Beautiful running/biking trail on the east side of Austin! Almost the whole trail is surrounded by trees and bushes and it feels like you’re not even in a big city anymore. Going north on the trail you will go up a big hill for about a mile, but on the way back down it’s an easy ride. You can also see the downtown Austin skyline when you get to the top of the hill.

This paved path is tree-lined for most of the trail and kept well maintained most of the year. When starting from Govalle park, the first 4 miles are relatively flat and good for beginning cyclists. The big hill around mile 6 can be challenging and provides a good workout. The trail opens up around mile 7 when it reaches Johnny Morris road.

Great place to ride a bike without worrying about cars, traffic and pedestrians.

The SWCT is now 22 miles round-trip and is fairly scenic with smooth-paved bike lanes. I have a fat-tire electric bike and have ridden a few times in the past couple of weeks as its location is very convenient to my SE Austin home location. I kind of wish that it had off-road (dirt trail) options, so there would be a variety of smooth and dirt trail riding available.I also like Lady Bird Lake (only during off-hours) because of the scenery and dirt (bumpier) trails with my bike but it is congested and I believe there is a 10 mph limit for electric bikes (at least on the boardwalks, and maybe the whole trail all-around it).

The first 4 miles are easy peasy. The last 3 miles will really make you wonder why you took up bike riding. The ride is 100% sidewalks and very nice scenery. I will definitely be returning

Great way to workout and commute to downtown. Lots of deer at dusk right now, along with armadillo. Do wear a mask to keep the insects away as they can get pretty thick.

Really great 10 mile trail (20 for full loop - there and back). Paved and plenty wide for small group rides. One of the best places in Austin to ride bikes car free.

Summary: Bring water, limited parking in the morning, unfortunately lots of garbage in the creek. Great place to ride otherwise.Details:You can get in about 24 miles round trip currently and the trail is being expanded. You will pass through some heavily treed and shady areas and also be exposed on other parts of the trail. Vehicle traffic is nearly non existent save for the 3 street crossings.Its a great trail for the family or just to go solo and see what your made of.

Amazing ride over varied terrain, super-smooth and well-marked. Get pedalling!

Brilliant paved bike trail. Plenty of shades areas. If you make it to the top of the hill, the sunset view looking towards downtown is amazing.

Nicely paved and maintained trail. Ran past plenty of road bikes. They are allowing the motorized bikes as well now which I don’t care for on greenways.

A little difficult to begin with, but adaptable

Amazing biking trail with lots of shade and an occasional deer crossing the trail

Beautiful but it was too hard to keep a social distance when I was there. Early morning or week day would be a better option.

Amazing trail.

Great ride. See hyperlapse video for a view of the trail up to the 6.5 mile marker and back.

The parks amazing but they really need to update the bathrooms

A great trail, but it is partly closed. Closed at Jain Ln.

Really nice trail. Definitely more suited to cycling as opposed to walking or jogging because there are parts where there are long distances between exits.

Ts a great trail. It starts from the YMCA and I took the trail to the right. Easy trail for the beginner. Hills and dirt very little except the hill you go down from the beginning and you have to come back up. The trail is relative easy. Scenic maybe?? Lots of mosquitoes?? For Sure !!! I recommend bug spray before the ride. There is bike station before the ride for air in your tire and wrench for minor tighten up. The round trip should not take more then a hour, it took me a bit over a hour and I am out of shape. Oh last thing make sure you get hydrated and carry water bottle with you. There is no restroom in the middle of trail, so make sure you planned for that.Overall a great trail to ride and spend a bit time with the mother nature, and get fit at the same time. One of my fav spot for riding.

We did a group outing with one biker and two inline skaters. Had a blast on Christmas Eve!

Wide level trail with grassy areas on each side. This is a good for a novice cyclist...kid or adult.

Going to check it out soon.

Favorite bike trail in Austin!

Best riding trail in austin

It is a great trail for bicycling. With 10.5 miles of paved concrete, the lanes are wide enough for comfortable navigation. There are sections for all levels of riders.This time of year maintenance regularly trims overgrowth as the grasses, trees and other plants are actively growing. You may have to swing wide or duck to avoid them until they are trimmed.Some places have mud built up from rains, and would be nice if these areas were scraped.There is one place about 2 ft square where a fire hydrant eroded the path, but its easy to avoid. It is near the trailer park.There are two roads to cross if you go the distance, but they are easy enough to get across as traffic is not constant.The Govalle Park access is under major renovations so you park in a nearby field up the street and cross a pedestrian bridge.

Great place for biking. Wish there was a better bathroom situation. Bathrooms were locked, had to use the port o potties that hadnt been serviced in a good while.

Good trail but could use some cleaning on the off road areas.

I ride this trail on most mornings. Just challenging enough to get a good workout. This is an invaluable resource for active Eastsiders and the wildlife and foliage make each ride special.

Love to ride the SWCT. Beautiful views and peaceful. Most trail users are friendly and never encounter unleashed dogs which can be troublesome for cyclists. Awesome trail for hikers, runners and cyclists.

Smooth concrete trail. Casual riders may want to stay between mile markers 0 to 5. The trail does climb but nothing most people can’t handle.

Great bike, walking, running or skating trail. Concrete. 10 miles one way allows for a great workout! Excellent. Well be back!

Excellent ride, kinda brutal on the way out but worth it.

Great trail. Plenty of room for cycling and walking.

That trail is a doozie if youre not used to riding all the time. The hills are pretty gnarly but once you get to the top right of the big hill at sunset, its beautiful!

Nice shaded path

This biking and hiking trail is a gem in Austin. It is probably the longest dedicated bike trail in Austin. 10 mile straight. And a few extra miles of connecting other trails.The trail is very well maintained and clean.Many beautiful bridges with soothing water sound passing below it.The trail is also quiete wide and so it is comfortably shared by bikers and walkers.And the lane division is marked for the entire stretch.For the entire 10 mile stretch you actually have to cross a road only twice towards the end.Going north it is slightly uphill.

I love the Southern Walnut Creek paved bike path. Typically I feel very safe on my road bike when alone. Today, I was at the 6 mile marker out towards Decker Lane, and saw a very large bobcat crossing the trail. It was fairly early and there was no other bike traffic. This scared me, and I turned back. Always best to cycle with someone else. I have seen deer and other small wildlife, but was very shocked and surprised when this cat hopped out onto the trail. I called Texas Parks and Wildlife and they verified that yes, we have bobcats in the area. They say they are not aggressive, but this cat was easily 25-30 lbs and large. Be careful out there.

Great paved trail, mostly shaded. Good for older kids (8 and up). Not too crowded but watch going around curves too fast.

I love this place! Isolated from traffic and fully integrated with nature!

Nice bike trail for safe and leisurely ride. Eat a Dans burger afterwards, as a reward! :)

The bike trail is awesome!

Great paved bike trail. Plenty of turns, hills, and scenery. Even when its crowded, the trail is plenty wide for traffic and passing. Best part is its entirely off street, so no motor traffic to worry about.

What a great place to explore! Fun safe trail designed specifically with bikes in mind! A few years ago, I was hit by a car on my bike and have since had reservations about getting back on the streets. This paved trail through the hill country is a fantastic safe alternative. I can ride as fast or slow as I want with little interruption from vehicle traffic. Its a safe space for bikes and talents of all kind. Anyone out there afraid or nervous about street riding should definitely give it a try. We need more trails like this everywhere in Austin to make it safe for the people who enjoy bike rides without the fear of being ran over.

Great place to ride without having to worry about traffic

Good trail to take kids for a ride. There is a bike tool station at trailhead.

Great trail for running or biking. It is really long so thats great .

Interesting change of scenery from the average Austin trail.

Great bike trail.

Great customer service

This is my favorite trail in Austin. Theres no automobile traffic to speak of except for a few road crossings. Even on a busy day, the 10 mile trail is still pretty roomy.

Super dope

Amazing trail. Perfect for biking.Biggest con is there is a metric sh**-ton of mosquitoes. not joking, it’s horrific. In places they will completely cover you. Mosquito spray isn’t enough. It’s absurd. Mosquitos like I’ve never experienced and I’m from Mississippi.On a bike it’s not a big deal since you’ll be moving fast enough to ignore them. Walking or with kids? Be very mindful. There’s a stretch around the 3.5 mile mark where we had to pick up our kids and sprint for a quarter mile.After the ymca (4.5 miles I think) they’re mostly gone.MosquitosMosquitosMosquitosBut an absolutely amazing bike trail.

Great ride, well maintained bike path.

Great placeWe will be back

Awesome! Best cycling trail I have ever ridden!

Best (and only) place to bike SAFELY in Austin

It sucks trap everywhere

Good

Very good

Great bike trail