This Fall, the Easiest Walk Across Downtown Austin Follows Waller Creek

Since June 6, 2026, Waller Creek has had a continuous off-street path running from 4th Street to Lady Bird Lake. The Confluence spends its first fall doing three jobs. It hosts Creek Show for the first time, it sits beside a stretch of the Butler Trail that is detoured into spring, and it connects the lake to the Waterloo Greenway programs that run all season. Taken together, that makes the new 13 acres the most practical way to walk between Rainey Street, the lakeshore and the Moody Amphitheater end of the greenway through November.

What the boardwalk replaces

The feature doing the most work is the 800-foot boardwalk built into Waller Creek. It carries people past the Red River Street and Cesar Chavez Street intersections, so they never have to wait at either crossing. The Waterloo Greenway Conservancy describes the trail as one continuous off-street bike and pedestrian route that links the Lance Armstrong Bikeway, Palm Park, Rainey Street and the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail. Three lattice bridges add east-west crossings over the creek.

Here are the ways in, listed from north to south, as the Conservancy's visit page gives them:

1. 4th Street and Sabine Street, where Cypress Grove and Trailhead Plaza meet the existing Waterloo Greenway Trail
2. 3rd Street at the I-35 frontage road
3. 2nd Street and Sabine Street
4. Red River Street at Davis Street, on the Rainey side
5. Cesar Chavez Street near Trinity Street
6. Butler Trail connections by Trinity and south of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center

The gathering spaces sit at the lake end. They are the Lagoon Overlook, the Leaf Deck beside Lady Bird Lake, the shaded Lakeview Terrace and the Explorers Garden. The park is open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., and those hours can change on event days. Pets must be leashed, and visitors may not enter Waller Creek or feed wildlife. Paid parking is available at the Austin Convention Center 5th Street Garage, at the Mexican American Cultural Center and in nearby private garages. The closest CapMetro options are Downtown Station and the stops at Cesar Chavez/Trinity and Cesar Chavez/Red River.

The Butler Trail next door is detoured into spring

The boardwalk matters more this season because the lakeshore trail beside it is under construction. Since June 2026, the City of Austin has rerouted the Butler Trail's north shore near The Confluence and the Austin Rowing Club building. Austin Energy is laying underground electrical lines along the shoreline between Brazos Street and Trinity Street, and the reroute is scheduled to last through March 2027.

West of the I-35 bridges, TxDOT utility work has moved trail users back onto the permanent Butler Trail for about two months, September through October 2026. From November 2026 through January 2027, crews plan intermittent detours that switch between the permanent path and the detour path. The Confluence's own trail connects to the Butler Trail near Trinity and again south of the cultural center. That gives you a way down to the water from 4th Street without the downtown crossings. The City asks trail users near both work zones to slow down and follow on-site staff, and it updates its park closures page as the work moves along.

Creek Show moves onto the new stretch

Creek Show, the Conservancy's light-art event, runs November 13–21, 2026, from 6 to 10 p.m. each night. This is its first year on the segment between 4th Street and Lady Bird Lake. The main entrance is at 4th and Sabine. Tickets require a timed entry window of either 6–8 p.m. or 8–10 p.m., and you need to be in line by 9:30 p.m. to see the full show. Children 4 and under do not need a ticket. A 4-pack discount is available, and a Fast Pass add-on gets you expedited entry. All proceeds go to the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy.

Some details to know before booking:

• The opening-night listing on the ticketing site shows prices from $9.88 to $21.25.
• The Conservancy lists Community Night on Monday, November 16 as free with a reservation required. The ticket listing shows a range of "Free – $12.16," so check the checkout screen before you confirm.
• Dogs are welcome on Wednesday, November 18, which is billed as Vodka for Dog People Night. The park's leash rule still applies.
• Parking is limited. The Conservancy offers $5 parking at the Austin Convention Center garage, 601 E. 5th Street, from 5 to 10 p.m. each night.

These are the ten installations on the route:

Tickets and full details are on the Creek Show 2026 page.

The rest of the season runs north toward Moody

The 4th Street entrance links The Confluence to the older section of the greenway, so the fall calendar at Waterloo Park is part of the same walk. KXAN's September 29 preview lists a season that runs from September through November, and many of the events are free.

Two of the Conservancy's own pages give different locations for the Diwali morning, so check the event page the week of November 7. Glow in the Park also shows 6–10 p.m. in an August announcement and 6–11 p.m. on its current event page.

The ticketed concert calendar at Moody Amphitheater is also busy:

• Jack White on October 6
• Ziggy Marley and Gov't Mule on October 15
• Foster the People with Goth Babe on October 16
• Mon Laferte with Silvana Estrada on October 20
• Knocked Loose and Denzel Curry with Superheaven and Boundaries on November 5
• Steve Lacy on November 7

November 7 has something at both ends of the day, with Diwali in the morning and Steve Lacy that night.

Dinner before your Creek Show window

Two new East 6th Street restaurants are a short trip from the 4th and Sabine entrance. Hermanas opened September 2 at 1100 E. 6th St. It comes from Austin chef Silvino Sanchez and blends Mexican and Southeast Asian cooking. Big Slick opened August 29 at 1017 E. 6th St. It is a 22-seat live-fire steakhouse with its own bar, run by chefs and owners Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee. With only 22 seats, a reservation is the safer plan on a Creek Show night.

On the Rainey side, Chistâ at 44 East Ave. is listed among this fall's openings.

What is still unfinished at the edges

According to the City, The Confluence reached substantial completion in June 2026. Some minor work and vegetation maintenance are still to come. In a June 18 Daily Texan follow-up, Waterloo Greenway's planning chief called the response in the first 10 days "overwhelmingly positive."

Palm Park, which the trail passes, is further off. The City's project page shows it in design and permitting. Plans include a restored shelter house, new play areas, better ADA access and drainage, shade, native plantings and a misting feature. In July, Austin Current reported the design was about 60% complete, estimated the renovation at $14–15 million, and said construction was expected in mid-2027 with a reopening in 2029. North of 4th Street, the creek between 4th and 12th Streets is Phase III, which is still in design and has not been restored yet.

For this fall, that leaves the 4th and Sabine entrance as the main gate to Creek Show from November 13 through 21. The Butler Trail's north-shore detour stays in place until March 2027.

The agents at JBGoodwin Realtors keep up with projects like Waterloo Greenway because they shape how downtown works day to day. If you have questions about how these changes affect a move within Austin, or you just want to talk through what is coming to the blocks near the creek, Contact Us. We are happy to help.