Walking Austin's Neon Wilderness

This 6.5-mile walk traverses Austin’s east side neighborhoods of Rosewood and MLK– areas which became predominantly Black after the city's 1928 segregation plan forced residents out of west-side neighborhoods, and where gentrification has displaced residents again in recent decades. Our route passes by Madison Cabin (home of Austin’s first Black city councilman), Downs Field (Negro League ball field), and three historic cemeteries: Evergreen (where civic leaders such as Willie Mae Kirk are buried), Bethany, and Plummers.

This is not a history tour, but I hope the walk will pique our interest in learning about these landmarks. To engage more directly with MLK day and the area’s rich history, I encourage you to join me at the free, family-friendly MLK Community Festival at Huston-Tillotson immediately following the walk, where we can find food vendors and learn more about the neighborhoods we’ll walk through.

TRANSIT LOGISTICS:

• 10 AM start, on our Fall/Winter schedule
• We’ll meet alongside the parking lot by Doris Miller Auditorium in Rosewood Neighborhood Park
• There’s a small parking lot at Rosewood Neighborhood Park, but an abundance of street parking just west of the park between Rosewood and 12th. SpotAngels should be helpful here.
• Official walk map

This 8 mile one-way walk, adapted from last year’s Shoal Creek Boulevard walk, begins at Beverly Sheffield Park and follows Shoal Creek all the way to its terminus at Town Lake. This time we’ll focus more on greenbelts and parks, extending the walk south through Pease Park and Duncan Neighborhood Park.

The creek's 13-square-mile watershed supports over 2,500 species reported on iNaturalist. Its banks expose Buda limestone and Del Rio shale formations deposited in an ancient inland sea millions of years ago.

As always we’ll get a glimpse at civilization, but not so much our usual modern-day Austin homes. Instead we’ll see remnants of a now-demolished Chattanooga train station and maybe some Indigenous burial mounds.

Those interested can join me for lunch after the walk. I recommend Local Foods, a healthy and low key salad-and-sandwich spot on 2nd.

LOGISTICS:

• Official walk map here
• We’ll meet between the parking lot and swimming pool at 7000 Ardath Street, at the northeastern edge of the park.
• There should be plenty of parking available at the park. If for any reason you have trouble finding a spot, there’s also plenty of parking on the surrounding streets in all directions.
• Note that this is a one-way walk. Please consider taking a bus or rideshare back to the start, or discuss carpooling ideas in the comments.
• The #803 CapMetro bus runs every 15 minutes north-south roughly along our route. To return to Beverly Sheffield Park, you can pick up this bus right at our walk’s end at Seaholm Station and ride north along Burnet to Justin Station, 10 minutes’ walk from the start.