Zilker Park's Western Great Lawn Reopens Saturday, October 31, After ACL Fest Recovery — With Lou Neff Road Closed for the Trail of Lights

The western section of the Great Lawn at Zilker Park, closed for the Austin City Limits Music Festival, will reopen to the public on Saturday, October 31, Austin Parks and Recreation announced. The western lawn, vertically divided from the eastern side at the 'island' of boulders in the center, will remain open throughout the holiday season.

The details matter for a Saturday visit. The volleyball courts in the western portion will be open only from October 31 to November 16. Stratford Drive, the road dividing the lawn from the Zilker Botanical Garden, will remain open, as will the Stratford parking lot. Lou Neff Road, which loops around the majority of the lawn, will stay closed through the holiday season to accommodate the annual Trail of Lights display, whose events span December 4 to 23.

The reopening follows a recovery Austinites watched closely after rain damaged turf during the festival's first weekend. The city said recovery work by the Parks and Recreation turf and Zilker maintenance teams, along with contractors for festival organizer C3, has included debris removal, lawn aeration and rye seed distribution, with special attention to the volleyball courts and the areas south of Barton Springs Road. Under the contracts between the city and C3, the parks director determines what repairs are needed and C3 pays for them.

Even after a dry festival, the department does annual maintenance before reopening, and public access is a compromise as the Trail of Lights setup proceeds on the east side of the lawn, with more recovery work to follow the trail's closure. Austinites can check projects and closures across the park system at austintexas.gov.