Return to Pedernales Falls - 5.5 Mile Loop

Beautiful Day, Amazing Views, Goregous SP
User: DanaL - 2/15/2016  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 5.50 Miles Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes

This was a really lovely hike.  I didn't really enjoy fording the Pedernales River but after that I really liked the scenery.  I took the spur to make the hike longer.  It was amazingly beautiful terrain but I did come across fresh feral hog signs.  Since I was in total solitued that was a little bit disconcerting.  It appears that the pack of hogs moved across the park, N/S direction because I came across additional signs on the nearly directly opposite side of the trail. 

One additional thing - the solitude was very nice but became disquieting on the spur.  Be aware that there isn't a whole lot of traffic on the spur trail and plan accordingly. 

Now A 5.5 Mile Loop
User: Blaze - 2/12/2016  [View Log Page]
Rating: 1point5stars Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 1point5stars
Distance: 6.10 Miles Duration: 2 hours, 22 minutes

From reading previous logs, this used to be called the 4 Mile Loop Trail, but it's now called the 5.5 Mile Loop Trail.  I'm not sure if more distance has been added or if previous measurements were wrong, but my GPS showed 6.17 miles by the time I finished so I believe 5.5 miles is an accurate description since I did a little extra.

The first highlight of the hike was crossing the Pedernales River at Trammel's Crossing.  The water was very shallow (several inches deep), but the current was strong enough to make the mossy rock underneath the surface a little slippery.  The water was also very cold and made my feet numb, but in a good way.

After crossing the river and putting my boots back on, I continued along the trail.  It wasn't very scenic, but the trail was well-maintained and marked.  I was looking forward to the Scenic Overlook, thinking that it may provide a nice view of the Pedernales River, but it did not.  In fact, it was a pretty lame overview of the surrounding hills.  Definitely a disappointment...

By the time I got back to Trammel's Crossing, my feet were a little sore so I was looking forward to the chilly water.

All in all, this is a good day hike that provides a few miles in the Hill Country.

Nice Sunday Afternoon Jaunt
User: rodavenport - 5/3/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: N/A

I took a quick Sunday afternoon trip to PFSP and made the 4 mile loop. I almost backed out of doing the 4 mile loop because the river was so high. It got pretty tricky wading acrolls Trammel crossing with the current. The trail is  pretty much typical for a hill country SP trail (old ranch road) but was still quite enjoyable. It had its moments when the scenery was very good. I especally enjoyed spending some time looking at an old rock wall and cemetery located in the NE corner of the trail. I did some research trying to find more information about the old cemetary but I found nothing other than a few comments from other hikers. Beware if you hike this trail in the summer heat make sure and bring plenty of water. The biggest part of the trail in in direct sunlight. The trip back through the ford was nice. I spent some time letting my feet soak after the hike. All in all a nice little hike.

Pretty Lonely and Cool
User: Mansoor - 7/29/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 2.80 Miles Duration: 2 hours
Went with my sister. The trail and park were empty it being a Wednesday. The solitude was fun. Clouds were out so it was more fun. Was pretty easy, trail was simple. Did not see any views. We took a shortcut, maybe the views were with the trail we missed. Overall a lot of fun, especially sitting in the river at the end.
sunny and pretty
User: claireBGC - 5/19/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: N/A

We started off from the beach access point and walked along the river to the trammel crossing, instead of at the normal trailhead.  The beach is really beautiful and had some great places to just hang out.  The hike was easy once you get past the first hill, but a couple of people in the group I was in slipped on the ashpalt/gravel path in the steep parts.  There are some great views of the hill country, and some very pretty fields of wildflowers and cactus, but large parts of the trail are surrounded by cedar breaks and are just a little boring.

Overall, a nice, relaxing hike.  It was very sunny and there's very little shade on this very wide path, so we were all hot and tired by the end of it.  Looping back to the river and just cooling off and sitting in the sun was a nice way to end the day. 

nice trail, but very poorly marked - we got lost!
User: klyevans - 3/16/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
I do a lot of hiking and don't usually get lost, but about a mile into the loop, the trail just faded away and we ended up bushwhacking through the woods for 20 minutes trying to find it again. We crossed the river, which was about ankle deep after a few days of rain the week before, climbed a steep hill, and then the trail evened out. It was pretty much flat all the rest of the way until we lost it in the woods. Since we had my husband's parents with us, we turned around and went back to the river for a swim, which was lovely! We didn't see anyone else on the trail at all once we crossed the river.
User: johnbivona - 1/25/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: 3 hours

Nice hike, but I missed the settler's grave site in the back.  Oh well, I'll have to go back.

User: BWZJKirby - 10/4/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 1star
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: 3 hours
Nice hike, great solitude
User: jstrait - 8/16/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

As we were finishing the trail, we saw two other people. It was a nice hike, but there was little shade. We went on a hot day in the middle of the day, but it was worth it. Swimming at the beginning at end was great.

Nice to the trammel crossing, bit boring after
User: Riff Raff - 8/16/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 3.60 Miles Duration: 3 hours

I can see why so few people make it to this trail.  The lady at the front gate was incredibly discouraging when I just asked how to find the parking area for the trailhead.  "Unmarked", "Can get stuck on the other side of the river if rain hits", "People get lost back there", and other choice bits of encouragement.  I have no idea what she was talking about really - the trail was very well marked on the portions I went on.  It got a bit boring after crossing the river, so I took the crossover trail between the two sides of the loop trail to cut it a bit short.  The area around the "trammel crossing" is gorgeous.

Trummel Crossing
User: Miles - 6/6/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 5stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: 1 minute

Great short hike on a hot day. Went with Grand Kids, so I coundn't go far. would like to come back on a cooler day.

When hot take plenty of water!!

Pedernales Loop
User: caspalding66 - 7/2/2006  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Pretty Dull and very Hot...not a lot going on in July
Great Afternoon
User: LVX - 1/15/2006  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3point5stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 3point5stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: N/A
A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
User: AshleyNicole - 5/23/2005  [View Log Page]
Rating: N/A Difficulty: 3point5stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: N/A
This was our second time back to the park and is was as awesome as the last time. We finished up the parts that we didn't get to last time and played in the water. The water is a lot faster than it looks, I beat my shins up pretty good on the rocks. The falls are beautiful!! If you do go there and you drive through Blanco, you MUST stop at the Sunset Resturant! It is excellent!
Little things mean a lot
User: Austin Explorer - 9/29/2002  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 4stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: N/A
A little river crossing sure does act like a powerful filter. We encountered only a couple of people in almost 4 hours of hiking on the opposite side of Pedernales River. There are few grand vistas, but plenty of scenary along the way. Be sure to stop by the pioneer cemetery at the back corner.
User: Eveline - 3/2/1996  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 8.60 Miles Duration: N/A