View Full Version : Trails near Austin
I will hopefully be pursuing a PhD in the fall and one of the schools I am being urged to apply to is UT Austin. Now I'm a Yankee and always have been, so I was hoping folks from around there could tell me what the hiking is out that way. I am used to being able to pop off into the mountains here on weekends to detox from work and I can only imagine that being more important if I am in a meat-grinder of a PhD program.
Thanks
Paul the Brit
11-30-2013, 01:36
There are several state parks around Austin http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/
Comet Omega
12-01-2013, 08:54
Lake Georgetown. 26 mile loop around the lake. Two good primitive sites for camping....Walnut Springs and Sawyer. Best place and closest place to Austin.
Austin has a greenway as well, and there is some short hiking in park areas inside city limits. Lots of hiking in central Texas. Just remember to account for more water in the warm months (so like April through November LOL)
Looks to be some good stuff. The loop around Lake Georgetown especially looks like a fun way to spend a weekend. Thanks for the info!
Comet Omega
12-04-2013, 19:18
Hook em' !!!!
Austin has WAY more trails and outdoor activities than we do in San Antonio. But nothing like the AT. I miss the mountains...
4eyedbuzzard
12-18-2013, 01:17
Austin has WAY more trails and outdoor activities than we do in San Antonio. But nothing like the AT. I miss the mountains...I hear ya. I've been here in Ft. Worth about 4 months and there are damn few places to go other than a few short day hikes and it's flat as hell. I'm planning to try to get up to the Ouachita Trail in southeastern OK a couple of weekends this winter, weather allowing. I miss being able to drive 1/2 hour to a trailhead like in NH.
CarlZ993
12-18-2013, 15:32
Their are some nice state parks in Central Texas for some hiking/backpacking: Enchanted Rock (E-Rock as it's called by us locals), Lost Maples, Colorado Bend, etc. They tend to be on the small side. The best hiking in Texas is in the Chisos (Big Bend National Park) & Guadalupe Mountains (Guadalupe Mountains National Park). And it is a loooooong way from Austin. Big Bend is about 500 miles from my house. Guadalupe Mtns is further. On the plus side, you'll be driving 80 mph on I-10. The boring scenery will go by faster. :)
SawnieRobertson
12-19-2013, 15:25
Over night trails are for the most part absent in Texas, but, as others have pointed out, there are plenty of state parks to check out. The trade off though is that the weather is not usually too forbidding. I've been curious about the Lone Star Trail, but you would be driving a while to get there. Conditioning though is not at all difficult to do at the U of T. There are many stairs to climb if nothing else. If I were you though, I would count as a monthly expense flying to somewhere you can get your "fix" on Southwest Airlines.
Siestita
12-19-2013, 20:07
"I hear ya. I've been here in Ft. Worth about 4 months and there are damn few places to go other than a few short day hikes and it's flat as hell." While living SW of Ft. Worth in Stephenville I sometimes day hiked, or overnighted, at Dinosaur Valley Sate Park, near Glen Rose. They have several designated back country campsites that you can walk for a mile or two to reach. See:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/dinosaur-valley
The other natural attraction in that area is the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.
CarlZ993
12-19-2013, 23:20
Over night trails are for the most part absent in Texas, but, as others have pointed out, there are plenty of state parks to check out. The trade off though is that the weather is not usually too forbidding. I've been curious about the Lone Star Trail, but you would be driving a while to get there. Conditioning though is not at all difficult to do at the U of T. There are many stairs to climb if nothing else. If I were you though, I would count as a monthly expense flying to somewhere you can get your "fix" on Southwest Airlines.
A hard, 1-day drive gets you into the Pecos Wilderness outside of Santa Fe, NM. Nice hiking there. I head that general direction on so many of my trips out west that I can tell you the first names of the people who work at the Clovis NM Welcome Center along Hwy 84 (Bruce & Betty).
You can park in the designated lot at Enchanted Rock and walk around to the far side of the rock, pitch camp, stay a night or two. Walk to the top of the Rock. A very pleasant experience. Except during Spring Break.
The Gila Wilderness in southern NM isn't all that far either.
Big Bend is closer. There are several multi-day possibilities in Big Bend.
Wayne
I've lived in both western Mass and Austin. If you're used to hiking in western Mass, you're going to find Austin hiking pretty sucky. There are a few parks and preserves near town (I liked Wild Basin), but no place at all to backpack. Most of the parks on the small side and completely surrounded by development now. The larger places mentioned above, like E-Rock, are a few hours away from Austin and maybe not worth the drive. If you want to spend a full day in the car, you can get to Big Bend or southern New Mexico, I guess.
Basically, if having good hiking in relatively large and nearby undeveloped areas is important to you, you may find Austin disappointing. The Hill Country is definitely pretty, but almost all of it is private property.
Shutterbug
12-21-2013, 11:53
I will hopefully be pursuing a PhD in the fall and one of the schools I am being urged to apply to is UT Austin. Now I'm a Yankee and always have been, so I was hoping folks from around there could tell me what the hiking is out that way. I am used to being able to pop off into the mountains here on weekends to detox from work and I can only imagine that being more important if I am in a meat-grinder of a PhD program.
Thanks Try Caprock Canyon State Park and Palo Dura Canyon State Park. Both are northwest of Austin. They offer some interesting weekend hiking.
Perdernales Falls State Park has some great trails and some backcountry campsites. https://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/pedernales-falls