beautiful views of Colorado River
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fwk2005 - 3/16/2016
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Distance: 4.50 Miles
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The main trail down the hill to the river trail is pretty steep. The overlook point is beautiful.
Nice facility, lots of trails, good birdwatching on the river
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plectrudis - 12/28/2015
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Distance: 6.50 Miles
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There is a wide range of trails to choose from at McKinney Roughs, which is possibly its best feature--your hike can be as long or as short as you want.
I took the Pine Ridge to Cypress and returned by Riverside, which means I saw piney woods, open grasslands (loads of little bluestem), and riparian ecosystems. Much of the trails were flattish, but there were zones of intensity going down to the river and back up to the ridge. I saw 2 other small groups on the entire hike, and no horses.
The negatives are the inexplicable lack of signage at key junctures (despite copious signage overall), and the fact that the map and reality weren't entirely in sync. I ended up going the wrong way a couple of times because other paths intersect with Pine Ridge and aren't marked on the map, nor are they signed. Plus I took a very big extra loop around the trail because I missed the poorly marked turn-off at the overlook (you go over the crest of the hill, down what looks like at first like a drainage channel). Also, the map shows the overlook as occurring between markers 10 & 11, when it's actually between 9 & 10. Similarly, the Valley View Trail intersects with the Riverside Trail between markers 2 & 3; not between 1 & 2, as shown on the map.
I guess this all sounds a bit titchy, but it was cold, and it was a long hike, and going repeatedly astray made me a bit grumpy.
On a happier note, I saw a couple of ladder-back woodpeckers and (what I think was) a dark-eyed junco, plus a deer. Birdwatchers should bring binoculars and chill out at the picnic table on the Cypress Trail to enjoy some ornithological action.
Nice hike
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voolevoonye - 12/28/2013
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Distance: 9.11 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 31 minutes
Stayed at the Hyatt Lost Pines last weekend, so started from the hotel trailhead, then Pecan Bottom to Buckeye to Yaupon to visitor center. Then continued on Riverside to Fox Tail to Pine Ridge to Cypress to Riverside to Coyote Road to Deep Sandy and back to the hotel. Elapsed time was 3:31 hrs. Not too many people along the way; most of them rode their horses. Yaupon was completley empty. Overall a nice hike. Visitor center guy was helpful with general info. Note that the main gate is closed on Sundays, so use either the hotel trailhead or Pope Bend or Hwy. 71 trailheads.
Nice Trip
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soltex41 - 12/27/2013
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Distance: 3.00 Miles
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Checked this trail out durring the Xmas break, has nice well marked and maintained trails with a few god views.
Hot. Very hot.
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andrewsageek - 7/7/2013
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Distance: 5.50 Miles
Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
If you can stand the heat, it's still a great hike. I've previously done the northern trails so my party and I decided to do the lower section. As others have mentioned, the Visitor's Center and main gate are closed on Sundays, so you have to enter through the 71 Trailhead.
We started on Whitetail and double-backed on Pine Ridge at the pond spur. This area of Pine Ridge is very exposed, so bring plenty of water. Continuing, we went Cypress to Riverside and back to Whitetail.
Park closed
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texaskdog - 6/9/2013
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Distance: 7.00 Miles
Duration: 3 hours
For whatever the reason the main gate was closed, Sunday at 1 pm, but they said you could enter where the horses do (2 driveways east). In 3 hours we only saw one group, 6 people on horses. Really nice trail but don't bother with Yaupon on the west end, long, boring, and steep. Very hot day for us but we do love this park. Pine Ridge to Riverside and back on Woodland is a great way to go. The overlook isn't much. This was our 3rd hike here in just over 3 years.
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ValEpiscopo - 5/11/2013
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Distance: 8.00 Miles
Duration: 3 hours
Hiked Riverside, Bluestem, Cypress, part of Pine Ridge, Bobcat Ridge, Foxtail, part of Ridge, Woodland, part of Bluff Trail Loop, part of Coyote Road, and a portion of Youpon trails.
McKinney Roughs (Day 1 of 2)
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Blaze - 4/27/2013
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Distance: 9.60 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 9 minutes
I hiked McKinney Roughs Nature Park with a group over a 2 day weekend. This log covers the first day. The 2nd day log of the other trails in McKinney Roughs can be found here.
We started near the Visitor's Center and hiked various trails around the Nature Park and along the Colorado River. The trails are very well-marked and maintained. Some are for hiking only and others double as equestrian trails, so expect a lot of horse poop. Mountain bikes are not allowed, however, which is kind of nice as it reduces the overall traffic and collision potential.
The trails were flanked by very lush, green vegetation, including some nice specimens of cactus. I spotted two cottonmouth snakes sunning on a rock and was impressed by a couple of HUGE pecan trees. The trail surface is rocky in several spots, so its a good idea to wear good boots to avoid blisters and twisted ankles.
Finishing up mapping of trails
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Austin Explorer - 12/9/2012
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Distance: 9.25 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 40 minutes
I came today to knock the remainder of the trails at McKinney Roughs that I'd not done during my previous trips. I think now I have all of them. Track file for this log will include only what I did today.
The overcast skys might have prompted some folks to stay home, so there were not too many people on the trails. More horseback riders than hikers. Also note, that the main visitor center is closed on Sundays, so if you want to visit you have to start off from either the Hwy. 71 or Pope Bend Rd. trailheads.
Back for more
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Austin Explorer - 9/23/2012
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Distance: 8.53 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 38 minutes
Coppertone and I headed back again to map out the northern half of the park. Good thing too, because the main visitor center is now closed on Sundays so we had to drive to the Pope Bend Trailhead.
What we found out on this hike was that Coppertone is not fond of horse poop! She doesn't mind the horses, just the excrement. When we hike together we might need to stear clear of trails that are shared use.
The Yaupon Trail segment is the newest in the park. I think it was put into place when the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort took over the north part of the trail and the previous trail in the area became the resort entrance.
It had been years since we had hiked the northern part of the park and things seemed more overgrown and closed in than before. I think we recalled some more open meadows in the past.
Trails galore!
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Austin Explorer - 9/3/2012
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Distance: 7.14 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 37 minutes
I've lost track of which trails we've done at McKinney Roughs and which we haven't. So I figured that we'd just start from scratch and start mapping them all. This is certainly not a one day job, particularly when the temps could get to 100 degrees.
Only ran into three or four couples on the trail. We almost saw more horses on the dual use trails than people overall.
I had failed to realize how long it had been since I was last at McKinney Roughs. On the Pine Ridge Trail I hadn't expected to see some of the remaining fire damage from some fires that went through part of the park back in 2008. Things are coming back, but the scars and dead trees in places are still evident.
We were fairly well spent after 7 miles and the heat rising. Mapping the rest of the trails will have to wait for another visit.
Wonderful Scenery in a Beautiful Park that's Worth the Price
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estudio64 - 3/14/2012
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Distance: 4.00 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
On Tuesday, we adopted our new dog, Zoey, and on Wednesday, decided to test her mettle with a 3.5 hour hike. The verdict: she loved every step of it, and so did we. The vistas, especially Meditation Point, offer spectacular views of the Colorado River and its surrounding landscape. We also visited the Large Pecan Tree which appeared to live up to its name. 200 years old - goodness gracious. Recent rains left the trails quite muddy, but the scenery was so lovely that we hardly gave it a second thought. The mud offered some easily identifiable tracks, although the only wildlife we saw were hawks lazily sailing overhead. The dog's a keeper, and so is this beautiful LCRA park.
Well worth the drive from North Austin
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texaskdog - 10/3/2010
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Distance: 5.00 Miles
Duration: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Been wanting to do this one for a year. So many paths to choose from we asked the nice lady at the desk for recommendations (BTW it is $4/person now but well worth it). She suggested Pine Ridge to Cypress to Riverside, then back on the Ridge. Will take 2 more visits to do them all. Not too many ups and downs and no water crossing, but closest hike to anything in Michigan or South Dakota's wooded areas I've found yet.
Great trails
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BKanten - 2/20/2010
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Distance: 3.25 Miles
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The trails are well done, with a combination of dirt and gravel that makes for easy walking. The difficulty comes in the elevation changes on some portions but nothing too bad. Plenty of plant diversity. We saw some prickly pears putting out fruit, which was neat, and the flowers were starting to appear. Recent rain made for mud on some portions but the good trail bed limited the problems here. Solitude was less than usual because we walked during an organized event (www.ava.org); usually there are few people on the trails. There are a lot of trails and plenty of distance.
park hours wrong on this site
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sandew - 5/24/2009
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Sunday noon to 5. Went to hike on Sunday, at 10am, but not open til noon and with the heat, didn't wait....instead went to Bastrop State Park which was open, just down the road off 71.
Nice enough
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claireBGC - 5/18/2009
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Distance: 3.50 Miles
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We did parts of the Woodland, Ridge, Riverside and Bluestem trails, adding up to about 3.5 miles. There are some nice overlook points and we saw very few people. It was somewhat muddy as it had rained just a couple of days before, but the trails were well marked and maintained for the most part. The Colorado is not the prettiest river to hike along, but overall a good short hike. Very shady for the most part, which would be nice in the Texas summer.
beautiful hike
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klyevans - 5/13/2009
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Distance: 4.00 Miles
Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes
On a Wednesday afternoon I saw no one else on the trails. I followed Riverside down to the river (very hot - not a lot of shade on the down hike), looped around to Bluestem, then hopped on Cypress, and finished up with Bobcat Ridge to Fox Tail back to HQ. Cypress and Bobcat Ridge were beautiful and I was glad to get the strong breeze that blew along the ridge. The only thing is that Bobcat Ridge is really sandy in places, which is tough for hiking.
variety of terrain near the Colorado River
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haggai - 1/31/2009
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Distance: 3.00 Miles
Duration: 3 hours
Peaceful forest, nice views of the Colorado River from above, and picturesque river terrain. The kids particularly enjoyed looking at the wildlife tracks and the freshwater clam shells down by the river. And they enjoyed walking around the sand bars revealed by the low-flowing river.
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stk1618 - 10/18/2008
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Distance: 11.00 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Partially Closed From Fire
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Riff Raff - 8/30/2008
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Distance: 5.50 Miles
Duration: 4 hours
Was my first time here, and got a bit of a surprise at the front gate for the main entrance. Apparently fire struck recently, and the southeastern portion of the park is closed at the moment. This includes the Pine Ridge, Whitetail, Bobcat Ridge, Cypress, and Pine Canyon trails as well as the park headquarters itself. The front gate recommended we use the other entrance on Pope Bend Road, so we drove around to the trailhead there instead.
It looks like we ended up taking the Buckeye, Pecan Bottom,Deep Sandy, Riverside, Bluestem, and Road Runner trails. With such an extensive trail system, you really need to keep your trail map out and handy at all times. Even so, I still ended up taking a couple of wrong turns along the way. Extremely beautiful area with very wide varieties of vegetation. Saw several armadillos, deer, and rabbits out and about, along with one large snake sunning itself on the trail. Just a gorgeous area with nice well marked trails. Only saw two people the whole time we were out, and they were near the trailhead.
Nice walk in the woods.
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Eveline - 2/23/2008
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Distance: 6.20 Miles
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We did it as a volksmarch sponsored by the Colorado River Walkers.
hidden trail and pond
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BANDA - 1/15/2008
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Distance: 2.00 Miles
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Today I went to the Hwy. 71 Equestrian Trailhead, and discovered a trail and a pond that are not shown on the official map. Just after your turn in, there is a trail that goes off to the right, and it leads down into a small canyon with some pine trees, a small pond, and some picnic tables.
I also hiked the Whitetail trail, which leads past another small pond and the "challenge course".
I didn't see another person the entire time I was on these trails!