Shoal Creek Greenbelt Leash-Free Area

Love taking my pooch here. Plenty of room to roam and wander off leash. Never have had problems with any other dogs (or owners) here and have been going for years!

Unique trail. Parked off of Shoal Creek Drive. I was very impressed by how nice the people and dogs were — mostly all of them were off-​leash but all very friendly. There was plenty of room to roam on this trail. It was fenced off for a bit (I think the city is working on a preservation project) but after you get through that part, it’s really a nice park. We didn’t get too far but one person told me you can hike up the hill and see the Capital. There is a little creek below the path and my dogs and I alternated between walking along the creek and staying on the path. Not sure if this is my favorite trail in Austin but it was definitely a nice, leisurely stroll with my dogs and meeting other nice people, too!

It’s an (almost) daily routine for me to go for a late-​night run on the trail with my 5-​dog wolf pack. I get to run and they get to freeform buttsniff and otherwise explore at their own pace (which is nice because they range from 7 months to 14 years in age and from mosey to sprint in speed).
Definitely not as comfortable/​social as Red Bud Isle, but as a UT student hailing from West Campus, the convenience is second to none.

I have two Labs who LOVE running, and LOVE water, and the Shoal Creek Greenbelt is just a few steps from my neighborhood. My girls love getting to go play and explore the area, and I love being able to take them to a big leash free area without having to jump in the car and haul them around.
There are a couple of potential downsides though. One is the fact that they love the water, and I cringe every time they approach the creek because it’s boggy stagnant and DISGUSTING (though I wish that wasn’t the case). The other is the fact that there are lots of disc golfers in the area and I worry about my dogs disrupting their game (they love people and demand attention from everyone they meet).
Also, it’s located across the big Shoal Creek chasm, so unless your dog is up for a mini triathlon, it’s unlikely your pet will accidentally end up on Lamar Blvd with all the traffic. However, if your dog IS up for an occasional mini-​triathlon, really look out and make sure that they are very responsive to voice commands before taking them to this park, because the situation could get dangerous.
In any case, my dogs have annexed it as part of our home and on any given evening or weekend you can probably expect to see us there, so bring your pals to come play with us! Happy trails!