Canterbury Trails/ Bauerle Ranch

The liminal far south side Austin neighborhoods, annexed by the city only in the past few decades, might seem to have little history based on internet research alone. Bauerle Ranch, a rugged haven for hiking and birdwatching, makes an appearance on only a handful of blogs. A local fencing company attributes its origin to a cattle ranch donated to the city by the Bauerle family in 1996.

Canterbury Trails turns up on some real estate listing sites, but not much more despite the colorful array of streets named after Chaucer’s 14th century classic.

But both areas are very much hikeable and feature notable sights- a Great Oak Tree in Bauerle Ranch, and an oft-photographed graffiti-covered rail bridge along Canterbury Trails.

We’ll begin our 5.25 mile walk (route map here) at the Lavendale Trailhead on the south edge of Bauerle Ranch, where street parking is typically abundant. Before the sun heats us up too much we’ll weave our way down the residential Ravenscroft Drive into Canterbury Trails, past the rail bridge, along a woodsy trail beside Slaughter Creek, before finally reaching the rugged trails of Bauerle Ranch Park. While looping around the park, we’ll make a slight residential detour to visit the duckworthy Lindshire Duck Pond.

Don’t forget to wear sturdy hiking shoes and bring lots of water- July is the second-hottest month in Austin. This is one of our shorter walks, but if interested we can tack on an extra mile at the end to the intersection of Old Manchaca and [Regular] Manacha Roads, where there’s an abundance of restaurants open well before noon.

TRANSIT LOGISTICS:

• Official walk map here
• Free street parking is abundant south of Bauerle Ranch Park
• We’ll meet at the Lavendale Trailhead by the gated community swimming pool
• Bring lots of water