Barton Creek and Lost Creek Real Estate Listings of Houses and Homes for Sale in Travis County, Texas


	Barton Creek and Lost Creek Houses for Sale

Barton Creek and Lost Creek

Barton Creek and Lost Creek are located in the Texas Hill Country. The beauty of the Texas Hill Country is breathtaking, unspoiled and rugged, offering a peaceful respite from the city hustle and bustle. Lake Austin and Lake Travis, two of seven in the Highland Lakes chain, are within easy reach of Barton Creek and Lost Creek, providing residents with fishing, swimming and boating. There are nearby shopping areas with an eclectic mix of boutiques, upscale shops, discount stores, restaurants and services. There are seven colleges and universities in the area, including the state’s premiere institute of higher education, the University of Texas at Austin. UT is the largest university in the country. In addition to providing an excellent education, it hosts community activities and has a variety of team sports for which to cheer.

Opportunities for recreation abound. There are 191 parks, 10,000 acres of preserves, 3,400 acres of creeks and canyons, 74 miles of hiking and biking trails, 172 athletic fields and 90 playgrounds on almost 28,000 acres of land overseen by the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. Seventeen recreation centers, three senior centers, a botanical garden, a nature center, museums, amphitheaters, golf courses, over 100 tennis courts, 47 swimming pools and 40 miles of lake front ensure that there is always something fun to do. Zilker Metropolitan Park, known as “Austin’s best loved park,” is located very close to the communities of Barton Creek and Lost Creek. The 351-acre park is the home of the natural spring-fed Barton Springs Pool, Botanical Gardens, the Austin Nature and Science Center, a theater, and the Umlaf Sculpture Garden and Museum. The Barton Creek Greenbelt Trail runs through the Hill Country from Zilker Park to Lost Creek. Rugged beauty awaits hikers and mountain bikers who venture along the trail. The Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail provides three, four, five and 10 mile loops around Town Lake. The trail stretches from the MoPac Expressway to Longhorn Dam. The pedestrian bridge is an excellent place to watch the sun set. Other hiking and biking trails can be found at McKinney Roughs, Westcave Preserve overlooking the Pedernales River, and Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve. McKinney Falls State Park has camping areas, picnic grounds, and playgrounds. Homestead ruins, a rock shelter used by Native Americans, a cabin, gristmill and two waterfalls can be reached by trails.

Things to see and do in and around the Austin area include a visit to Crowe’s Nest Farms, with more than 100 animals and education programs; the Inner Space Caverns where stalactites and stalagmites form awe-inspiring shapes; and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to see the native and perennial plants of the Hill Country. You can even take a cruise around Town Lake on the Lone Star Riverboat, an old-fashioned, double-decked paddle wheeler. North America’s largest bat colony, the harmless Mexican free-tailed bats, nests under the Congress Avenue Bridge over Town Lake from March to November. And don’t forget to visit the Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farm, which contains exhibits illustrating farm-life in the 1880s.

Area residents enjoy farmers markets, nationally acclaimed musicians, and festivals held throughout the year. Some of the city’s annual events include the Red-Eye Regatta, Texas Guitar Show, Star of Texas Fair & Rodeo, Zilker Park Kite Festival, Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships, Republic of Texas Biker Rally, Austin Symphony Fourth of July Concert and Fireworks, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Texas Wildlife Expo, Texas Book Festival, Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, and Yulefest. Cultural arts are expressed around the city through a program called Art in Public Places. Sculptures, renderings, and designs made out of an endless variety of materials can be touched, photographed, and admired. The Long Center for the Performing Arts features professional and amateur performances on its three stages. Dance, music of all types, live theatre and exceptional entertainment venues can be found throughout the city. Museums featuring history, paintings, antiquities, Native American artifacts, and cultural offerings celebrate the diversity of Austin and the surrounding communities.

Austin is the state capital and county seat of Travis County, and is located 150 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in Central Texas. Travis County is 989 square miles and is located on the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau and is bisected by the Balcones Escarpment, a fault line named by Spanish explorers for its balcony-like appearance. Almost a third of the land in Travis County is prime farmland, and water is diverted from the Colorado River for the farms. The Colorado River flows through the Hill Country where the seven Highland Lakes are located. The 150-mile chain of Highland Lakes is the largest concentration of freshwater lakes in Texas. Each lake is unique and all offer recreation, including excellent fishing, along with beautiful and diverse scenery. Town Lake is the last in the Highland Lakes chain and is in the city of Austin, near downtown. Town Lake is placid and remains at a constant level, making it an excellent place for canoeing.