Horse Trails, South Loop from Bird Blind
Pedernales Falls State Park
- 6/4/2005
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Distance: 11.00 Miles
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In addition to the designated hiking trails, there are at least 12 miles of equestrial trails not included on the normal park map. If you ask real nicely the folks at the headquarters will give you a very cheesy map of them. Photocopy of the normal map with the horse trails filled in with a felt tip marker.
Starting from the birding blind (just outside the horse corral area) I went through the corral area and got on the trail where the sign marks "Gunney's Horse Trail". Everywhere else this trail is labelled as the South Loop and the Short Loop. It's a long narrow loop trail with a cutoff in the middle that forms the Short Trail. Unlike the Wolf Mountain trail, the equestrian trails are generally unimproved, though they sometimes follow Jeep tracks. No asphalt or other nastiness.
Starting out, the trail was very muddy (it rained the day before) but after 1/2 a mile or so things dried out and got better. It stayed that way until the last half mile or so of the return trip. The last 4 or 5 miles are spent walking next to the park boundary, which is marked by an 8 foot tall fence. This wasn't as unpleasant as it sounds, but it wasn't nearly as nice as the much more pristine terrain that the rest of the trail followed. A little ways before encountering the fence the trail crosses the park road just inside the front gate. It might be worth setting up a car shuttle to avoid the fence walking, especially if you aren't really interested in the full 11 mile round trip.
I've now hike the full length once and the portion starting at the Wolf Mountain trailhead (~7 mile loop) and not seen anyone else on the trail. That includes a visit on Memorial Day weekend when there was a line 6 cars long to get an entrance permit and the park was pretty much full up. They don't advertise this trail and the solitude is wonderful.
nice scenery, varied terrain
Spicewood Springs Trail
- 3/20/2005
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Distance: 7.50 Miles
Duration: N/A
I took the Spicewood Springs trail up to the road, then the connecting trail down to the river, followed the riverside trail well past the "no bicycling" sign and then doubled back through the campgrounds to my car.
The springs and pools near the trailhead were flowing very profusely. Keeping my feet dry was a challenge. Running shoes were probably a bad idea - sandals or waterproof boots would have been less worry.
The trail starts in a lush riverside area, proceeds up past a series of waterfalls and pools, then tops out in a typical hill country oak/cedar woodland (fairly open - no dense thickets or cedar breaks). Finally it moves back down to the riverside area with lots of tall deciduous trees.
The difficulty rating comes from crossing the creek over and over at the beginning. Rocks are slick, the water level was above the stepping stones, and it wouldn't have been too hard to slip and end up taking an impromptu swim (or getting injured, if that's your thing).
Near where the trail starts at the south end of the camping area there are several pools popular with swimmers and sunbathers. Most visitors to the park stay near the river and this area is especially heavily used, hence 4 on the solitude scale. The rest of the trail was completely deserted (and has been completely or nearly completely empty every other time I've visited).
Enchanted Rock
- 3/20/2005
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Distance: 4.00 Miles
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I did the summit trail, then doubled back to Echo Canyon, from there to the loop trail and around Turkey Peak back to the parking area.
A nice hike, but throngs of people detract from the mountaintop experience. Most of them don't venture into the back country, which is a saving grace.
moderately long out and back
Circle C Ranch Metropolitan Park on Slaughter Creek
- 3/20/2005
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Distance: 4.00 Miles
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There's a moderately long out and back trail that parallels Slaughter lane from one end of the park all the way to Mopac. It starts between the park entrance on Slaughter Lane and the creek (opposite side of the creek from the parking area and soccer fields). Trail is crushed granite. It crosses Escarpment just inside the Circle C subdivision entrance. You have to climb the embankment and watch for traffic. A lot of people park their cars on the road and walk from there.
I did this hike around dusk on a weeknight. The trail wasn't crowded, but I regularly saw other people - joggers or people walking their dogs.
This trail has always had a surprising amount of wildlife. This time I saw several cottontails, mountain lion scat and a great horned owl.
Lots of birds
Canyon of the Eagles - Lakeside
- 2/20/2005
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Distance: 5.00 Miles
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Very very good map, well marked trails, not many people. Not very long.
Most of the trails close on March 1, so 1 more weekend before they go bye-bye.