1. PARKING: There is illegal parking on the unpaved shoulder of Loop 360 (but that’s where everyone parks). You can also park back in the neighborhood, but it’s a longer walk to the trailhead.
2. OPERATING HOURS: The area is open 24 hours day/7 days a week. Weekends are more crowded.
3. LOCATIONS: Main features include the view from the top of the overlook. I think the light looks best for sunset sessions. It’s about 0.5 miles out and back.
4. RESTROOMS: There are no nearby restrooms. 
5. SAFETY: Wear good hiking shoes (or change into cuter shoes at the top). The limestone path up is best with close-toed sturdy shoes. Also, there are no guardrails at the top – so be very careful at the edge. The cliff drops straight down. There are frequent break-ins at the parking spots as well – so don’t leave any valuables in sight.
6. NEARBY RESTAURANTS: If you’d like to go out for dinner after your photo session at the Overlook, some nearby favorites off of 360 include: County Line on the Lake (BBQ), Jack Allen’s Kitchen (Southern Comfort food) and Maudie’s Milagro (Tex-Mex). 
7. DOG-FRIENDLY: Yes, this area is definitely dog-friendly if your dog is a good climber and on a leash.
8. WHAT TO BRING: It’s optional, but some prop ideas are listed HERE for families and HERE for Seniors. 

Happy June!

Ready for a fun mix of events, classes and places to visit in Austin, Texas in 2026?

Check out the links below for inspiration.

June WATER PARKS spotlight

School’s out 🙂 Temps will soon be rising. Time to schedule some summer fun in the water at ​Rock’N River​, ​Typhoon​​ Texas​, ​Volente Beach​, ​Quest ATX​, ​Splash Shack​, ​Kalahari​ or ​Schlitterbahn​.

June EVENTS

Listen to a free outdoor concert (inside if it rains) every Thursday in June at the Long Center for their ​Drop-in Music​ Series.

Listen to ​Blues on the Green​ at Zilker Park on June 9th and 10th.

Get bendy at the ​Austin Yoga Festival​ on June 13th.

Eat some watermelon and watch the parade at the ​Luling Watermelon Thump​ on June 25th-June 28th. (Luling is about an hour’s drive from Austin).

From Jaws to Romeo + Juliet to Pee Wee’s Big Adventure – watch a Classic Movie at the ​Paramount Summer Film Series​ (multiple dates).

Line Dance and listen to Big Bad Karaoke at the ​Summer of Friendship Festival​ at Laguna Gloria on June 26th.

Pack a basket for the ​Pride Picnic​ at Pease Park on June 27th.

June CLASSES

Buy a Monday bundle of ​Art Night classes​ and make a watercolor fan, cross stitch postcards, learn Sashiko mending and make a mirror tile mosaic.

Learn how to grow a ​Salsa Garden​ with Botanic Experience on June 14th.

Catch a wave at their ​Water Aerobics​ class ($35) and then get use of the pool all day long at Hotel Magdalena on June 14th.

Take a ​self-defense class​ with your daughter before she leaves for college at Sun Dragon Karate studio on June 28th (cont. on July 12th).

June HOLIDAYS

Flag Day (June 14th): It’s my birthday! Celebrate with a piece of cake. Or you can ​celebrate Flag Day​ at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission on June 13th.

Juneteenth (June 19th): Watch the ​Rosewood Neighborhood Parade​.

Father’s Day (June 21st): Keep an eye out for the ​Brewtorium’s​ annual Dad Joke competition.

June PHOTO SESSIONS

If you’d like to book a Family Photo Session this Summer (perhaps as a Father’s Day gift) or Class of 2027 Seniors who want a summer session, ​reach out​ and let me know.

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1. PARKING: There is a small paid parking lot off of Barton Springs Road. Use the Park ATX app to pay Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm and on Saturdays from 12pm-5pm. If the parking lot is full, you can also look for street parking along Riverside Dr. or in the pay lot at the Long Center.
2. OPERATING HOURS: The park is open from 5am-10pm daily.
3. LOCATIONS: Main features include the Doug Sahm Hill (with those downtown Austin skyline views), an open meadow, walking trails, three docks overlooking the pond and some flower beds.
4. RESTROOMS: There are public restrooms near the Alliance Children’s Garden you can use to change outfits in. (Or you can also change outfits in your car)
5. EVENTS: Keep an eye on local event calendars to make sure there aren’t major conflicts nearby at the Palmer Events Center or the Long Center.
6. NEARBY RESTAURANTS: If you’d like to go out for dinner after your photo session at Butler Park, some nearby favorites include: Terry Black’s BBQ, Mexican Restaurant El Alma, and walk up or drive-through Sandy’s Hamburgers. 
7. DOG-FRIENDLY: Yes, this park is definitely dog-friendly.
8. WHAT TO BRING: It’s optional, but some prop ideas are listed HERE for families and HERE for Seniors. 

• TIMING: Right before Spring Graduation, Campus gets pretty full of photo shoots. So try and plan earlier in the semester or choose off-times for your photos (or be okay with waiting for your turn in front of popular spots)
• PREP: Iron your regalia and bring it on a hanger.
• WHAT TO WEAR: You can pose in your full cap and gown, part of your regalia, regular dressy clothes or any combination of the above.
• LOCATIONS: If you have a particular spot on campus that means a lot to you (Ex. where you took the majority of your classes), let me know so we can include it in our route.
• ROUTE: I’ll send you a list of popular spots before your date so you can give me your top four choices to visit in your hour-long session.
• MINI ADD-ON: If your family will be in town, we can add-on a mini-family photo session.
• CELEBRATE: If you want to end your session in the Littlefield Fountain – bring some champagne to “pop” as well as a towel for drying off and flip flops to wear for afterwards. You can also bring some biodegradable paper confetti cannons to pop.
• WALKING SHOES: Since we’ll likely be doing a lot of walking around campus, wear or bring comfortable shoes to change into between spots (I’ll have my blue rolling cart to help carry everything).
• GROUP SESSIONS: If you’re interested in a group session with some friends, contact me for group pricing.
• TOWER CONSTRUCTION: Keep an eye on the latest UT Tower construction updates.

 After exploring around the Butterfly Bridge, we drove over to the Tau Ceti mural and then took some photos on top of the Convention Center Garage rooftop.

• TIMING: Right before Spring Graduation, Campus gets pretty full of photo shoots. So try and plan earlier in the semester or choose off-times for your photos (or be okay with waiting for your turn in front of popular spots)
• PREP: Iron your regalia and bring it on a hanger.
• WHAT TO WEAR: You can pose in your full cap and gown, part of your regalia, regular dressy clothes or any combination of the above.
• LOCATIONS: If you have a particular spot on campus that means a lot to you (Ex. where you took the majority of your classes), let me know so we can include it in our route.
• ROUTE: I’ll send you a list of popular spots before your date so you can give me your top four choices to visit in your hour-long session.
• MINI ADD-ON: If your family will be in town, we can add-on a mini-family photo session.
• CELEBRATE: If you want to end your session in the Littlefield Fountain – bring some champagne to “pop” as well as a towel for drying off and flip flops to wear for afterwards. You can also bring some biodegradable paper confetti cannons to pop.
• WALKING SHOES: Since we’ll likely be doing a lot of walking around campus, wear or bring comfortable shoes to change into between spots (I’ll have my blue rolling cart to help carry everything).
• GROUP SESSIONS: If you’re interested in a group session with some friends, contact me for group pricing.
• TOWER CONSTRUCTION: Keep an eye on the latest UT Tower construction updates.

Happy May!

Ready for a fun mix of events, classes and places to visit in Austin, Texas in 2026?

Check out the links below for inspiration.

May END OF SCHOOL CELEBRATION

School’s out for the summer! (end of May dates vary) – why not go ​swim at Barton Springs​, get an ​snow cone​ or ​ice cream cone​ and burn all your old school work in a fire pit (as long as we’re not on a burn ban 😉

Or maybe you want to throw a ​water balloon fight​ or go ​float in the river​.

You could also hire an ​ice cream truck​ to come to your neighborhood for all your friends.

May EVENTS

Appreciate the wacky wordplay at the ​O. Henry Pun-Off​ (their 49th year!) on May 9th from 10am-6pm at Brush Square Park. To get in the mood, read some of these ​terrible puns​.

Eat well at the ​Hot Luck Food Festival​ May 22nd-25th (at various locations).

Listen to a free outdoor concert starting May 22nd at the Long Center for their ​Drop-in Music​ Series.

Watch free ​Ballet under the Stars​ May 29th-30th at the Zilker Hillside Theater.

Attend Season 15 of the ​ATX TV Festival​ from May 28th-31st

May CLASSES

Learn what ​plants are most dog-friendly​ at the Wildflower Center on May 2nd.

Prepare a full ​Frontier Feast​ with this cooking class at Pioneer Farms on May 2nd.

Get Paid to Talk after you take this ​Intro to Voice Overs​ workshop on May 3rd.

Take a ​repair-to-re-wear workshop​ with CrafternoonATX on May 16th.

Feel prepared after attending an ​Emergency Preparedness Pop-up​ at the Library on May 20th.

May HOLIDAYS

Mother’s Day (May 10th): You could always get your mom the gift of photos (see photo session section below), ​take her out for brunch​, ​watch Steel Magnolias​ at Waterloo Greenway, ​picnic at the Wildflower Center​, or bring Mom to see some ​art at the Blanton​.

Memorial Day (May 25th): Why not ​get out on the water​ to celebrate Memorial Day – you could kayak, take a cruise or go camping. Or you could eat and dance at the ​Austin Greek Festival​.

May PHOTO SESSIONS

If you’d like to book Senior or Family Photos this Spring/Summer (perhaps as a Mother’s Day gift), ​reach out​ and let me know.

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