Return to Guadalupe River State Park

hadnt been here in a couple of yrs
User: jimmy peace - 6/30/2019  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: halfstar Solitude: 3point5stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A

came to go birding and hiking  and it rained

not bad for a winter visit
User: jimmy peace - 2/22/2015  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 3point5stars
Distance: 3.50 Miles Duration: N/A

lots of cardinals around 

Cedar Down
User: Blaze - 12/30/2013  [View Log Page]
Rating: 1point5stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 1star
Distance: 7.90 Miles Duration: 3 hours, 20 minutes

I went hiking in the San Antonio area with a buddy.  Guadalupe River State Park was our first destination.  We camped in the primitive area and it was cooooold at night (mid-30's).

The fire wood we bought from the rangers was damp and very difficult to light.  After going through almost all of my waterproof matches, I finally cheated and used my butane stove to help ignite the wood.  After a few minutes of brute force of blue flame, I got the fire started but it was so brisk you couldn't feel the warmth of the fire unless you hovered right next to it.

As far as the trails go, there are some nice spots, especially along the river.  However, I found most of the trails a little disappointing.  There are large sections of land where it looks like a war zone due to so many fallen trees everywhere.  I later learned from a friend that lives in San Antonio that the Park Service intentionally knocked down most of the cedars as a part of a water control effort.  Apparently the cedars suck up and hold a lot of ground water causing the water level to fall in nearby wells.  In the past, the number of cedars were controlled by occassional natural wild fires, but since fire prevention efforts have been implemented the population of cedars has exploded.  After knocking the cedars down they've seen water levels rise in the wells.

Having said all that, it still an eye sore to see so many down trees.  It really screws up any photos you take.  It would be nice if they removed the trees, cut them up into fire wood, or shredded them into mulch.

I also found the signage to be very poor.  Since there are a lot of informal/undocumented trails and roads running all over the place, the map they give you at the Park HQs is fairly useless.  I finally gave up and just walked around with my friend, but the park could benefit tremendously if it were maintained better.

Plain
User: rodavenport - 4/18/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 5.30 Miles Duration: N/A
Pretty bland trail. It's only redeeming quality was the wild flowers were in bloom.  Park service was clearing cedar underbrush with some sort of machine that chunks up the trees and leaves the pieces laying everywhere. I suppose they are using this technique as opposed to control burns because its safer. If you get off trail in that stuff  watch your step.
Guadalupe River in November
User: caspalding66 - 11/8/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours
Great Foliage on cypress trees...was much closer than lost maples and a lot fewer people
easy but not much to see
User: haggai - 6/7/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

There are a couple nice views by the riverside, but other than that it's a lot of prairie hiking -- hot and dusty.   We didn't see anyone else along the trail except at points where the trail crossed the road.

More of a natue walk than a hike
User: RMA - 3/16/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 7.00 Miles Duration: N/A

A lot of construction happening.They are building a road twice as wide as any of the other roads there.   Soon it will be a KOA and not a state park.  The weather was cloudy and cool, threating to rain which kept alot of people away, but if they feel the need for all the construction then I wouldn't want to be their during peak time.     

User: kernel - 12/29/2007  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 6.50 Miles Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes

They were doing some construction on parts of the park but still very nice day for hiking.

10 feet until the next cedar tree
User: Soonhorn - 11/20/2006  [View Log Page]
Rating: halfstar Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 4point5stars
Distance: 6.20 Miles Duration: N/A
Big let down. One place in 6 miles that you get any kind of a view and it last for about 200 yards then back to cedar trees. 95% of the trail, you can only see a few feet in front of you. Solitude was nice but you are basically walking on a horse trail...and all that goes with it. (hold your nose) We do a lot of hikes and this was the worst one we have ever done. I am saying this so clearly so that you will not drive for two hours to go on some awesome adventure and find this when you get there, like we did.
Beautiful picnic area by the river
User: figment - 10/30/2005  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A
The best part of this park is the river/picnic area. We hiked the Loop 3 trail and the interpretive trail. Saw plenty of armadillo. The trail scenery doesn't match the beauty of the river, so I wouldn't necessarily drive all the way out from Austin just to go hiking.
Not difficult at all
User: leemark45 - 4/4/2005  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: N/A
This is a typical state park with very easy trails. On the day I went, I didn't meet anyone else on the trails but there were some people in the parking lot unloading their horses (it's a multi-use trail). On weekends and holidays the park is very crowded. The trails are very flat, level, and easy to walk.
User: chudgins - 3/2/2005  [View Log Page]
Rating: N/A Difficulty: N/A Solitude: N/A
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: N/A
Hot, but quiet
User: slitslash - 7/31/2004  [View Log Page]
Rating: N/A Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 5.50 Miles Duration: N/A
My wife and I hiked all of the loop trails on this sunny and hot Saturday morning. We enjoyed the ease of this trail and the fact that NOBODY else was hiking on this day(surprising for a Saturday!). I was only mildly disappointed to find that the overlook on the bluff did not offer a big FULL view of the river and scenery below...but what can ya do? When we got to the top of the Loop 3 trail, we got off the trail and stopped to eat at an empty picnic table in the campgrounds before heading back. Real easy, enjoyable trail to follow...but maybe not the right time of year to fully enjoy the wildlife(only spotted 2 deer) viewing with the heat...but yeah, I'd hike it again.
Much less crowded than along the river
User: Austin Explorer - 5/16/2004  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3point5stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3point5stars
Distance: 6.31 Miles Duration: N/A
On a nice day there were plenty of people on the shore of the river. The trail in the interior of the park was a different story. I saw maybe 5 people in over 3 hours. Terrain is fairly easy and there is at least one great view of the river floodplain from a bluff.
User: Eveline - 2/21/2004  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 1star
Distance: 6.20 Miles Duration: N/A
Enjoyable Hill Country Hike
User: texasgrape - 6/22/2003  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 4.50 Miles Duration: N/A
Trails are well marked. Walked trails #2 & #3. Nice view of the river and distant hills from the bluff. Not as 'rugged' as the park map says at the bluff area. Saw deer, millions of grasshoppers, and strangely enough, several huge Walking Sticks (stickbugs) crossing over the path ranging from 4"-6" long. Cactus' were blooming. Temp was hot--upper 90's--I gotta start hiking these earlier in the morning. :-) When we finished hiking, we drove to the swimming area and cooled off in the Guadalupe River. :-)
User: Eveline - 2/17/2002  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 1star
Distance: 6.20 Miles Duration: N/A