Round Rock Memorial Park

Getting there: From the I-35 service road in central Round Rock turn east onto Sunset Drive and then right on Summit Street, heading south. The road will cross the creek and the parking area is on the right on the opposite side of the creek.

The Hike: Round Rock Memorial Park's trail system has its highs and lows. It spends a good deal of time passing under the concrete ribbon that is I-35. However, venture out to either end of the trails and you'll either find yourself lost in the vegetation or encountering local history.

The trail begins at the main parking area for the park marked by the waypoint "Trailhead". Here there are numerous picnic benches and a large number of ducks and geese just waiting for a handout from visitors. The area is well covered by trees and is actually somewhat tranquil, even with I-35 just a stone's throw away. The terrain for almost all of the official trail is pavement, so conditions even after a rain shower should not be an issue.

At several spots in the park bronze plaques provide a bit of history about the area's geography and the people who lived in the area, both before and after the appearance of European settlers.

The trail heads west, along the south shore of Brushy Creek. It passes under I-35 and then crosses the creek on a foot bridge paralleling the Interstate. Don't be confused by the topo map of this hike, which predated the I-35 expansion over the creek. The bridge actually passes under the I-35 service road bridge.

Once crossing the creek head west again along the north shoreline. Look in the bed rock of the shore for parallel groves coming from the creek. That's not a natural formation. Rather, it's wagon ruts from the thousands of wagons that crosses here as part of the Chisolm Trail.

A little further west, next to a road that crosses the creek sits The Round Rock. This formation, though not grandiose, played a large role in the development of the area and is the reason for the city's name. The rock formation happened to reside next to the best creek crossing in the area, so it served as a useful guide.

The trail doubles back to the foot bridge and continues to the east on the north side of the creek. After passing under I-35 again you'll pass by the back porches of apartments that sit right on the edge of the park. The trail continues to a road that crosses the creek and turns back to the trailhead.

Optionally, you can explore an unofficial portion of the trails by crossing the road at the trailhead and continue east along the outfield one of the ball parks. You'll find the trails here largely overgrown and unfortunately also fairly well covered in litter. However, there are some places of quiet solitude that stand in contrast to the buy park and even busier Interstate a short distance away.