Lake Houston Wilderness Park

Trail
12.00 Miles
N/A
$3.00
3stars (3.00)5
1star (1.13)
2point5stars (2.88)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
25840 FM 1485
New Caney
Harris
More Info
Photos
Palmettos
These palmettos were flourishing in the low-lying wet areas along the trail. (Photo by Blaze)
Another View Of The Trail
Rest benches are available along the trail. (Photo by Blaze)
View Of The Trail
The back trails can be wet and muddy for several days after it rains. (Photo by Blaze)
Bridge
This is the bridge over Peach Creek. (Photo by Blaze)
View Of The Trail
The trails are wide and easy to follow. (Photo by Blaze)
Good Signage
Signs are placed at key intersections to provide guidance. (Photo by Blaze)
Peach Creek
This is a view of the creek as seen from the bridge spanning it. (Photo by Blaze)
Log Entries
Back Trails
By Blaze on 2/19/2008
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 11.00 Miles Duration: 4 hours

I revisited this park so I could hike the back trails that lead from Peach Creek to the East Fork San Jacinto River.

The trail map I downloaded from the Texas State Parks website was very poor and not very detailed, but this was compensated somewhat by well-marked trails.  Trailmarkers were posted throughout making navigation easy.

I went on a weekday and the park was virtually empty, which really enhanced the solitude of my hike.  The trails were still very damp from the rain the day before yesterday and there were some large spots that were fairly difficult to traverse.  The trails really should have been closed in my opinion because the wet spots were large ponds of water that made it somewhat impassable for the average person, but it became clear to me that this entire park resides in a low lying area which makes it prone to flooding.  My advice:  Wait at least 3 or 4 days after the rain before hiking these trails if you don't want to get muddy or wet.

The back trails are fairly wide service roads that are meant not only for hiking, but biking as well.  There are even some equestrian trails in the area.  There wasn't a lot of interesting things to see, however.  Just a lot of forest trails and some wild palms.  Aside from some birds and small animals, I saw no large wildlife.  A nice time, but nothing to get overly excited about.

Peach Creek and Caney Trails
By Blaze on 2/9/2008
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

The first thing I want to say is finding this park is not very easy.  It was not programmed into my car's navigation system and although I had a map I downloaded online, I found the signage into the park not very good.  I think the park could do a better job making a more prominent sign pointing the entrance into the park.

Second, this park is now owned by the city, not the State, so they don't honor State Park memberships any more.

There are a lot of short nature trails near the facilities area, which is ideal for kids and people who want to explore nature without going really far or deep into the woods.

I did a short hike through this park because I did not have a lot of time.  I crossed a massive walk bridge over Peach Creek and took the Peach Creek trail to the Caney Trail as it heads south along Peach Creek.  I found the trails to be extremely well marked with paint dots on the trees.  In fact, the dots are painted every 25 - 50 yds, making it impossible to get lost.  It's almost overkill, but newbies and the faint of heart will find this comforting.

There are some primitive camping spots at the end of the Caney Trail if you want to "rough it".  If you're looking for some more moderate camping, there are some nice lots in the facilities area.

I went through this park on a late Saturday afternoon and I found there to be a lot of people on the trails.  This is why I have rated the Solitude a '2', but during the week it could be an entirely different story.

One thing I found to be particularly pleasing is that the forest is quite dense in spots so you feel like you are "in" it, rather than just passing through it.  The branches overhead join together, limiting your sky view.  It's very nice.

I will likely go back and hike the other trails on another day.

Day hike to see the San Jacinto
By RossWright on 11/1/2003
Rating: N/A Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 8.50 Miles Duration: N/A
First of all, there are not any trail maps of the park online. I scanned in the trail maps and have them online at
http://ross.wright.org/Hiking/ (Robert, feel free to grab these images and host them yourself.)

Here's the trail map:


This is an awsome park. We headed straight out toward the river, took the south side to TM1, then east to TM2, up to TM3, over to TM4, up to TM7 then finally over to the river at TM6. Had lunch by the river and then hiked back along the northern route.

If you are looking at the trail map, you might wonder what the deal is with going from TM4 to TM7 - TM7 is actually at the intersection of the north trail and that little leap from TM4.

The trails nearest the head were all very nicely maintained woods. The straight bit on the map that the trail breaks out onto after the first mile is actually a dirt road in a clearing for power lines - that was kind of lame, but then at TM1 the trail went back into the woods. The southern trail was mesquito-ville. Up until TM2 it was a nice wide yet overgrown path through the woods, possibly a dirt road long ago, although it looked rarely traveled. From TM2 up to TM7 was a narrow foot trail through the woods. The north trail was visibly once a dirt road, but now is a nice wide trail. from TM7 to TM6 is narrower trail but better than the south trail.

Encountered nearly zero wildlife, plenty of mesquitos as mentioned above, and some awsome fat spiders (carry a stick in front of you!) Also encountered a 6' long bull snake sunning himself on the north trail, but he grudgingly went away after a few pokes from a stick.

The river was brown, like all Texas rivers. The trail ended at a bench on a high point of the bank, there is a short cliff down to the water (be prepared to get muddy if you want to make it to the water's edge) I hiked south along the river for a few hundred feet, there was some trash on the banks, an old car engine, but not an entirely disappointing end of the trail.
By Mike Wehrman on 3/28/2003
Rating: N/A Difficulty: halfstar Solitude: halfstar
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: N/A
I don't understand why this site says bikes aren't allowed. They are. Just check the official site link.
By Eveline on 2/24/2001
Rating: N/A Difficulty: N/A Solitude: N/A
Distance: 6.20 Miles Duration: N/A
Recommended Item
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