An Austin Original Since 1969
A Family and Women Owned Business
It All Started With a Look at Town Lake.
In 1969, Howard Barnett was driving across the Lamar Street Bridge when he looked down at Town Lake — now Lady Bird Lake — and wondered something simple:
Why wasn’t anyone out there?
Howard and his wife, Dorothy, already shared a deep love for the outdoors. Years earlier, Howard had spent his summers working in Yellowstone National Park and as a smokejumper with the U.S. Forest Service while attending the University of Texas. Dorothy helped organize the very first meeting of the Austin Sierra Club, and together, the two spent their free time exploring Central Texas by canoe.
That afternoon on the Lamar bridge sparked an idea that would become part of Austin history.
Howard and Dorothy wrote a two-page proposal to the Austin Parks and Recreation Department asking for permission to rent canoes on Town Lake.
Austin said yes.
And Zilker Park Boat Rentals became the very first business granted a A Legacy Contract in the City of Austin.
Nine Canoes & One Big Idea
There were no investors. No giant launch. No fleet of hundreds.
Just nine canoes, purchased with money Howard and Dorothy had saved from Howard’s salary as a staff writer at Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Howard continued his work there while Dorothy ran the boat rentals — often with their daughter Laura at her side.
What started as nine canoes grew with Austin.
More than 56 years later, generations of Austinites and visitors have launched from this little stretch of Barton Creek to paddle, explore and experience the city from the water.
The Family Behind the Boats
While Howard built a career with Texas Parks and Wildlife, Dorothy built an extraordinary story of her own.
She earned degrees in Anthropology and English/Creative Writing from the University of Texas at Austin, became a Michener Fellow, and later earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University.
She helped establish Austin Community College’s Creative Writing Program, was a founding member of the Round Top Poetry Festival and The Rio Review, published her memoir Road Songs, and eventually retired as Assistant Dean of Communications at Austin Community College.
Through all of it, Zilker Park Boats remained part of the family.
Howard and Dorothy still live nearby and remain active in the business today.
A recent ribbon cutting ceremony with daughter’s Laura and Cory helped mark the next chapter of the business for many more years to come.
More Than a Boat Rental
For Howard and Dorothy, getting people on the water was never only about renting canoes.
It was about helping people care about the special environment of Barton Creek.
Conservation has remained at the heart of their work from the beginning. Over the years, they have supported efforts to protect Barton Creek and Lady Bird Lake and helped create opportunities for children to experience the natural spaces sitting right in their own backyard.
That mission remains part of where Zilker Park Boats is headed today:
Get people outside. Get them on the water. And inspire them to protect it.
Still Here. Still Austin.
Austin looks a little different than it did in 1969.
The skyline has changed. Town Lake became Lady Bird Lake.
But down on Barton Creek, you can still grab a paddle, push away from shore and see the city and Barton Creek the way Howard and Dorothy did all those years ago:
From the Water.
And we plan on keeping it that way for future generations.
