New Violet Crown Trail entrance debuts in Austin near Barton Springs

Braden Stewart, craftsman with Eischen General Contracting, installs name plates on a steel arch at the new Mile Zero Trailhead at Zilker Park in Austin on Saturday, June 21, 2025. The Hill Country Conservancy is hosting a grand opening for the new trailhead from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The Violet Crown Trail and the Barton Creek Greenbelt just earned a portal worthy of their key roles in Austin outdoor life.

From 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, visitors may embark on the partially twinned trails through the new Mile Zero Trailhead at the far end of the Barton Springs Pool parking lot. They will enter through a circular steel arch, stroll along the reconstructed gravel path — now ADA compliant — and linger at a steel-and-limestone Butterfly Pavilion and, beyond that, a raised scenic overlook above Barton Creek. For more information about the grand opening visit hillcountryconservancy.org

A project of the Hill Country Conservancy, a nonprofit that grew out of conservation efforts around the creek and the springs that burbled up as early as the 1960s and '70s, the completed Violet Crown Trail will lead 30 miles into Hays County. Thirteen of those miles are already open — from Barton Springs to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

"This is the capstone of Phase 1 that connects two iconic Hill Country places," said Kathy Miller, CEO of the conservancy. "Every element highlights something about the Hill Country — the hills, the biodiversity, the hydrology and the geology."

Eventually, it will form the northern stretch of the Great Springs Project, a planned 100-mile trail from the Alamo to the Texas Capitol that will pass along springs in New Braunfels and San Marcos. Mile Zero also connects to hundreds of miles of trails already blazed in the Austin area.

"We tried to capture the water, wildlife and wonder," Miller said. "It's the most beautiful place to start a hike in Austin."

The new Mile Zero Trailhead at Zilker Park welcomes visitors into the Violet Crown Trail. The Hill Country Conservancy is hosting a grand opening for the new trailhead from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday.

What will you see at Mile Zero?

Viewed from a distance, the first monumental view of the new trailhead is a formal entryway in the shape of a traditional Japanese moongate. Trimmed in violet, its graphic cut-out hills will, at dusk, frame the atmospheric phenomenon known as Austin's violet crown.

A new serpentine path, designed with landscape architects TBG Partners, cuts through a meadow dotted with 40 recently planted native trees, along with revived cedar elms, live oaks, hackberries, burr oaks, huisaches, red oaks and pecans. Here, crews dug up the overly compacted old trail, filtering and cleaning decades of debris.

"What used to be here was a construction staging yard," said contractor Tim Eischen. "Before we amended the soil, we found old asphalt and construction materials."

Miller: "Now, it's almost as if the old trailhead did not exist."

Visitors can stop to examine a detailed steel map showing the older Barton Creek Greenbelt as well as the newer Violet Crown Trail and the remaining 17 miles of its 30-mile route.

Just beyond the meadow is the steel-and-limestone, wing-shaped Butterfly Pavilion — surrounded by pollinating plants — that will provide shade and seating for nature classes. Nearby, a steel scenic overlook on the lip of Barton Creek sits on 30-foot piers designed to survive a 100-year-flood.

Because this area lies in the creek's wide flood plain, all the elements are designed to filter the predictably violent rush of flood waters.

The end of Phase 1

The $1.2 million, city-funded Mile Zero Trailhead marks the end of Phase 1 of the Violet Crown Trail project, which began more than 10 years ago with $13 million in privately raised dollars.

Phase 2 will concentrate on land owned by Austin Water set aside for water-quality protection beyond the wildflower center.

"It will be a very different kind of trail," Miller said. "Single track, hike and bike, no horses or dogs. A light footprint where people can be truly immersed in nature."

More work is left to be done around Mile Zero. The conservancy folks hope the new amenities attract volunteers to help eradicate invasive species and control erosion.

"I've been here every day for 10 months," said Tim Eischen, who runs Eischen General Contracting with his wife, Ava Sharifian. "Although we had to shut down major work during the ACL Festival. I've been a supporter of Hill Country Conservancy since it was conceptualized. We hoped and dreamed we could do this very project."