Hikers, bikers and dog walkers, rejoice! The funded portion of the Violet Crown Trail, or Phase 1,  is on track to be complete this winter, with the next small section from Convict Hill to Davis Lane scheduled to open June 2, according to Hill Country Conservancy CEO George Cofer. Organized through a partnership between the Hill Country Conservancy, the city of Austin, Austin Parks and other local groups, the Violet Crown Trail is an under-construction pedestrian path that, at total build-out, could stretch 30 miles south from Zilker Park in Downtown Austin to the Onion Creek Management area in Hays. The first phase of the Violet Crown Trail, which includes multiple different sections, will provide a pedestrian path that begins at Zilker Park and ends at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. The Hill Country Conservancy raised over $13 million during a capital campaign from 2014-17 to cover construction and administrative work related to the trail, Cofer said. The trail also utilizes existing neighborhood pedestrian paths to connect sections. When built, the entire trail will be accessible from other area trails as well, such as the Barton Creek Greenbelt, the Dick Nichols Park trail and trails at Circle C Ranch on Slaughter Creek.

Current and completed construction

The northernmost part of Phase 1, a six-mile dirt path that connects Zilker Park to Hwy. 290 near Sunset Valley, was completed in 2015 and is currently open for use. Cofer said at least 1,000 people access the trail from the Hwy. 290 trailhead each week. In November 2017 the first work on the remaining sections of the trail connecting Hwy. 290 to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center began. The crushed granite path will be about 10 feet wide throughout and will be friendly to bikers and pedestrians, Cofer said. The next section to open will stretch from Convict Hill to Davis Lane near Dick Nichols Park. An opening date is set for June 2. The city is set to break ground in July on a section connecting Slaughter Lane to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and will be completed by the end of the year, Cofer said. Crews will break ground on the section running from Sunset Valley to William Cannon Drive this fall and should also be finished by the end of the year. “We have routed [the trails] with a lot of feedback from the community over the years and we’ve got it permitted,” he said. “We’ve done all the background work, we just have to build the trails.” During construction Cofer urged residents not to travel on the unfinished paths, which are unsafe and could have machinery on them.

Future projects

Beginning in 2019, the Hill Country Conservancy will embark on a second capital campaign to gather funds for the remaining 13 miles of the project south of the wildflower center, said Adrienne Longenecker, Hill Country Conservancy chief operating officer. “We’re already in conversations about what the next steps will be,” she said. “We’re meeting with folks from the wildflower center and the city, which owns the land south of there, so we’re looking at how we’re going to build the next 13 miles.” A finalized route has not been selected, and Cofer said the Hill Country Conservancy will not have an estimated construction cost until a route is chosen. Determining factors could include how many water, road and highway crossings will be needed to complete the project.