05 Dec The Trail of Lights is Here Again! Dec. 8-22

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department welcomes visitors to the 2013 Austin Trail of Lights, December 8 – 22, 2013 at the Zilker Metropolitan Great Lawn. The Trail of Lights 5K will take place on December 7, 2013 and is a great way to start the legendary Austin holiday tradition.

in 2013, the Austin Trail of Lights, in partnership with the City of Austin and Capital Metro, are implementing strict travel guidelines to ensure that all attendees are able to access the event in a safe, timely and sustainable way.

Key Festival Attendee Reminders 
• All attendees should plan their trip by visiting the Austin Trail of Lights website and researching options.
• Wear appropriate shoes for outdoor conditions, layered clothes and bring personal protective items such as gloves and scarves.  The trail is 1.25 miles long.  Please leave personal and unnecessary items at home.
• Austin Trail of Lights information, FAQs, a list of allowed and prohibited items are available on the event website. (see the “getting there” section)
• The Austin Trail of Lights is a smoke-free event site, and patrons may only smoke outside the event grounds on the street.
Parking and Transportation:
Limited parking on site will be available via a pre-paid parking permit only. No cash parking sales will be available at the event site.
Use the event shuttles from various locations or use Capital Metro transit to reach the event site, or bike to the event.  Information is available on the Trail of Lights website.

Parking Restrictions:
No cars will be allowed to idle for parking along the MoPac corridor, on rights of way and frontage roads.  All Trail of Lights parking is pre-paid only.
There are extensive restricted parking areas in surrounding areas.  Public safety personnel will be routinely patrolling and towing illegally parks vehicles.  Festival attendees should not drive to the park.  Attendees who attempt to drive to the event will be redirected to park-n-ride locations.
Check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page and get other event related
information at: http://austintrailoflights.org/ , or www.austintexas.gov/ace.
 
Zilker Metropolitan Park
On event nights, area roads and portions of the park will be closed to the public.  Most of Zilker Metropolitan Park will be accessible for day use, during regular park hours up until the roads close.

Barton Springs Pool will be open for normal hours of operation, and entry to the pool will be available via the MoPac entrance after the roads are closed.  All swimmers should use the lane marked with and electronic message board “permit parking." ADA accessibility to the pool is available with a valid Disability Parking Tag, using the same access route.

Festival Beach, Auditorium Shores and Butler Park are open during this period for park patrons.  A park directory is available at:  www.austintexas.gov/parks.

Notices/closings
There will be numerous street closures December 7 through December 22.  Motorists should expect delays near Zilker Metropolitan Park, the Barton Springs Road area and on roads and streets near the park.   Nightly road closure listing and affected area maps can be found at:  http://www.austintexas.gov/event/trail-lights-0

Roads Closed
•             Barton Springs Road from Robert E. Lee to Rollingwood Drive.
•             Stratford Drive from Barton Springs Road to Nature Center Trail.
•             Barton Springs Road/Lou Neff to Stratford Drive (right lane westbound).

Enjoy! Happy Holidays!