The Barton Creek Greenbelt, Austin TX

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to thee: The Barton Creek Greenbelt.

I randomly fell across a “Greatest Hiking Trails in the U.S.” article and when clicking through noticed The Barton Creek Greenbelt made the list.

Whaaaaaaaaaat?! I’ve never hiked the trail before & I live on the damn thing.  Literally, you can get there from my front door.

Say no more – Wafiq, Bernice & I decided to get er done!

The greenbelt is an 8 mile trail right outside the city of Austin, TX.

It’s a wee bit hidden – not as obvious to find as you would imagine a hiking path that runs from the city would be.

I think most people park at one of the many entrances & walk to the water to hang out for the day. Or hike a little bit.

We had a friend drop us off at the far end of the trail & we hiked back into the city (no option to back out).

From what I saw, people don’t tend to hike the entire 8 mile trail on a daily basis.

It was really hard.

Or I should say, more challenging than expected.

The trail breaks in quite a few places, you have to walk through water or find an alternate route. Mmmmm hmmmmm not as easy as  I was imagining. 

At one point Bernice swam for the first time in her life – straight down with the current.  Let’s just say I super hover-mom’d over her after that.

THE WATER – Was crystal clear, cool, and beautiful.

The trail lines water most of the 8 miles.

I’m not normally a fan of bodies of water in Austin because they look dirty.  I was bred in Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes –>  We pick clean ones to swim in.  We don’t go near the dirty looking bodies of water.

{Simply the nature of my childhood: a little spoiled in the lake department I realize.}

I’ll admit, the water in the greenbelt was incredibly clear & clean looking.  Also, a life saver.

Because it was HOT.  I want to say it felt something like 103 degrees outside? And besides getting very lost for the first quarter mile, the water managed to keep us cool & comfortable.

The challenge of the hike was entertaining.

We’re always looking for different ways to exercise & get out to try new things.  And it’s a total bonus when Bernice can come.

We aren’t big “hiker” people so this might be obvious to some – but proper water shoes is a must?!  (Never previously envisioned myself needing water shoes but here we are)

I wore these Sketchers, and you guys, like a miracle from heaven – they were perfect.

Against all my friend’s & family’s will, these shoes come in handy very often.  They’re perfect, they have my heart, and I’m obsessed. There, I said it.

I try to limit myself to wearing them to volleyball, outdoor activities, and now I can add – hiking trails w/water.

I’m nearly convinced I look cool.

(They’re like walking on freaking clouds! AND they slip on! AND I throw them in the washing machine. Poof. Easiest.)

However, after this hike I went straight to google the best hiking shoes for trails w/water.

Below this post are my findings.

I’m thinking water shoes are going to be a staple in my wardrobe? (Have I completely lost it?!)

You just never know when it’ll be time to go on an adventure! Right?!

If you visit Austin & it hasn’t been raining (which is most of the time), the trail will probably be dry.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go explore.  I’ve been to the greenbelt many times when it was dry & it’s still a good day hike: Cliff’s, rocks, peace, trees, water, shade, people.

And you can hike, mountain bike, rappel off cliffs, hang in a tree like a bat… whatever. You do you.

Overall, this was a totally fun adventure. And so close to home?!

That’s what floats my boat in life, little surprise adventures.

The next day we binged watched Graceland on Netflix (so good!!).

You could say we were all a little sore.  Even Bernice wasn’t bothered to go outside to the bathroom the next day.

It always feels the best to have a fun, exhausting day like that…

So tired & content – dreaming of your accomplishment.  (Maybe that’s just me making an excuse to watch Netflix all day)

How’s your summer adventures going?! We’re almost into July, just getting started!

Talk soon!!

Xx

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