Major let down
Garner State Park
[Hiking]
- 3/19/2011
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20 minutes north of Garner SP is Lost Maples SP. The trails are better, the views are better and the trees are better. And, unless it's fall, it is much less crowed. However, if you're looking to go swimming, stay with Garner. My husband and I went hiking at Garner last weekend (3/19/11) and were horribly disappointed. The trails are pretty bad, the crowds were loud and there was litter/graffiti all over the park. Even after an hour of hiking we could hear the obnoxious music of the pavillion. The trails were crowded with people who could not read hiking maps, were ill equiped for trails made entirely of loose rock, and did not seem to be enjoying nature at all. Go to Garner SP to enjoy the river and the "party atmosphere", but not to enjoy quality hiking.
One of the best hikes in the area
Inks Lake State Park
[Hiking]
- 3/12/2011
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Distance: 7.00 Miles
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My husband and I have spent several years hiking around south and central Texas (as well as New Mexico, Colorado, west Texas, etc). While I would not rate Inks Lake with some of the bigger National Parks that we've hiked, it is one of the best state park hikes we've had in the area. Even on a crowded spring Saturday, the farther trails were pretty much empty, and most of those we saw on the trails were there with dogs and good attitudes. The trail markers were easy to identify. I would take a few highlighters and mark up your map to the color-coded map posted at the trail-head, as these colors will correspond to the trail markers.
For a post-hike cool down, be sure to check out the Devil's Watering Hole.
Overall, I was surprised by how impressed I was with Inks Lake State Park.
Panther Creek NT
Panther Canyon Nature Trail
[Hiking]
- 1/30/2011
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Distance: 1.50 Miles
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My husband and I are locals to the New Braunfels, Canyon Lake areas and hiked Panther Canyon NT last Sunday. FYI as of jan 2011, all of the markers and half the bridges are gone. I would assume it was from last summer's flood. It is still navigable (and honestly should be refered to as a "walk" and not a "hike"), but if you were looking to take advantage of the interpretive map to learn about the nature trail, I would wait until the markers are replaced. Another heads up, without the markers identifying the end of the trail is not easy. All of the sudden you end up walking next to someone's backyard with their dogs going crazy.