Trail approaching bridge

Walk or Bike to SFC on the Brand New Upper Boggy Creek Hike & Bike Trail!

There’s a new way to get to Sustainable Food Center on bike or foot—the Upper Boggy Creek Hike and Bike Trail!

After more than ten years in the making, a stretch of hike and bike trail that runs alongside SFC’s Teaching Garden and the St. David’s Foundation Community Garden has been completed.

Pedestrians and wheeled users can now use this 14-foot-wide paved trail to enter the MLK Jr. Station Neighborhood Park (this is the new name of the park where the teaching and community gardens are located). The trail includes a beautiful new bridge over Boggy Creek, and runs from Downs-Mabson Ballfield all the way to the south. The SFC office is just a quick walk across the MetroRail tracks from the park.

Trail along Teaching Garde

The Upper Boggy Creek Hike and Bike Trail is part of a larger project called EastLink, which is a collaboration between Austin Parks Foundation, the City of Austin, and the Mueller Foundation. As stated on the EastLink website, “EastLink is a series of proposed improvements to connect 5.1 miles of multi-use community paths in Central East Austin—from Bartholomew Park to Lady Bird Lake.”

Janae Spence, Community Services Division Manager at the City of Austin’s Public Works Department, heads up the Urban Trails team and managed the construction of the trail. “We are very excited that this segment of the trail is complete, as it was the final segment needed to make the EastLink trail continuous from Mueller to the Town Lake Butler Trail,”

Spence shared. “This trail provides direct connectivity to the MLK Train station and eliminates a huge barrier for pedestrians and bicyclists by providing a bridge over the creek. We are thankful to our partners at SFC for working with us through design and construction to help develop the best trail possible.”

Thanks to a generous grant from Austin Parks Foundation, this fall we will install an attractive cattle panel style fence alongside the portion of the trail that passes through the gardens. This friendly fence will allow trail users to enjoy a view of the gardens while keeping veggie beds and gardeners safe from the occasional wayward dog or bicycle.

Want to check out the trail? A great opportunity is coming up TOMORROW, Friday, July 12th from 6-8pm, when the Urban Trails team hosts the Upper Boggy Bash, a festive official opening for the trail. There will be fun activities all along the length of the trail, including one at our Teaching Garden. RSVP to their Facebook event for more information.

For more details about the trail, check out the announcement on the Urban Trails website. In the meantime, feel free to explore the trail, which is open for use!