Zilker Park Information
The Zilker Park is an incredible place to catch a live performance! With it’s natural botanical gardens to explore as well as large green lands, it’s a great place to set up stages and craft festivals and activities for all.
Set in a stunning backdrop of Austin’s impressive skyline, that enhances the experience – you get the best of both worlds of being at an outdoor venue, right in the heart of a bustling and ever exciting city!
This park is world-famous for holding the Austin City Lights Festival and is where many travel from far and wide to catch the biggest and best names in Music!
To be able to catch all of this and more, under a star filled sky or beautiful sunshine just makes it all even more special and memorable!
Zilker Metropolitan Park is often described as an urban oasis or a slice of green heaven set within the vibrant city of Austin. The vast park is a hub for outdoor activities and one of the many popular attractions is the unique Barton Springs Pool, where swimmers can take a dip in spring-fed waters.
Zilker Park is located right in the heart of downtown Austin, on the banks of the Colorado River. Watersports fans flock to Lady Bird Lake, which is adjacent to Zilker Park, with paddle boards, kayaks, and rowing boats all available to hire.
Trails along the lake and the boardwalk provide stunning views of the Austin skyline and the Deep Eddy Pool is a haven for outdoor swimming, especially in the warm summer temperatures. The park also features a 28-acre botanical garden which includes themed gardens such as the Taniguchi Japanese Garden.
Due to the expansive open space in Zilker Park, it is the perfect place for festivals, including the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Austin Kite Festival. Other big events held at Zilker Park are the Zilker Music Festival, Trail of Lights, and Blues on the Green.
The history of Zilker Park
Zilker Park has a long and fascinating history, with the land originally being used as a cattle ranch in the 1830s. Three decades later, it was purchased to build mills on Barton Creek, which were in use until the early 20th century.
A businessman called Andrew Jackson Zilker, who made his fortune through ice factories, then acquired the land to use the spring water for his ice-making business. Zilker sold off different areas of the land to the City of Austin in 1917, 1923 and 1931, generously donating the profits to fund Austin’s public schools.
The City of Austin decided to transform the land into a recreational park. It has since become one of the most significant landmarks in the city, attracting over a million visitors each year.
The large open spaces attracted kite-flying enthusiasts from as far back as 1929. The first competitive Kite Festival took place in 1956, creating history as the first-ever kite festival in the US. The event has become a hugely popular kite-flying festival with around 50,000 attendees in recent years.
Austin City Limits
In 2002, a production company called C3 Presents had the revolutionary idea to use Zilker Park’s extensive land to host a new music festival called Austin City Limits. The festival was inspired by the legendary Austin City Limits music television program, which is now the longest-running TV music series in American history.
The line-up for the inaugural festival included top music artists such as Gary Clark Jr., Asleep at the Wheel, and The String Cheese Incident. Initially held over one weekend, the first festival exceeded all expectations, with a total attendance of 40,000 exceeding the expectations of around 25,000.
The ACL Festival has gone from strength to strength, as reflected by the decision to extend the festival to two weekends from 2013. Galvanized by the momentous success of the ACL festival, C3 Presents took the festival onto the global stage, hosting ACL festivals in Auckland, New Zealand from 2015. The annual Sydney City Limits Music Festival in Centennial Park has also been running since 2018.
Austin City Limits Music Festival has established a reputation for being one of the biggest and best music festivals in the United States, with superstar headliners each year. In recent years, Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, P!nk, SZA, Benson Boone, and Tyler, The Creator have performed to capacity crowds at the ACL Music Festival.
ACL Music Festival layout
There are multiple stages set up at the ACL Music Festival. To make sure you get to see as many of your favorite artists as possible, check the schedule to see which stages they are playing at and allow time for getting from one stage to another through busy crowds.
There are two main stages:
Honda Stage – This is the stage where the headliners perform. The Honda Stage is located just to the left as you enter from the Barton Springs West Entrance or to the right as you enter from the Lady Bird Entrance.
American Express Stage – This is another major stage with top acts. The American Express Stage is located to the right if entering from the Barton Springs East Entrance.
Other stages include:
- » T-Mobile Stage
- » Miller Lite Stage
- » BMI Stage
- » Tito’s Handmake Vodka Stage
Additional facilities
VIP Lounges
Skip the queues for the bathrooms and chill out in VIP style. By upgrading to VIP tickets, you will have access to exclusive lounge areas away from the crowds and a dedicated VIP entrance to avoid the lines, as well as complimentary food and drinks. You also have access to the VIP bathrooms.
Austin Kiddie Limits
The ACL Music Festival is family-friendly and even has its own section for kids to hang out and enjoy the festival experience. Children aged 8 and under can attend the festival for free when accompanied by an adult with a paid ticket (up to a limit of 2 children per adult). The whole family can enjoy family-friendly entertainment from the Austin Kiddie Limits Stage and the Tag-a-Kid service will give you peace of mind that if a child becomes separated from a parent, they will be quickly located by the tag.
Accessibility
The ACL Music Festival has designated accessibility lanes at the entrances and accessible viewing areas are available in various sections, which you will find on the festival map. Visit the Access Center to arrange an accessibility wristband to enter the accessible viewing areas, with one companion also admitted with the wristband.
ASL interpreters
Many of the music performances are interpreted in American Sign Language (ASL). If you would like to request ASL interpretation for a specific performance, you can do this by emailing [email protected].
Food concessions
The food line up is nearly as impressive as the music acts at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The taco court – La Pachanga Eatery – is a taco-lover’s paradise, serving dishes from some of the top taco restaurants in Austin, including food trucks from:
- » Con Todo
- » Discada
- » Norte ATX
- » La Santa Barbacha
The main food court has a generous offering of cuisine options too including:
- » Bambino (serving pizzas)
- » The Mighty Cone
- » CM Smokehouse
- » Huckleberry’s pop-up the Wurst Place
- » Gus’s
- » T-Loc’s Sonora Hot Dogs
- » Happy Chicks
- » Lambas Indian Kitchen
- » Pelons Tex Mex
So, what are you waiting for? Catch an unforgettable event at Zilker Park – you won’t regret it!