Crews work to restore the Great Lawn at Zilker Park on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, after the grass was damaged by muddy conditions and large crowds during the Austin City Limits Music Festival earlier this month. The festival’s producer, C3 Presents, is responsible for restoring the park under its agreement with the city.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Zilker Park’s Great Lawn remained closed Thursday, four days after its scheduled reopening following Austin City Limits Music Festival, and city officials have not provided a revised timeline for when the public can return.
Austin Parks and Recreation confirmed Thursday that maintenance will continue through October, with additional sections of the lawn remaining closed beyond that period for restoration. The department did not specify how much work has been completed, what repairs remain or whether damage from this year’s rain-soaked festival has delayed the reopening.
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The city’s park closures website, which was updated Oct. 19, continues to list Oct. 18 as the scheduled end of the Great Lawn’s closure, even as a passage farther down in the same section acknowledges the extended maintenance period.
“Zilker Park’s Great Lawn is currently closed for Austin Parks and Recreation’s annual maintenance period which runs through October 2026,” the department said in a statement Thursday. “Afterwards, portions of the Great Lawn will remain closed to allow for turf recovery, including restoring nutrients to the soil and trees and relieving soil compaction.”
The department said sections would reopen as work allows, although some areas will remain closed for the annual Trail of Lights event later this year.
Crews work to restore the Great Lawn at Zilker Park on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, after the grass was damaged by muddy conditions and large crowds during the Austin City Limits Music Festival earlier this month. The festival’s producer, C3 Presents, is responsible for restoring the park under its agreement with the city.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Parks officials did not provide an estimated reopening date when asked Thursday, instead directing the American-Statesman to the city’s closure website. When asked about the conflicting dates, A Parks Department spokesperson pointed to the notice farther down the same page, which states that maintenance will continue through October. They did not provide a revised reopening date.
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The uncertain timeline follows a particularly muddy ACL Fest, when heavy rainfall during the festival’s first weekend left portions of Zilker Park saturated and damaged by tens of thousands of concertgoers.
The conditions prompted concerns about the long-term health of the Great Lawn, with city officials promising extensive restoration work after the festival concluded Oct. 11.
In an Oct. 6 statement, Austin Parks and Recreation said festival promoter C3 Presents was contractually responsible for restoring the park to its previous condition or better, at no cost to taxpayers. Officials outlined plans for removing standing water, aerating compacted soil, restoring damaged turf and replacing grass where necessary.
The city also said its staff would oversee the restoration process and determine when areas could safely reopen based on soil stability, grass root development and public safety.
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Crews work to restore the Great Lawn at Zilker Park on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, after the grass was damaged by muddy conditions and large crowds during the Austin City Limits Music Festival earlier this month. The festival’s producer, C3 Presents, is responsible for restoring the park under its agreement with the city.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Crews work to restore the Great Lawn at Zilker Park on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, after the grass was damaged by muddy conditions and large crowds during the Austin City Limits Music Festival earlier this month. The festival’s producer, C3 Presents, is responsible for restoring the park under its agreement with the city.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Crews work to restore the Great Lawn at Zilker Park on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, after the grass was damaged by muddy conditions and large crowds during the Austin City Limits Music Festival earlier this month. The festival’s producer, C3 Presents, is responsible for restoring the park under its agreement with the city.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Crews work to restore the Great Lawn at Zilker Park on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, after the grass was damaged by muddy conditions and large crowds during the Austin City Limits Music Festival earlier this month. The festival’s producer, C3 Presents, is responsible for restoring the park under its agreement with the city.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Ahead of the festival’s second weekend, officials said crews had already leveled ruts, aerated the lawn, inspected irrigation systems and installed additional turf protection. The department said at the time that its goal was to reopen the Great Lawn on a similar timeline to previous years.
But the department’s Thursday response offered no accounting of the restoration work undertaken since the festival ended or whether the extent of the damage has complicated those efforts.
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Not all of Zilker Park remains closed. The rugby pitch across Barton Springs Road, which hosted a music stage, food vendors and a merchandise stand during ACL Fest, reopened Oct. 18, according to parks spokesperson Dan Manco.
For the Great Lawn, however, officials have yet to establish when the public can expect access to return.