Getting there: From I-35, head east on FM 1825 and continue through Pflugerville. The road turns into Pecan Road and narrows. The park entrance is on the right in
about 5.5 miles.
The Hike: Northeast Metro Park is one of three relatively new Travis County parks to dot the county's east side, the other two being East Metro Park (Manor) and Southeast Metro Park (Del Valle).
The trail surface here is all concrete and almost completely flat. This detracts from a pure hiking experience, but those looking for a nice stroll or a mud-free walk after a rain, it might fit the bill quite nicely.
The trailhead is located at that waypoint "Trailhead". It's located just across street from the main parking area for the many soccer fields the park hosts. Please don't park next to the trailhead itself. There's no reason to contribute to making the area look like a lunar landscape. There's plenty of parking across the street, and you are coming here to walk/hike, right?
Much of the trail is in the shade. Several benches along its path provide a convenient spot for a picnic.
The trail consists of two sections, with the trailhead serving as the junction point in the middle. The segment heading to the south is by far the more interesting section of trail and unless you have an overriding desire to hike every foot of the trail I'd suggest you limit your visit to this half.
The concrete path parallels Gilleland Creek, sometimes passing quite close to its banks. Because it's passing through creek bottomland there is ample tree coverage only rarely is the trail exposed to the Sun. There are numerous picnic benches along the trail, some in the nice, shady spots
created by the foliage.
The loop at the end of the southern half of the trail has yet more picnic benches and an open field.
Despite being close to a large number of popular soccer fields it's not too difficult to find some solitude on the trail. The tree and brush cover provide some shielding from the noise eventually and since the trails are not the main draw to the park, it's quite possible to have the trail to yourself. On my visit I encountered only one cyclist and a pair of park workers emptying trash cans.
The southern half of the trail ends in a large loop that closes in on itself and thus presenting the opportunity to double back to the trailhead. More picnic benches can be found here to pass the time away from the crowds at the soccer fields.
The northern half of the trail is not so nice. Really just a sidewalk here.
The northern half of the trail system here is really not much more than a sidewalk on the road that goes into the park. In proceeds north past a couple of baseball fields and then forms a perfectly straight line until it reaches the park entrance on Pecan Road. Though some vegetation has been planted between the road and trial, it does little to shield the walker from the noise and commotion of people coming into and leaving the park.
It's a little confusing why the northern trail leading into the park was not placed on the other side of the road. Since the property line would not have been right up against the road and sidewalk it would have been possible to separate the walkers from the cars and make that segment of the trail more pleasant. Perhaps they have future plans for the parkland there.
Travis County residents in and near Pflugerville now have a good sized park for outdoor recreation. If you're looking for the best possible walking/hiking experience just double up your mileage on the southern half of the trail system here and avoid the northern sidewalk.