Mount Bonnell and Mayfield Park
Details
Millennia before journalist and Commissioner of Indian Affairs George Bonnell was born, the Comanche traversed this Balcones Fault escarpment and observed the Colorado River valley below. After climbing this gentle peak, we’ll descend through the bungalow-lined streets of Tarrytown, which until just over a century ago had been a single 365-acre estate belonging to Governor Elisha Pease's family.
Our 6.2 mile walk continues south past a lime kiln in Reed Park. Built in 1871 by the crew of Scottish immigrant Peter Taylor, the operation grew to at least 10 workers and 20 horses and became a major supplier for 19th-century Austin. Our walk concludes at Mayfield-Gutsch, a park with cottage and garden walls likely held together by lime from the nearby kiln. The park is the result of four decades of labor primarily by Mary Gutsch, her husband Milton, and their live-in gardener Esteban "Steve" Arredondo, who ranged the Lake Austin shoreline for native mountain laurel and redbud to transplant here. To this day, the park’s natural history is anchored by peacocks gifted to the Gutsch family nearly a century ago.
LOGISTICS:
- 8 AM start, on our Summer schedule
- We’ll meet in the parking lot at Mayfield Cottage and Gardens at 3505 W. 35th. The small lot can fill up fast, but there’s typically an abundance of street parking in the surrounding area (see SpotAngels)
- The group typically finds a lunch spot immediately after the walk, but this is optional
- Official walk map