Commons Ford - Pecan Grove Trail

Type: Trail	Rating: (3.00)
Difficulty: (1.38)	Solitude: (2.38)
Length: 1.15 Miles	Elevation Gain: 100 Feet
ADAAccessible: N/A	Interpretive Guide: No
Dogs Allowed: Yes	Bikes Allowed: Yes
Cost: Free	More Information: More Info
City: Austin	County: Travis

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The Pecan Grove Trail includes easy terrain, lake views and pecans!. (Click on map for larger view) (Click on map for larger view)
Maptech® USGS Topographic Series™, ©Maptech®, Inc. 603-433-8500, www.maptech.com/topo Copyright 2000 Maptech, Inc.

Getting there: From MoPac in Austin, head west on FM 2244. Continue west on FM 2244 through the intersection with Capital of Texas Highway. Aproximately 3.5 miles after that intersection turn right on Cuernavaca Drive and then turn left on Commons Ford Road. Continue down this road for and look for the entrace to the park on the left. Parking is along the shoulder of the road. Look for a brown wind gauge and antenna on the left for an indication of where to park.

The Hike: This is one of the easier hikes that you'll find on a non-paved surface. Most of the length of the hike is composed of mowed grass, courtesy of the Parks and Recreation Department. The short and sweet loop starts at the waypoint "Trailhead" along the side of the road. we started the hike in a counter clockwise direction heading toward the north east.

The trail surface is mowed grass. Very easy to traverse.

The trail was very easy to follow with the higher grass on either side of the trail clearly pointing out the direction of travel. At the waypoint "Y-Left" there is an option. The right fork heads toward the creek. Looking for a longer hike we headed to the left toward lake.

The north shore of Lake Austin includes cliffs that look down on the park.

The waypoint "Boathouse" marks the location of a small boathouse along the shores of Lake Austin. But it also boasts a large patch of mowed grass that is perfect for picnicing. We watched and listened to birds in the area for some time. Because there was no motor boat traffic on this portion of the lake at all the scene was very calm and quiet. It's a nice change of pace from the hectic waters one finds along the busy portions of the highland lakes.

The trail follows Lake Austin's shoreline for about a quarter mile. The park boathouse can be seen in the distance.

The trail turns to the west and follows the contour of Lake Austin. The path is far enough away from the lake so that the water is seldom seen, but its presense is never forgotten. Across the water rise steep cliffs of Limestone. There are no masions with million dollar views here. Just lots and lots of nature. This section of the trail features an impressive line of mature Pecan trees that will continue for a quarter mile. Numerous pecans were scattered on the trail

This trail gets its name from the long row of large Pecan trees that line the path.

The trail turns south as it nears the westernmost park boundary. Not far away we could see cattle grazing on the adjancent land. When the trail runs into the park road you'll be at waypoint "Barn". Here you'll see an old barn still used by the park to house the tractor that probably created the trail on which we hiked. Nearby is a large ranch house that the city rents out for events. Also nearby are a volleyball court and gazebo for picnicing.

To complete the loop head east on the park road back to the trailhead. The trailhead should already be within view at this point. In the end this easy hike took about 35 minutes to complete the 1.15 mile loop, with some time spent looking at birds and pecans. It's an easy and enjoyable hike that can be enjoyed by hikers of almost all abilities.

Logs

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Nice stroll & picnic
User: cancan1959 - 1/2/2010 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: N/A

Please keep in mind we rated this on a cool January day. This is a nice short walk and would be especially good to take a picnic lunch and eat down at the boathouse. We sat at the boathouse a good while watching several kingfishers. There are surprising few structures visible on this section of the lake. We didn't encounter people until we walked down the line of Pecan trees and there were lots of people picking up bags of nuts. We scooped a couple up and tried them...delicious.

Lazy stroll
User: Lindey - 5/2/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: 1 minute

Finished our hike with a walk to the lake under the pecan trees.

An easy, gentle hike.
User: rainwatter - 6/26/2008 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: 40 minutes

Little Watterdrop and I walked this smooth and easy trail around 3pm. It was a pleasent afternoon, and while there were some boates on the lake, we did not meet anyone along the path. We spent some time watching turtles in the creek and identifing some of the flora. A great hike for those of us with little tag-a-longs!

Hike???
User: oneotedsloth - 3/4/2005 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: N/A
In my opinion this isn't really a hiking trail. It's more of just a wide open path to the lake.