Turkey Creek Trail is nestled along City Park Rd – near Austin iconic sites like Emma Long Metropolitan Park and the Pennybacker Bridge. However, unlike either of those locales, Turkey Creek Trail has a pretty consistent low level of foot traffic/paw traffic (yes – the pups can roam free here. They’ll love the creek and the trails are well-maintained). And although the trail is on City Park Rd, there’s no admission fee for entrance (Emma Long does require a modest fee).

My tips:

• Save the Google Map to your phone. There’s a couple of forks in the road along the loop that are not an intentional addition to the trail. Natural watershed has created a couple of ghost trails that will lead you astray. The map will keep you on the right track.
• Don’t go here for swimming! The water levels in this area are pretty consistently low. Let the addition of a flowing creek be icing on the cake instead of the goal. 
• Do the full loop. At the top of the trail there are some really incredible views into the surrounding canyons, and the fern wall really is worth the extra half mile.