Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Where: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
Trail: Lighthouse Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 5.75 miles round trip
Adventure Rating: 3 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

The pictures of Palo Duro Canyon on the state park's website show majestic rock formations, which was what drew me to the park in the first place. On the drive from Amarillo, my friends and I kept wondering where the rock formations were because the land was flat as far as the eye could see. It was like driving through Oklahoma--flat nothing. It wasn't long before we soon realized that the reason we couldn't yet see it was that it was a CANYON.

We paid the $5 per person fee in the gift shop and then proceeded to the parking lot at the trail-head for the Lighthouse Trail. Palo Duro is dog-friendly and we were able to bring our little dogs with us. The trail is 5.75 miles round trip, hiking out to the lighthouse and back to the parking lot. The majority of the hike is pretty easy. The trail is hard-packed red dirt and easy to trek.

We started the hike in the afternoon (not taking into account that the sun sets earlier in the winter) and ended up hiking back to our cars in the dark. When we started, it was sunny and 60, but by the time we were done it was dark and 50. We didn't bring our jackets with us, so we were a bit chilly.

As we were hiking up the last bit (which was really climbing) we ran into a man and his son. The man urged us not to continue on, but to turn back because it would be dark in an hour. When we asked how far it was to the end, he said less than a quarter mile. So we said we wanted to continue. He then proceeded to tell us that a lot of people had died at the park this year... because of the heat. The guy meant well, but the info he gave us was completely irrelevant. We did hike to the end and saw the lighthouse formation (and we didn't die even though the last thirty minutes of the hike were in the dark).

Monument Hill & Kreische Brewery

Where: Monument Hill & Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites
Trail: all trails
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: less than 1 mile loop
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash


We started in the parking lot and headed for the Kreische Woods Nature Loop, crossing a tiny bridge over a tiny creek. At the trail kiosk, we switched over to the Schulenburg Ferry Trail. We took that to the upper bridge and crossed over to the Brewery Lane Trail, which took us to the brewery ruins. After that, we took the Kreische Stairway Trail. This was pretty cool because it had stone stairs to climb. We passed a barn and a smoke house as we took the Scenic and Historic Trail to the Scenic Overlook. After that, we took the trail back around to the parking lot. This was a great hike for kids--it wasn't too strenuous and it was visually interesting with bridges, rocks, stones, stairs, etc.

Bluffs of the North Fork San Gabriel River

Where: Bluffs of the North Fork San Gabriel River, Lake Georgetown, Texas
Trail: Goodwater Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: ?
Adventure Rating: 3 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

We started at mile marker 11 of the Goodwater Hiking Trail and hiked out a couple miles (I'm not how far we went) and back. [The Goodwater Trail is a loop that goes all the way around Lake Georgetown and is 28 miles long.] Our hike started out along the San Gabriel River and then entered the surrounding forest. After a short distance, we came to a creek with a tree stretched across it. Judging by the boards attached to the tree, it was meant to be crossed.

A couple of the people in our hiking party were hesitant to cross [unlike me, who couldn't wait to cross it and wishes every hiking adventure had one of these]. They did make the crossing, but when it was time to turn around and hike back, they chose to cross the San Gabriel River, which was pretty cold.

Crockett Garden & Falls

Where: Crockett Garden & Falls, Lake Georgetown, Texas
Trail: Goodwater Hiking Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 5 miles, out and back
Adventure Rating: 3 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash









The Goodwater Trail is a loop that goes all the way around Lake Georgetown and is 28 miles long. We didn't have the time or the inclination to hike 28 miles. So, we did a short 5 mile section. We started in a parking lot and hiked through the woods toward the lake, which was a lovely greenish-blue color. We then hiked the rest of the trail to the Crockett Gardens and the spring-fed waterfall. [Note: the waterfall and spring are extremely delicate so don't enter the water or attempt to climb on the waterfall.] The trail is pet-friendly, though we did not bring our dogs for this adventure.

Sam Houston National Forest

Where: Sam Houston National Forest
Trail: Lone Star Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: no idea
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

Unfortunately, I have no idea how far we hiked because we didn't have a map, which is probably why we got lost on our way up to the forest. [Mapquest sent us to a road that didn't exist. We had to call a friend in another state to look up directions for us.] The weekend following this trip, I discovered a tick on Toby--this has been our only encounter with a tick.

Brazos Bend State Park

Where: Brazos Bend State Park, Texas
Trail: Red Buckeye and White Oak Trails
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1.5 mile loop and 1.8 mile loop
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

Being that it was December, the park was brown and not very scenic. Still, it was a nice hike and beautiful weather to enjoy it.

Sheldon Lake State Park

Where: Sheldon Lake State Park, Texas 
Trail: Pond Loop, Bent Pine, Swamp Rabbit, Kinglet, Armadillo Trails
Difficulty: Easy
Distance:1.5 miles
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

Since there were few trails, we hiked them all. The Pond Loop trail allows you to observe each pond--which we did after seeing the beware of alligators sign. We finally saw an alligator at the second to last pond. It was laying in a tree, which I still find weird. Other than the alligator, the park wasn't all that exciting. Perhaps the canoe trails would've been more interesting.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park

Where: Lake Mineral Wells State Park, Texas
Trail: Primitive Campground Access Trail
Difficulty: Moderate (first 1/2 mile has steep grades)
Distance: 2.5 miles, one way
Adventure Rating: 2 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

Lake Mineral Wells is just west of Dallas/Ft Worth. The park has one interesting hiking trail. The other trails are multipurpose. It was on this trip that I learned a valuable hiking lesson. If a trail allows horses, it's probably not going to be that interesting. We hiked a bit on one of the multipurpose trails before switching over to the primitive trail.


 




















The second thing I learned was that it's a good idea to bring along a change of clothes so that you don't have to ride home (4.5 hours back to Houston) in hot, sweaty clothes. And they were hot and sweaty since the temperature reached into the 80s that day. In the sun, that was pretty hot. Which leads to the third thing I learned, and that is 80 degrees is a little too hot for hiking for Toby (my dog).

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

Where: Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Texas
Trail: Summit Trail?
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 1/2 mile, one way
Adventure Rating: 2 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

The trail markers weren't easy to follow, so I'm not 100% sure that we stayed on a trail or how much distance we covered exactly. The enchanted rock is a huge dome rock and you can just climb all over it, which is what we did.

Big Bend National Park

Where: Big Bend National Park, Texas
Trail: Window Trail
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Distance: 5.6 mile round trip
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: Not allowed on trails

Big Bend National Park was my first real hiking trip. Go big or go home, right? The park is over 800,000 acres, so there was no way we could see all of it. We chose the Window Trail because it seemed to be the most scenic. The hike out is downhill and much easier than the hike back, which was all uphill. The elevation change on this hike is 980 feet, which you will notice when you're on your way back. We started our hike in the morning because we knew the afternoon would be too hot. But it's Texas, so even in the morning, it was pretty warm out.