» but there is no one there to enforce it in fact we did not see a single person during our hike. We started our hike through the dried up creek bed and ended up just south of Town Lake on the west side of Mopac. There are some awesome ferns growing out of the sides of the creek bed and don’t miss the spectacular views of downtown from the overlook trail.
We ended our hike with a dip in Town Lake er Lady Bird Lake and highly suggest it in this heat.