Onion Creek District Park

Type: Trail	Rating: (3.25)
Difficulty: (1.89)	Solitude: (3.17)
Length: 2.46 Miles	Elevation Gain: 75 Feet
ADAAccessible: N/A	Interpretive Guide: No
Dogs Allowed: Yes	Bikes Allowed: Yes
Cost: Free
City: Austin	County: Travis

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Topo maps provided by MyTopo.com Larger Map

Getting there: From I-35 in Austin head east on William Cannon Drive. Turn right on Pleasant Valley Road and head south. Turn left onto Springville Lane and then take an immediate left onto Onion Crossing Drive and the next right onto Vine Hill Drive. Continue to head east until the road runs into Onion Creek Drive. To the right there is an area in which to park.

The Hike: Onion Creek District Park is one of several parks in south east Austin that doesn't tend to get much attention. The trail here follows along Onion Creek as it meanders its way towards McKinney Falls State Park, not far away on the other side of East William Cannon Drive. The trail starts at the waypoint "Trailhead". A short spur heads straight to Onion Creek, but the main trail heads south paralleling the creek's path.

Onion Creek as it appears near the start of the hike.

The trail here is less travelled and the path resembled a jeep trail cleared by periodic mowing. Since the trail is so close to Onion Creek the vegetation here is dense. During the month of August the summer grasses and brush had grown up to six feet tall, forming a wall of green on either side. Usually the mowed area was wide enough for a vehicle to say nothing of a hiker, though the plants closed in at a few spots. The trail surface is packed dirt, so things could get a little muddy after a good rain.

This pretty much sums up the entire trail. Mostly straight, often with tall stands of foliage and weeds closing in on either side.

What was overgrown were the side trails that connected to the main trail pictured in the topo map of this hike. The official City of Austin map for the park shows a couple of side trails but I spotted more and all were quite overgrown. Not knowing which was an official trail and which was a maverick trail I decided to save their exploration at some other time of the year. So instead my hike consisted of an out and back down the main trail to the turnaround point at Onion Creek.

The view of Onion Creek at the turnaround point. Lots of fish here and what appears to be a car washed into the creek in the distance.

In almost an hour of hiking and exploring I encountered four people, two on horseback. Though road noise of William Cannon can be heard in the northern part of the park there is some solitude to be found. The waypoint "Turnaround" marks the spot at which the trail runs into Onion Creek. The water here was surprisingly clear with lots of fish in the water. Not a bad spot to rest, as long as one ignores the car that appeared to be washed into the creek upstream!

The most interesting thing about Onion Creek is what will be in the future. Plans are afoot to link Onion Creek District Park with Springfield Park and into McKinney Falls State Park. The resulting trail system will be the most extensive in southeast Austin. Keep your eye on this area and consider helping out when trail restoration and building takes place.

Photos

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Log Entries

very average! not great, not a waste of time.
User: texaskdog - 4/4/2010 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour

Take the FIRST left off of Pleasant Valley to Onion Creek Drive and take it to where it ends that is the quickest way there. There is NO signage anywhere for this park but the trail is easy to find. Fairly straight as mentioned. Austin parks lists additional side trails (marked on this map as "gravel pit") which was just full of old pipes and not worth the effort. Coming back up we took the side trails to the right and there is a HUGE tree (takes 3 people to get your arms around it. You can wade across the creek on the other side trail but not sure what is over there. Main trail doesnt go near the creek but the trees are nice and worthy of a 3 for this trail.

My past adventures on the trails
User: Motoman - 3/6/2010 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2,000.00 Miles Duration: N/A

I live right down the street from the trails,I have been riding my small dirtbike on the trails for the past year and then all of a sudden new years day I started having trouble with people who want to be selfish and ugly about me being out on the trails.I do not go near the park,there are no signs saying I cant be out on the un attended trails on the east side of the creek,I do see horse tracks and poop over there at times.I don't leave trash out there,or poop on the ground for people to walk in or around,if anything I'm helping keep the trails cleared,my tracks from riding look like mountain bike tracks,so it's not like I'm tearing up the place.The only place that Austin does have trail riding is on city park road and it's not fun,it is nothing but rock..... So why not share the land or have a designated area for dirtbikes and be friendly and everyones happy! We could even organize a clean up for the trash and debris that has been dumped there.

User: Motoman - 3/6/2010 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 15.00 Miles Duration: N/A

my friend and I rode bicycles to the park as we approached the "leash free dog park" so it say's in spray paint on the ground,so that makes it official right??? not. both of the man's dogs ran up to my friend and I in the street as the man was yelling for his dogs to come back they didn't listen one of them bit onto my friends pants,he had to kick the dog to get it away. Then there was confliction between the guy and us,not cool! There is a playground right there as well,what if that guy's dogs decide to go over there and bite one of the kids??? Leash free dog parks should have a cyclone fence around them like the one at 35 and riverside! For the dog and human safety!

Tried and true
User: austinali27 - 3/5/2010 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.50 Miles Duration: N/A

I live close to Onion Creek so my dog and I frequent this trail. Today we crossed the creek, thanks to my trusty Keens, and explored the other side. If you are able to cross the creek do so! It's beautiful on the other side.

Easy hike but great if you need something quick and easy to tire out your pup!

User: Ollie - 2/9/2010 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 45 minutes

venture off the trail...
User: Zapp - 1/10/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: 1 hour

There is some decent singletrack if you venture off the main trails. You will have to cross the creek a few times (once on the trail) in order to get to the majority of the good singletrack.

Once you see the Onion Creek play ground the start of the trail is towards the creek, about halfway in between the playground and the creek

Noteworthy:
-Horses use this trail a lot... keep your eyes peeled for their remnants
-There are some rocky areas on the trails
-Nothing is marked
-If you are experience and looking for a techincal ride, this is not the trail for you

Roving Wild Dogs, Skittish Horses, Pipeline,
User: Sonni - 7/6/2005 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A
This is a case of Austin's Wastewater destroying the creeks. I live in the onion creek neighborhood. I bought the house so I could hike in the trails and walk my dog. I was warned about the 'killer dogs' whose owners let them out at certain times to run. I learned the hard way when my dog was attacked. I would advise taking mace with you if you walk on this trail. The reason there is lots of flat land that a vehicle can drive on is because there is a pipeline that travels all under the trail. There are warning signs.

Overgrown in the summer
User: Austin Explorer - 8/8/2004 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.08 Miles Duration: N/A
The main trail is fairly wide, but being so close to Onion Creek means lots of growth that sometimes closes in on you. It was difficult to tell the difference between maverick trails and the official ones on the city's map. Things may be easier to find in the fall or winter.

Creekside walk
User: maecenus - 7/1/2004 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: N/A
I grew up in the neighborhood around here so I spent a good deal of time wandering these trails. There usually aren't very many people around here and the creek always seems to have some water in it. Years ago I heard a story about a ghostly white horse that used to haunt this creek long ago. So far, it only seems haunted by maybe a few kids and some stray pets.

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