Colorado River Park Wildlife Sanctuary — Attraction in Austin

I have so many positive & negative things to say about it! (Also, a few days later, I have to change it from 5 stars to 3, because I keep seeing people carrying a blade) On one hand, I'm in love with it: it's very close to where I work, with zero detour along my route home, so it's my #1 park, and I go there frequently, at least a few times a month. It's like part of my family. It has a lot of nature in it! SO many trees in every direction, with nothing man-made visible in most spots (save litter). Dusty paths to walk on - that's my kind of heaven. And several different places where the path comes to the river, for wonderful river views, with the water flowing by, and the mud and stones at the banks. And green plants on the ground everywhere .... without pots! It's as if they've escaped their pots and just grown wild! This park reminds me that I've lived much, much, much too long in a city. And there are animals! Most recently, I was excited to see an armadillo! It was my first time to see an armadillo in the wild. And a year ago, I saw a skunk. These animals are both easier to find when the sun is very low in the sky, at twilight or dusk. Other times I've seen cardinals, and deer running through the woods. Turtles and fish in the water. Beautiful bug life, - butterflies and dragonflies. There are a few exercise stations near the parking lot so I do a few chin-ups there, etc. There was a water fountain very useful for many, but it's been broken for a while. From the parking lot there's a bike trail that goes next to 183 and if you go southwest on Levander Loop a short way you can get onto the Old Montopolis Bridge which now has no cars, to get to the other side of the river, and a path that leads to Roy Guerrero park.

On the down side, there are other humans. They catch fish, which I guess is allowed. They're not supposed to let their dogs run free - I saw a happy couple with a happy dog, & the dog was going to the island in the river. I didn't like that because I think the dog will eat the wildlife, - bird eggs, for example. I read that in a story book once. Humans enjoy swimming in the river and bringing their family and grilling some food. It's not too bad. Families are generally civilized. I was amazed to see a fortification. A stone wall has been built, and an area near the river has been leveled. There are tents and a big grill there. I didn't go close enough to figure out if it's occupied. Following the trails going west into the woods, several of them go next to vacated encampments, cleaned-up encampments with a lot of litter left. Also, occupied encampments. The most offensive one currently has several tents and recently there's been a dog there that barks, & the inhabitants have told me watch out! there's a dog here that bites! It was funniest when the lady who told me that was carrying a machete at her side, for self-defense. I loved that. She was pretty good-looking & very impressive looking with a big machete. Really friendly person! I found another path to the side, so I wouldn't have to negotiate the encampment. About a week later I saw a man and a boy going into the park carrying nothing but a medium-sized machete. Maybe they wanted to cut down some trees. They seemed friendly, not murderous. Haven't met anybody murderous yet. Once in a while the authorities clear out some of the homeless camps, & sometimes the homeless people return. I guess if nobody calls 3-1-1 on them they are allowed to stay for a while. It's possible to consider the homeless folks as a type of wildlife. Maybe they're a different human species, unknown to anthropology, like Homo Sylva for...

Great place for birding and observing riparian areas and the Colorado River in a wilder state. Keep in mind this is a preserve. A preserve is land set aside because it provides essential endangered species habitat, has a unique natural feature or shows an example of a specific type of ecosystem. Unlike parks, preserves are kept in a wild state with little to no infrastructure such as bathrooms or trash cans and trails, if any, are rustic. Because this is a wildlife preserve, dogs are not allowed here, even on lease. Use leave no trace practices here and, as noted by other posters, if you bring a trash bag to fill the Parks and Wildlife Department will be grateful for the help. Due to the unique bends and twists of the river, lots of trash that runs off into the river gets...

There was a lot of trash and beer cans near the entrance, and illegal dumping with a discarded mattress. I encountered a sketchy homeless guy with gang tatooes near the river and got the heck out of there. This could be a nice place if it was cleaned up. It is a little better on the opposite side of the river, which has less trash, and no sketchy homeless that I saw. Cross the Montopolis bridge to the south and take the first right after the bridge onto an asphalt bike trail, then take a right onto the first abandoned asphalt trail at the bottom...