Beautiful Challenging Hike
User: brazosbound - 3/17/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 7.50 Miles Duration: 7 hours, 15 minutes

Great hike through red rock bluffs
User: Redwolf - 9/13/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 6.30 Miles Duration: N/A
We've done this one twice now. The first time we didn't bring enough water and were staggering as we came out. There's a lot of elevation change on this hike, over 1000 feet. We stopped at the butterfly grotto for lunch, enjoying the cooler temps.

Warm, but enjoyable
User: JHager - 5/23/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 6.30 Miles Duration: N/A

I hiked the Upper Canyon trail on a warm, muggy day in May of 2009.  It’s a nice area and an enjoyable hike, but by that time of year, it’s starting to get warm, so begin the hike early.  The views from Haynes Ridge are great and Fern Cave is also interesting, so bring a camera with you.  I saw quite a few lizards, but no other wildlife.  The only other people I saw were a couple of mountain bikers shortly before I returned to the parking lot.  My timing turned out to be pretty good, because the area was hit with a huge thunder storm an hour or less after I finished.  By that time, I was ordering pizza and a cold drink in a small town about 40 miles (or so) west of the park.  It was a good hike, but probably better in the cooler months when heat and storms aren’t a concern. 

User: rodavenport - 4/18/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 7.50 Miles Duration: 5 minutes

Trails Galore! At Caprock Canyons
User: Blaze - 8/21/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 8.00 Miles Duration: 4 hours

If you like hiking, you'll find plenty of trail in and around the Caprock Canyons State Park.  There are a couple of scenic trails within the park itself as well as a LOT of lengthy trails along the Trailway, including The Plains Junction Trail (10 mi), Grundy Canyon Trail (12 mi), Oxbow Trail (10 mi), Kent Creek Trail (10 mi), Los Lingos Trail (5 mi) and Quitaque Canyon Trail (17 mi).

I only hiked within the State Park, not along the Trailway.

I camped at the South Prong Tent Camping Area, so my hike departed at the parking lot.  This trail provided breathtaking vistas of cliffs and canyons, so remember to bring your camera!  The Upper Canyon Trail was a fairly easy hike until you reach a section where you have to ascend an extremely steep and rugged cliff that takes you from 2,500 ft in elevation to 3,100 ft.  It is not an easy climb, so I would not recommend it for elderly or people in below average health.  I had just finished a 10 mile hike the day before in Copper Breaks State park so my legs were still aching, which made this ascent more difficult than usual.  Once you get to the top, you are afforded some beautiful views, making the ascent worthwhile.  From the top, you can continue along the crest on the Haynes Ridge Overlook Trail (2 mi) or to descend along Upper Canyon Trail towards Fern Cave.  The cave sounded interesting, so this is the route I took.  The cave proved to be an interesting site with large boulders and lots of moisture and ferns.  At this point, however, I found the trail to be poorly marked and I got off trail several times once I left the cave.  It wasn't a big problem, however, because at this point in the hike you are essentially hiking along the bottom of the canyon adjacent to a small winding stream.  You can't really get lost since mountains surround both sides of you.

Once I got out of the canyon, I hiked back towards the North Prong Primitive Camping Area.  There were several trail marker signs indicating trails like D1, C2, etc., but I was a little frustrated because these trail numbers do NOT appear on the provided trail map.  Consequently, it would be easy for a hiker to take the wrong trail if he did not have a compass or good orienteering skills.  Luckily, I took the right trail (Canyon Loop Trail) back to the parking lot and then along the paved road back to the South Prong Camping Area parking lot.

As I mentioned before, I found this hike to be challenging, but very rewarding in terms of scenery.  Be sure to take plenty of liquids with you and allow enough time for a slower than usual pace.

There are several other trails in the park, such as Eagle Point Trail, the Lower Canyon Trail, Mesa Trail, and Canyon Rim Trail, but I did not hike these trails on this trip.  This is a beautiful state park, so this provides me an excuse to go back! :-)  

Enjoyable Hike
User: rowdy - 7/5/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 6.10 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 25 minutes

We started out at the North Prong parking lot and trail head.  Went around the Upper canyon trail to the fern cave.  The first half of that trail is wide and well maintained.  There was a little washing in the trail from a recent rain.  About three quarters of a mile from the cave the trail narrows and is grown over in some places due to lack of traffic.  The fern cave provides a cool place to relax and get away from the heat.  From the cave we headed up to Haynes Ridge and went back across to Haynes Ridge Overlook.  There are some really good places along the trail to soak up the beauty of the canyons from both sides of the trail.  The overlook is also very scenic.  This trail is pretty narrow and is grown up in areas too.  The trail up to the Haynes Ridge trail is steep in places and pretty rugged at times.  Bring lots of water and wear sunscreen for this trip.  You will need it.  The only people we passed along the way was one group of horseback riders.  Other than the lizards and one rattlesnake, we had the trail to ourselves.   Be sure to spray good with insect repellent, there are biting flies at different times of the year.  I would also recommend long pants due to small cactus, yucca and small scrub bushes along the trail.  Overall a good hike.  If you are not up for the climb, from the cave you can turn back and go back using the upper canyon trail. 

hard hike - striking vistas of caprock canyon
User: haggai - 3/13/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes

This trail is almost a loop.  We were a large enough group hiking it that we left some cars at the starting point and some at the ending point, but it would only have been another mile or so hiking back to the starting point if we hadn't done so.

Who would have thought to find a place like Caprock (or nearby Palo Duro) in the middle of the flat Texas panhandle?  This hike takes you through some of the most beautiful and striking canyon lands in Texas.  Don't forget your camera on this hike and be prepared to take hundreds of photos, most of which will have a hard time doing justice to the stunning, rocky countryside. 

For that matter, wear your best hiking boots with both outer socks and sock liners.  And don't forget plenty of water and trail mix to keep you hydrated and energetic.  This is one of the most difficult hikes you are likely to do in Texas, so don't try it without being fully prepared.  The signs saying "No Water?  Turn Back" were our first warning that this was going to be difficult, but we soon found out for ourselves.

The first half of our hike was on the southwest portion of the trail, down in the canyon in brushy but pretty countryside with lots of little depressions worn by the creek.  Be sure to save your energy for the very difficult 600-foot ascent up to the top of the canyon.  We sat up at the top, enjoyed the stunning view, and had a well-earned lunch.  Then we went all the way back down to the canyon bottom to see the Fern Cave -- pretty, but the canyon is a hard act to follow.

Our only mistake of the hike was not climbing back up to the top of the canyon afterwards and then taking the Haynes Ridge Overlook Trail along the canyon rim back to civilization.  The top of the canyon is a lot cooler and windier than the bottom, so by the time we had finished hiking the northeast portion of the trail, we were all tired, hot, and running out of water, and the country in this portion of the trail gets a little repetitive.

But overall, despite the difficulty, this hike is well worth it, and I recommend it to anyone in good enough shape to hike it.

A Great Place
User: barefootpoco - 5/28/2006  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes

I lived in the panhandle of Texas for 47 years and some of my best memories are the times we spent in the canyon.  We have driven 60 miles in the snow to get to the canyon to see it in it's most awesome glory.....covered in snow!!

Hot weather or cold weather it is a GREAT place....

ONLY 2 WARININGS:  LEARN TO RECOGNIZE POISON OAK AND IVY AND STAY OUT OF IT AT THE FERN CAVE!!!!  It is all over the place.....and one other thing....TAKE LOTS OF WATER!!

Maybe the toughest hike we've ever done.
User: Austin Explorer - 9/28/2005  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 6.30 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 44 minutes
Much of this trail is relatively flat and crosses numerous dry streambeds, but the ascent and descent portions of the loop are pretty rough. The ascent up follows a steep streambed part of the way and scrambling over boulders was required. The descent on the back side of the ridge was rocky and steep and required careful footing and more than a few handholds for stability. The hot weather took its toll on us as well. We saw no one else on the trail and only saw a highway off in the distance for short period of time from part of the ridge top, or else we'd give this a solitude rating of 5.