Return to McKinney Falls State Park

Dont bother
User: texaskdog - 5/2/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: 20 minutes

Followed the paved Onion Creek trail until it goes up the hill and you see the "please stay on trail" sign.  There is a path around a gate and it takes 20 minutes round trip after you leave the path.  Really isn't worth the time & effort, though the paved path leading up to it is (until you get to the hill itself)

Most hikes were great
User: texaskdog - 5/2/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 8.00 Miles Duration: 3 hours

Homestead-Great and remote.  Onion Creek-part by the creek was nice.  Rock Shelter-fun.  Upper Onion-nothing special.

Short but pretty
User: austinali27 - 3/3/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: N/A
One of the best $5 you'll ever spend.
User: sdonaldson - 2/21/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A
It's okay
User: texaskdog - 2/7/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 45 minutes

Wanted to do Homestead too but water was roaring!  Nice thing is it made the falls GREAT and better than the trickle before, still had to pay the full $5 and they didn't tell us Homestead was uncrossable going in.  The western side is far nicer but also the shortest part.  It is a nice hike but nothing spectacular.

Great short hike
User: texaskdog - 2/7/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: 15 minutes

Grading on a curve, it is SO short but a beautiful bridge and rock shelter make it worth it.  Can be done on the way to the homestead trail from the visitor center.

Nice waterfalls
User: 9hiking - 1/21/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: N/A
Nice day hike
User: Buddahbabym - 9/6/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A

This was a nice hike- and paved the entire way.  The map from the park was not very accurate- but we were still able to figure out where we were going.  McKinney Falls is very neat-however- the falls are not there this year- due to the draught?  This was a nice- simple hike.  Very enjoyable

Homested trail
User: reynoldser - 7/10/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: N/A

Lovely little park just down the street. Well worth checking out, though they don't allow swimming in the lower falls.

Hiking and swimming.
User: Falchion - 7/3/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour

We hiked between the lower and upper falls (maybe 2 miles round trip?) on the nature trail.  We did it in the morning while it was cooler, although it is still hot.  We saw no one outside of the area around the two falls.

Then we went swimming beneath the upper falls, which was busy, but not crowded and very refreshing after sweating on the hike.  All in all, a good morning and afternoon.

Due to the drought, the falls were a little disappointing.  Plenty of water for swimming at the upper falls, but not much coming over the falls.  The lower falls didn't look very good for swimming and only had a few fisherman there.

User: reynoldser - 6/13/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours
rock shelter
User: caspalding66 - 5/7/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 0.50 Mile Duration: 15 minutes
short and quick...great rock formation
Scenic, Good Trails
User: tjbustem - 3/28/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 0.50 Mile Duration: 30 minutes

Beautiful trail worth doing even though it is only 1/2 mile.

Easy, Scenic
User: tjbustem - 3/28/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

The map on this site is accurate for this hike.  The one you get at the park is way off.  We were never sure we were actually on the right trail.

Easy, Scenic
User: tjbustem - 3/27/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour

Mostly paved trail with nice scenery.

Easy, slightly hilly
User: tjbustem - 3/27/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

Mostly paved trails that meander past Onion Creek and up through a wooded area.  After a while much of it began to look the same.

Peace and Quiet
User: supercobraz - 2/10/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 3.64 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Took me longer then it should because I was constantly trying to locate my position with my GPS. Man...that map they give you is way off. The extra distance is because I measured from the parking lot and did some walking around the falls to get to the trail head.

Peaceful, easy walk
User: row_01 - 1/3/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 5stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Looking forward to returning in the summer and swimming in the water.  The falls area was nice, there were people fishing there.  The trail was easy, small hills at the beginning and flat for most of the rest. 

nice waterfalls, easy hike
User: haggai - 1/1/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

We hiked around the upper and lower falls, and the rock shelter.  The water was low because of the drought, but it was neat to see all the tunnels carved in the rock by Onion Creek.

Good Easy Walk
User: DirectionlyImpaired - 11/4/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

Entering the park I bought a state park pass and the rangers (are they still called that?) were very nice and I was given a good map to help from getting lost.

I started with the Rock Shelf Interpretive Trail which was short but interesting.  The trail was a bit rough but not too bad and well worth the detour from the main trails.  After that I started at the swimming area which was filled with kids and a bit loud and followed the paved Hike and Bike Trail past the camping area.  Just past the camping area is a bit of a steep hill but there were benches to sit down and relax throughout the trail.  It was a nice, easy and quite walk and I even got to stop and watch an armidillo foraging for food.  

The only drawbacks were the noise around the swimming area and getting passed by 3 or 4 bikers but that was very minor. 

Overall, I will definitely go back to try the Homestead trail.

Fun photo opportunities
User: rhiwink - 10/18/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 3 minutes

We love doing nature and flower photography, this hike had both.

Nice Hike
User: stk1618 - 9/27/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 8.00 Miles Duration: 3 hours

Even though it is hard to find the trailhead for the first time, it is a nice trail. The reason my distance is longer is because I walked this loop 3 times.

User: bwellmon - 5/24/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 minute
User: lancescape - 2/28/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

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