Zero Mile Marker

Every Saturday morning at 7am, I’m most likely to be found with about 40 other early birds from Al’s Ship of Fools and Austin Runners Club at the Zero Mile Marker trailhead for the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-​and-​Bike Trail (remembered by longtime Austinites as the Town Lake Trail). I *love* starting my downtown trail runs here for a few reasons:
– Free 2 hour parking in the adjacent lot or out on Riverside. Since it’s time limited, people are often leaving to free up spots.
– Clean (for parks) restrooms with soap and TP in stock, plus water fountains outside. Maybe I have good luck here because I’m always visiting early in the morning, but I’ve yet to encounter a horrific scene in there.
– Squishy surface outdoor gym overlooking the lake and downtown. I like to use this area for post-​run stretching, chatting with other sweaty people, and watching the happy pups play in the nearby off leash area. You’ll see plenty of runners stop here & do a mid-​run body weight workout, too.
– Easy entry to the east side of our jewel of a downtown trail system. Most runners seem to start at The Rock under Mopac (near Austin High School), and use South First Street as their turn-​around spot. They are missing out! The east side of the trail (which includes the new south shore Boardwalk and the simply gorgeous tree-​lined north shore east of IH 35) tends to have half as many runners/​walkers/​bikers, so more possibility for serenity & personal space.
Special events at Auditorium Shores sometimes necessitate the closure of this trailhead, so be sure to check the City of Austin event calendar
for those dates & times.
FYI, there are several other Unilocal pages for individual destinations of interest along the 10 mile Ann and Roy Butler Hike-​and-​Bike Trail loop around Lady Bird Lake (aka Town Lake). Here are a few, shown in order east or west from the zero:
General
East
West