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Crockett Garden Falls the high point; lots of ankle twisters
User: plectrudis - 1/2/2016  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 3point5stars
Distance: 9.40 Miles Duration: N/A

From the Cedar Breaks trailhead.

The best part of the hike was definitely the Crockett Gardens Fall.  Note that for the best view of the falls, you'll need to take a little side trip--follow the stone marker and take the path to the right.  It's less than a quarter-mile.  Everything else was grey and dreary and leafless, but the falls were this glorious mound of emerald, cascading with maidenhair ferns and crowned, implausibly, with a huge pool of elephant ears.  

The old farm ruins were pretty neat, too, and when you return to the main trail and climb up above the falls, there's this magical spot where the springs puddle before they trickle over the rock, and it's full of irises--would love to see them in bloom.

Cons: the trails are full of pointy, irregular, ankle-twisting rocks.("karst" maybe?). It's extra work to pick your way over this treacherous footing, and all the time you have to spend watching your feet really limits your sightseeing.  Picturesque, but a PAIN in the arse.  Unless you're a mountain goat, pack an ace bandage, just in case.

Also, the trail mile markers don't appear to begin counting until the trail hits the lake, which means you get an extra mile to and from the parking lot.  We meant to walk 7 miles (manageable), but because of the weird way the miles are counted, we accidentally ended up hiking 9.4 miles, which beat the stuffing out of me.

I'd do it again (especially when the irises are blooming), but probably only to the Crockett Gardens and back, so that it doesn't turn into a death march.

Tejas Park: Not sure I was actually on the trail
User: plectrudis - 9/28/2015  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3point5stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A

This was my first hike on the S Gabriel trail, so I didn't really know what to expect.  I found the trailhead easily enough, but the trail was interrupted by a camping area, and I couldn't figure out where it picked back up.  There was a Jeep track leading off to the left, so I thought, what the heck, and followed it. 

Very pretty views from the Jeep track--the river sweeps around in an arc to the left; on the right is a small prairie, and in the distance in front of you is a nice line of hills.  However, there is ZERO shade, so a fine hike for a Sept evening, but probably miserable on an Aug afternoon.

After about 3/4mile, there was a walking trail leading down to the river, so I took that and scarbbled around the riverbank until it turned sharply to the left.  It was pleasant and desolate--just me, an army of grasshoppers, and some kildeer making very melancholy calls.  Oh, and a lone kayaker, who must have spent as much time walking as paddling.

I'd do it again, but I'll probably try other sections of the trail first--hopefully, more clearly marked sections.

 

Great veiwes and awesome glimpse into history.
User: WarriorHistorian - 2/1/2015  [View Log Page]
Rating: 5stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 8.00 Miles Duration: N/A

Hiked 4 miles in from the Cedar Breaks Park TH past Crockett Gardens. While Crockett Gardens was gorgeous and a great glimpse into history I was saddened to find that a large portion of the area, including where the springs flow out of the limestone cliffside and the old 3 walled structure, are fenced off and marked private property. The landowners have obstructed a large fence that causes a choke point on the trail. I'm absolutely dumbfounded that they would do this to prevent explorers from taking the whole area in especially since it's not easily accessible from the rest of their land due to a good size cliff wall. There was still much of the original structures that we could explore along with the falls. Highly recommend this trek to anyone who loves good views and history. Will return to explore further in the future. As always Id be happy to accompany fellow travelers, marksanderson23@icloud.com.

Bit off more than we could chew, almost...
User: khdesigns - 10/18/2014  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4point5stars Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 10.00 Miles Duration: N/A

The plan was to finish off the final miles of the trail to complete the entire loop. We have been hiking/camping sections of the 26 miles for the last year. 

We parked one car at booty crossing park, then drove to russell park to our campsite and started hiking back to booty crossing to drive back to Russell park for the night. About 10 miles. 

We left Russell park and hiked to Jim Hogg to rest and eat lunch, also got in the lake to cool off a bit. This section was 3.5 miles give or take. The trail markings start to get confusing as in, non-existent around mile 23 through 26. It started getting late, the sun was setting and we still had a couple of miles to make it to Booty Crossing Park before the gate was locked for the night, along with our ride back to Russell! Eeek 

The last mile was basically a paved sidewalk and we jogged to get to our car, in the dark with headlamps. My husband waited at the gate while I ran to get the car. As I pulled up the guy was there to lock the gate.

The last two miles all I could think about was my bed. We were pretty worn out but WE DID IT! We hadn't set up camp before stepping off so we took it back to the casa for the night.

We camped at Russell Park the next weekend and did some short hikes.

Relaxing and enjoyable.

We live in Georgetown and love the trails around the lake. It's always an adventure. See you on the trails!

 

 

nice, but HOT
User: Sunshinedog - 6/21/2014  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3point5stars Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 2point5stars
Distance: 15.00 Miles Duration: N/A

I have done different sections at different times.  It is rough in spots, about first 2 miles in from TH you will run into hikers, walkers, runners in the early morning, but not many others after that.  The rocky parts at the beggining will kill you and your dogs feet.

After mile 2 there is about a mile of prairie opening that will bake your skin and brain-  I call it the death mile in the summer, but then you come the springs- even in the drought there is enough cold water trickle down the ferns to make life enjoyable again.

Tejas to Sawyer and back
User: crocodile235 - 9/22/2013  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 8.50 Miles Duration: N/A

I did Cedar Breaks to mile marker 3 and back last year (not as much solitude there), but this time I started at Tejas Camp and went to Sawyer Camp and back.  (Plus a detour down a jeep trail between mile markers 9 and 10 where I discovered a secluded camp site in some trees near a creek/drainage.)  It ended up being around 8.5 miles.

Tejas Camp looked pretty nice, a good quiet place to camp if you don't need amenities (like showers).  Depite it being a gorgeous, not-too-hot weekend, there was no one there.  The toilets are adequate and there's water.  Some of the camp sites are near one another, and others are more secluded.  Most were shaded.

Sawyer Camp, on the other hand, was a mess.  If they're not going to fix up the old toilet structure, they should just knock it down--it's an eyesore.  Several of the fire/grill pits were broken and/or overgrown with grasses and vines.  There was litter scattered around.  The one picnic table there was OK.  The lake level was low, and if you needed to go down to pump water, you'd have quite a trek.   I saw only one, maybe two camp sites that would be worth pitching a tent in, and that's being generous due to the lovely solitude.

The trail itself was pretty good.  Lots of varied terrain, switching from open fields to wooded sections to rocky outcroppings.  I only saw a couple of other people the whole time.  There were some sections where grasses have grown over rocks on the trail--it would be easy to twist an ankle or crash your bike here.

Diamond in the rough. 11 minutes form Austin CIty Limits
User: jvmx - 6/22/2013  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 22.00 Miles Duration: N/A

We dropped in at the Cedar Breaks trail head and waked the full south shore of the lake. 11 Miles out. 11 miles back.

We saw very few people the entire 24 hours. On a weekend where we could not get a reservation at any state park with 100 miles of Austin.

  • There is nothing at the Cedar Breaks trail head other than a tidy parking lot. No water. No Trash cans. Nothing.

  • The "map" they pass out at the gate is the same PDF that you get on the web. ( http://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/georgetown/images/gtwn%20images/images/HikingTrailCDW.pdf ) IF you are an orienteering person: forget it. Perhaps the USGS quads are available.

  • The trail is not well marked, but very easy to follow. Our only confusion was to turn off on the feed trails Cedar Hollow Camp and Sawyer Camp. There are rck sign structures to mark the trail junction, but the wooden part that told you what is going on has rotted away.

  •   Crocket Garden/ Knight Springs was nice and cool. Good spot to filter water. (mile 2.5 or so)

  • Cedar Hollow Camp was empty other that one group of campers: despite the fact it was a Saturday night in June. It looked very nice. There are no facilities or clean water there. We pumped lake water here to purify it. We did not stay here. It did look nice. There were some boaters who looked like they were about to do "Drive Up Camping"

  • Sawyer Camp (Mile 6.5 ?) was up the hill a bit form the lake. There was not a single person there. We got there about 5 PM on a summer saturday. So if you are looking for a get away: this could be it. Getting to the lake to get water was a bit of a scramble thru some medium thickets. Bothe Sawyer and Cedar Hollow have old abandoned outhouse facilities. These are so abandoned that they have neglected to even tear them down. They are not useful: if you are the kind of hiker who needs potty....

  • From mile 7 to 10 the grass grows in on the trail so Knee high socks or long pants are advised. (not to mention the waves of grasshoppers you will upset: it was like a biblical /plague but cool!)

  • Tejas Park Campground is the one at the extreme West end. Very nice facility: But it is a "Drive up and camp" place. Despite this we were the only one to stay the night. Its clean an the land around it is very nice. Lots of room if you have kids who want to run in the open meadow. There is a single water socket with running water and restrooms.

    NOTE: The old guy who care takes the Tejas facility is very nice: but I get the impression that he has to have the rules followed. This means make sure you print your reservation slip or have it on your iPhone.

    * You never get to far from the noises of boats, farms or highways. But you don't see too much of it.

    We will go back and probably do the north shore before summer is out.
User: crocodile235 - 4/1/2013  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 4stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: N/A
User: ValEpiscopo - 3/24/2013  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4point5stars Difficulty: 4stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 14.00 Miles Duration: 5 hours
Hiked Good Water Trail from trail head to Sawyer Creek Hollow and back.
Great escape from the city
User: tarrains - 3/24/2012  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4point5stars Difficulty: 3point5stars Solitude: 4point5stars
Distance: 8.00 Miles Duration: N/A

We started off by a few fishing areas and hiked four miles around the bend, up and down a hill, and through meadows to a friends campsite. We swam some but freaked out when we saw a snake. We fished some but it wasn't a good time of day. The camp site was very secluded. We hiked back in a race to beat the sun. The hill was much harder on the quick return. This lake has interesting and has ever changing terrain, beautiful scenic overlooks, and very open but secluded campsites. Sorry I can't remember the names of the trails or campsites.

Crockett Gardens
User: Riff Raff - 3/24/2012  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3point5stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 5.95 Miles Duration: 4 hours

Went out to Crockett Gardens and back. Terrain was different than I remembered, because the lake level was significantly higher than I'd ever seen it before. The waterfall going directly into the lake was beautiful, and the irises were in full bloom along with other wildflowers.

Good Place for Family and Dogs
User: estudio64 - 3/17/2012  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3point5stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: 2 hours
My girlfriend and our dog joined our friends' family which consisted of a three-year-old, a six-year-old, a 15-year-old, and a 17-year-old. Everyone, dog included, enjoyed the hike. Being that we had such a large group, we didn't venture much further than the first stem trail to the lake shore that we found, but it was a great place to get some sun, skip rocks, and look for spiders. On our short journey, I was struck by the seemingly endless splay of junipers that nestled us on either side of the trail. Staring deep into it, an expansive feeling overtook me, like looking into two mirrors facing each other or taking in the relentless dark of Longhorn Caverns. The moment, however brief, filled and nurtured a heart otherwise troubled by the constant pressure to correct disruptive and destructive behavior of children and dog. Illusions can heal. Often, they are the only thing we can look to.
The Big Loop
User: Trailmagic - 7/17/2011  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 4stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 27.00 Miles Duration: N/A
The Goodwater trail is connected all the way around the lake. 27 total miles approximately. I completed the loop in an overnighter with about 5 other folks from the Austin hiking meet up group. Excellent overnight backpacking trip. We left from Jim hogg and camped at Sawyer.. then completed the loop in the morning. A couple of things.. you can fill water at the overlook and entrance station, so don't over carry on the first day..you can also fill water at Camp Tejas on day 2 which is an easy hike after the camp out.. The trail is overall Flat, but its on limestone nearly the whole way and can create some significant foot pain so wear sturdy shoes and walk carefully.. This is an excellent long walk close to Austin.
Changed my mind
User: texaskdog - 2/13/2011  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3point5stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Decided that we aren't really ready for an 11 mile hike so decided to try once again to find Tejas Camp and hike 2 hours round trip, exactly one year from our last visit, to the east side.  Enjoyed it much more this time.  We lost the trail out of Tejas as it hit the water but climbed up and found it.  Near mile 9 climbing the hill was really cool.  We got to mile marker 8 which seemed like a logical place to turn around.  on the way back we followed the main trail which actually goes way out of the way.  Saw a plane lose its engine but got it back on and went to Georgetown, looked like danger coming.

Beautiful loop trail. Recommended!
User: voolevoonye - 2/5/2011  [View Log Page]
Rating: 5stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 4point5stars
Distance: 12.00 Miles Duration: 5 hours, 15 minutes

Beautiful trail, and so close to Austin! This was my first and I will definitely come back for the rest of it. Did only 6 miles in and back (12 total) this morning. We started at the Cedar Breaks trailhead and went clockwise. Yesterday was a snow day so when we started around 9:30am we still had some snow on the ground and some of the falls were frozen! The drawback was that on the way back it all became muddy :-) We were alone for most of the time; only when we headed back afternoon we saw a few hikers and couple of families. Note that my rating referrs only to the first 6 miles clockwise. Will come back for the whole loop in spring.

User: Frank James - 6/13/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: N/A

Started out at Cedar Breaks trail head and hiked it to the lake shore. I enjoyed this one very much. I wish i could of went further but my chi's couldnt make it any more. I had to carry one back lol. Very fun though its covered by trees so it wasnt hot at all. Not to secluded i passed 2 bickers and 2 pairs of other hikers. All in all it was fun.

Great beginner trail
User: Crazydad - 5/29/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: N/A
Took my daughter there today for the first time. Started at the Cedar Breaks trail head and headed in for 2 miles. Interesting variety of terrain from smooth to rocky that kept the hike interesting. Trail is mostly shaded, so even though it was mid 90's, it was not too bad. Make sure to wear good shoes, my daughter was wearing tennis shoes and her feet were hurting by the end of hike because of the rocks.
User: jinxleah - 5/10/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: 3 hours

I went to the Jim Hogg trailhead yesterday afternoon. This was my first of many visits. It took me 3 hours to hike because there is just so much to see and explore. I can't wait to see the rest of the trail! On my visit there were only three groups of people there. Me, the folks in the speedboat on the lake, and the folks manning the Corps of Engineers station. It made for a very nice hike.

End of our hike around the lake
User: sandew - 5/9/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 11.00 Miles Duration: N/A

This was our 2nd trip around the lake, doing several miles each time usually weekly.  We saw different things that we didn't see last year. 

There's a candy box on the trail going east from Russell park that marks the turn along the fence to head north.  It was helpful as due to the rain the trail that goes alon the road was under water.  This was during January 2010.

We finished this year going east to west this time, as the last 2 miles is flat headed to Tejas camp, we felt this was a little easier than the opposite direction, in any case it's 11 miles, so started at 8 am and finished at 3pm. 

The only thing we had forgotten about was the hill you had to climb (24 steps up and 19 down) before getting to the flat land.  We may have taken the lower route last year due to the drought, but not able to do it this year.

Can't wait to start the hike when it's cooler again next fall (usually start about November).

Peaceful, easy spring hike- so many bluebonnets!
User: MaCtAzTx - 4/11/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

We're estimating we only went three miles because of frequent stops to look at wildflowers or other interesting things. It was a cloudy day but brilliant with all the bluebonnets. We were fascinated by the wide variety of trees, flowers and plants as new transplants to TX.

We did an easy hike starting to the right of the parking lot-(Lake Overlook Rd entrance),  then turned around knowing from what we read the trail goes on forever. Would've loved to gone further but did not have proper supplies: bug spray, extra snacks & h20. Only passed a few other people which was great. Would like to try another park entrance and do some trails on a more scenic part of the lake.

Not really my kind of hike
User: texaskdog - 2/14/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

Tried to find the Tejas camp on the west end and couldnt locate it.  Wound up in someone's driveway and had to back out.  Finally found the east end.  They dont let you on the dam anymore.  Takes 20 minutes of walking to even get to the lake, and the path doesn't really go close to the lake.  Pretty redundant til you get to the falls and that was just okay as you see it from the top, then we turned around.  Temperature dropped 15 degrees at the halfway point so wasn't too fun an experience for us.

Great hike! Mostly treed
User: sandew - 4/6/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 5stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 28.00 Miles Duration: 1 day, 6 hours

Every 5-6 miles we hiked were different.  Winter time was the best, no bugs or wildlife to interfer with walk.  There is 26 miles marked, but doubled a lot of the miles.   

Two bridges are around MP 3, and two hills are around MP 7, there are three primative camps, two on the south side of lake. 

Good all around hike
User: westtexas - 3/18/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 23.00 Miles Duration: 13 hours

We did the majority of the complete loop this past weekend, March 14-15 '09.    We started at Cedar Breaks and worked clockwise, although in the future I'd probably reverse that and go counter-clockwise, getting the few miles of paved road and dam out of the way first.    Due to a late start on Saturday, combined with a variety of stops to view scenery, etc. we started to worry about getting over to Walnut Springs in time to set up camp in the daylight.  It was a 15 mile stretch from Cedar Breaks to Walnut Springs, and for a trio of 40+ year old backpackers in questionable shape, it was a little much.   To ensure we'd make it in time to Walnut Springs, we opted to take the old Hunt low-water concrete crossing bridge instead of going all the way to the Tejas crossing, saving a little over 3 miles.  Thus the reason for me posting that we did 23 miles of a 26 mile loop.  The Hunt crossing was high and dry, and the river / lake is so low that we could have actually crossed a mile or so before even the Hunt crossing.   We ended up at Walnut Springs around 5pm, and thanks to the recent rains, the burn ban had been lifted for the weekend allowing us to have a campfire.  The following day we headed out of Walnut Springs, stopping at Russell Park to fill up on water.  The hiking was nice with the cooler weather, although it was overcast and misting rain off and on.  But the pain was the muddy trail, and the gumbo mud collected quickly on your boots forcing you to frequently clean them off or suffer what felt like was lugging an extra 10 pounds on each foot.    As noted earlier, when you're already tired, finishing off the trail with a 2 mile hike across the dam and then paved roads (uphill) isn't the most pleasant of endings, so in the future we'll go the other way.   Also, unless you're just a gung-ho speed hiker, and instead want to enjoy the hike, I'd probably break it up into a  3 day outing with shorter hikes.  Plus I'd go when the trail is a little dryer.   All in all, great scenery and decent solitude (we saw only a couple of groups on the trail and one group near us at the Walnut Springs Camp).   We'll definitely do this one again!  Long loops are rare in Texas!

Just to the falls and back
User: seamonkey78704 - 1/1/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: 3 hours

This is the first time I've been up to this park, or lake Georgetown at all, and it's also the first hike I've logged on this site, though I will have to decide if I'm allowed to log ones I've done, before I discovered austin explorer. I also had to decide how I'm going to rate these trails. I decided that I have to rate things in terms of Texas and local parks, as opposed to all trails everywhere... so, in terms of comparing this hike against, say, Yosemite up to the top of Half Dome, I'd rank it a 2, but as compared to other Austin stuff, such as Pedernales or the Barton Creek Greenbelt when the water is running, it's more like a four (with those two being the best ones around, and therefore 5's). I will try to keep an even balance on difficulty though, and other than a couple small hills and some uneven rock, this trail was pretty easy, hence the 2. Anyway... this was  a great hike, and I may come back out and backpack the whole thing sometime.


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