Long views, beautiful pines
McKinney Roughs
[Hiking]
- 2/21/2006
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Distance: 5.00 Miles
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We did this hike on President's Day, which was a cool, rainy, gray day. As a result, we were one of only a few people at the park and had the trails mostly to ourselves. The Pine Ridge Trail displays several enormous loblolly pines and a carpet of quiet, red pine needles set against deep green trees. At the top of the ridge we took in long, foggy views of the Colorado River, cattle pastures, and stands of woods. The hike was not hard, but was certaily vigorous, requiring us to climb and descend hills repeatedly. A great day - we highly reccomend this hike, whatever the weather!
a quiet, rocky hike
Good Water Trail
[Hiking]
- 11/11/2005
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Distance: 5.00 Miles
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We started at Cedar Breaks park and hiked to Crockett Gardens and back. On this day, at least, the Good Water trail seemed beautifully isolated and quiet. We only saw two boaters and two other hiking parties.
Pay close attention to the brush surrounding the trail; we spied two armadillos snuffling around in the leaves, completely oblivious to us.
Also, check out the interesting cacti growing on the left side of the trial between 1.5 and 2 miles; they are small, pickle-shaped plants growing out of the rock.
The springs at Crockett Gardens were interesting - around them grew a profusion of elephant ear plants and tiny ferns. Quite a contrast to the otherwise dry, rocky terrain of the Good Water Trail.
relaxing hike
Bastrop State Park - Lost Pines Trail
[Hiking]
- 5/7/2005
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Distance: 8.50 Miles
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Lost Pines is a beautiful trail - very shady and fragrant with pines. The first section is particularly beautiful, with pristine loblollys and a thick carpet of ferms. However, much of the hike is through pines that have been recently burned, which definitely takes the shine off this landscape. Furthermore, for the first half of the hike, you can hear the drone of Hwy 71. Even with these flaws, we highly reccomend this hike. After the hike, check out the Roadhouse Cafe at across the road from the entrance to the park.