Hit the Trails in Easton Park
Here in Austin, we’re crazy about trails. That’s why Easton Park has always included plans for an extensive, integrated trail system. When our community is finished, we’ll have 350+ acres of parkland and green space connected by 13+ miles of continuous trails and surrounded by lots of trees!
As our neighborhood has grown and new sections have opened, our trail mileage has grown as well. We’ve added 5 additional trail miles since 2021, largely running through Discovery, Skyline, Pilot, and Prospect Parks. We sat down with Brookfield Residential’s Katy Kiplinger, a Project Coordinator with the Land Development team (and an Easton Park resident herself!), to learn about what’s in place and what’s coming next.
EP: Hi Katy! Thanks for talking trails with us. Tell us about the trails here in Easton Park.
KK: The trails are the connective tissue of the Easton Park community! You can get anywhere you want to go by foot, whether that’s parks, the amenity center, or out to dinner. We already have miles of trails going through Easton Park, including through the green spaces and along Cottonmouth Creek.
EP: Do Easton Park residents use the trails?
KK: Oh yes! Residents really use the trail system as part of their daily lives. From about 7 a.m until around 9 at night, you’ll see people jogging, walking babies in strollers, and biking. I walk the trails every day with my dog, so I get to experience them as both a resident and a land developer. A few weeks ago I walked the entire exterior loop, and it took me about 2 hours!
EP: Do families use the trails to get to Newton Collins Elementary?
KK: Yes! Tons of parents walk their kids to school. In fact, the city recently added more signage that improves the pedestrian experience because so many people are walking by the school. We now have 5 blinking lights bounding the school zone area to make things safer and slow traffic on Colton Bluff Springs Road.
EP: What’s the latest with the trails?
KK: We’ve been working on some enhancements to improve the resident experience. Right now we have a pilot project to install solar powered lighting along some of the trails. The lights we’re looking at are dark sky compliant while still providing adequate illumination. We’re also adding bridges over some waterway crossings and improving our riparian zones (ed: creekside areas) to help the ecosystems where we can. Along the trails you might see coyotes, interesting birds, and of course, wildflowers, not to mention the occasional snake. Keep your eyes open, and keep dogs on a leash!
EP: Do you plant wildflowers along the trails?
There are wildflowers as well as native grasses and plants around the Skyline Park trails. You’ll also see Greggs mistflower by Model Row, which attracts butterflies. We’re constantly working with our landscape architects and contractors for new ideas — throughout the community, we prefer to use native plant materials that require less water and maintenance. For our wild habitat areas, we started with a standard blackland prairie seed mix. Over the years, we have dialed in the mix to a custom blend that yields a higher success rate. We compliment this with native plants like yuccas, prickly pears, and more. These kinds of plants enhance our natural ecosystem, help out our Central Texas plant palette, and beautify our trails!
EP: What can people expect next?
KK: Easton Park is growing to the south, and we have a lot more trails to come with the Slaughter Lane expansion and the new amenity center that’s planned. There will be more signature parks in the south side of Easton Park, and the trails will continue to be a connection throughout the community.
Thanks to Katy and the Land Development team for all they do to keep Easton Park beautiful. If you want to live in a community where you can enjoy daily nature walks, come find your home in Easton Park.
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