Much of the landscaped beauty of the parks surrounding Lady Bird Lake can be credited to the former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, who, in the 1970s, focused her attention on the Town Lake Beautification Project. The Stevie Ray Vaughan statue on Lady Bird Lake.The Congress Avenue Bridge spans the Lady Bird Lake and is home to the largest urban, Mexican Free-tailed Bat colony in North America with a summer population of 1.5 million bats. At dusk, from March to September, Austinites and tourists line the bridge and riverbanks to watch the dramatic sight of the bats streaming out in their nightly quest for insects. Eight other bridges span the lake, including two that are pedestrian-only bridges. Although the City of Austin prohibits motorized watercraft, the lake serves as a recreational area for kayaks, canoes, dragon boats, and rowing shells. Austin's warm climate and the river's calm waters, nearly ten-mile length and straight courses are especially popular with crew teams and clubs. Along with the University of Texas women's rowing team and coeducational club rowing team, who practice on Lady Bird Lake year-round, teams from northern universities (including the University of Chicago, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Nebraska) train on Lady Bird Lake during Christmas holidays and spring breaks. Other water sports along the shores of the lake include swimming in Deep Eddy Pool, the oldest swimming pool in Texas, and Barton Springs Pool, which discharges into Barton Creek and flows into Lady Bird Lake. Music venues on the banks of Lady Bird Lake are home to a number of events year-round, including the Austin City Limits Music Festival in the fall, the Austin Reggae Festival and Spamarama in the spring, and many open-air concerts at Auditorium Shores on the south bank and Fiesta Gardens on the north bank. The Austin Aqua Festival was held on the shores of Lady Bird Lake from 1962 until 1998. The late Austin resident and blues guitar legend, Stevie Ray Vaughan played a number of concerts at Auditorium Shores and is honored with a memorial statue on the banks.

Lady Bird Lake or Town Lake is the heart of Austin. It is a reservoir created by a dam on the Colorado River which runs through the center of Austin, Texas. You can find a microcoism of society on Town Lake any day of the week. There is plenty of FREE parking, grass, shade trees, water and variety of ways to spend your leisure time.

It makes a great first impression because of the beautiful water and sunsets over the lake. There are even number of males, females, young, old, everybody hangs out at Town Lake. It is very clean, has a cops on bikes presence and feels safe. Well-maintained by Austin Parks. There are many white swans, mallard and wood ducks as well as many song birds all over Town Lake.

On the weekends when the sun is shining (about 350 days in Austin!) the place is packed but the great thing is that there's plenty of room for everyone. The University of Texas rowing team practices on Town Lake. People (old and young) fish on the banks of Town Lake. Lots of people with dogs, people practicing yoga and napping in the sun. Many, many festivals are held here including an annual kite festival, reggage festival, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Red Bull's Fluetag and on and on.

Fabulous social tenor. On the weekends, a local guitarist plays his music on the rocks above the trail and often you can hear someone playing a flute under one of the bridges, there's a local painter who hangs out and paints on the trail by the water fountains, this place has a very Austin vibe. People regularly put flowers in the Stevie Ray Vaughn statute's hand and tourists take pictures with him.