Friday Night Lights Walk: East Side as East Dillon

Fictionally, Seasons 4 and 5 of the landmark television series Friday Night Lights was set in East Dillon, the economically disadvantaged section of a football-obsessed town in the Texas Permian Basin. But much of the footage was set in then-gritty East Austin. This walk traces some of these locations while keeping us close to the Colorado River.

We’ll delve into the show’s exploration of race, class, and opportunity, swinging by the housing project where troubled-but-talented East Dillon quarterback Vince Howard lived, as well as the covered basketball court and run-down football field where Coaches Taylor and Buddy Garrity recruited street athletes to fill out the Lions’ sparse roster. Crossing into Montopolis, we’ll stop by the (now-closed) Ray’s, a barbeque joint run by a bitter former football star and where Vince and his girlfriend Jessie worked.
In all, our 6.7 mile walk passes by 11 set locations. Some of these spots, such as Bud’s Motorcycles (now an upscale restaurant), the Dillon Bus Depot (which operated as a real-life charter bus and limo warehouse at the time of filming) and Central Machine Works (now a brewery) were incidental backdrops. But each of these provide a time-capsule of what this rapidly gentrifying section of Austin looked like not too long ago.

As with all our walks, we’ll enjoy a bit of nature conveniently located along our path. This includes a meander through Guerrero Park as well as a walk across the recently-completed Wishbone Bridge– which provides both a glimpse of both the tranquil lake to the west and the wild river to the east.

LOGISTICS:

• 8 AM start, on our summer schedule
• We’ll meet at the southern end of the parking lot by the start of the Lady Bird Hike and Bike Trail. There should be plenty of parking (see SpotAngels for street parking in the very unlikely event the lot is full).
• Part of our group typically seeks out lunch at the end of the walk. There are plenty of good options in the area.
• Official walk map