Turkey Creek Trail

Type: Trail	Rating: (3.88)
Difficulty: (2.30)	Solitude: (2.00)
Length: 2.50 Miles	Elevation Gain: 250 Feet
ADAAccessible: N/A	Interpretive Guide: No
Dogs Allowed: Yes	Bikes Allowed: No
Cost: Free	More Information: More Info
City: Austin	County: Travis

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Larger Map

Turkey Creek Trail is a shady hike in Emma Long Park. (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 central Austin, take FM 2222 west, past Loop 360. Turn left onto City Park Road and continue south to the Emma Long Park entrance sign. The parking area for the trail is two miles from the park entrance sign, on the right hand side of the road. The parking is right after a sharp turn in the road, so be prepared when you cross Turkey Creek to turn off the road.

The Hike: The weatherman promised me that Sunday would be party sunny in the morning with afternoon showers. True to form, the opposite turned out to be true, but along the Turkey Creek Trail in Emma Long Park it turned out to not be as big a deal as expected.

I started my journey at the trailhead marked by the waypoint of the same name on the topo map above. There were an unexpected number of cars at the parking area so it was obvious that any chance for solitude would be slim.

The trailhead includes an interpretive display informing hikers of the plants and animals one might find.

The path begins on the western side of the creek and quickly crosses it near a picnic bench within sight of the park road. Get used to crossing the creek, because you'll be doing it again and again. The trail follows the path of its namesake with tenacity. Only later in the hike will it wander away from the stream for a brief moment.

The numerous creek crossings are typically easy to master.

The numerous creek crossings turn out to be less of a deal than one might expect. Where natural rocks are not in abundance to provide stepping stones, trail maintainers have left behind unnatural, though effective, concrete pads on the creek bed.

Given the trail's tendency to stay along the banks of the creek, the vegetation encountered tends to be a bit more varied than that found through most of Emma Long Park. The ubiquitous Cedar and Live Oak are joined by the more water-loving Cedar Elms and Sycamores. Mountain Laurels, Twisted Yucca and Agarita are also present.

Turkey Creek does not feature any big waterfalls, but does include numerous small cascades

The most common life form on the trail was not a native plant or animal, it was the family dog. Turkey Creek seemed to be THE place to bring one's beloved pet for a weekend walk. During the course of my hike I encountered perhaps 12-15 individuals or couples. Every single one of them had one or more dogs with them. The fact that I was the only person without a canine companion may explain why some of the dogs took pitty on me and decided to befriend me by hopping up and covering me in mud.

Most of the trail follows the creek, often closely.

None of the dogs encountered were a problem, but if you don't like one barking at you then you may want to find another place to hike. In one instance a dog running point for his troop stopped and barked at me incessantly. His bark was not particularly menacing, though it was not exactly playful either. It struck me more of a "master, check this out. You won't believe this. There's a human up here and he doesn't have a dog" kind of bark. The apologetic owners explained that the dog seemed to have this complex with people wearing big hats. Now I was being offered fashion advice!

This grotto near the turnaround point features a wall of ferns.

The trail forks at the waypoint "Y-L". By continuing to the left you'll not only follow the trail's mile markers in order, but you'll continue on a relatively modest ascent up the creek valley and save the steeper trail for the return path.

The return path ascends a bluff that overlooks the creek.

As the trail turns and heads south it leaves the embrace of the creek it quickly gains a bit of elevation and enters a whole new world. For much of the trail up to this point there is little open sky. The canyon walls and thick tree cover provided ample shade. Now at the top of the canyon rim the sky opened up. Small patches of Bluebonnets, conspicuously absent from the creek bed, are in abundance here, tucked between thickets of Cedar.

A side trail leads a lookout point at the waypoint "View". One the day of my visit the drizzle and overcast skies didn't provide much of an incentive to stick around. The tree cover of the creek bed below afforded more protection from the elements.

The trail continues to the south, descending back to the creek at the waypoint "Y-L". From here the trail retraces its steps back to the trailhead. In all I recorded 2.3 miles of hiking.

On top of the bluff the sky opens up.

Upon returning to the trailhead I spent some time reading the instructive display at the trail's start. It included the usual facts about trail rules, a map of the trail, who Emma Long was (answer: the first female member of the Austin City Council) and some of the flowers one might see while hiking. On the far side of the back of the display is a simple sheet of paper printed with black lettering that states, "Welcome to Mountain Lion Country!"

In April the path was often dusted by Live Oak leaves.

Mountain Lions? In Austin? Shouldn't they let people know about this before they venture off into the bush?!? Actually, there's little to be concerned about. The number of sightings in west Austin have been low and Mountain Lions are typically more than anxious to get as far away from humans as possible. In the last 100 years only 4 attacks of Mountain Lions on humans have been recorded in Texas, none of them fatal.

Let's put this into perspective. According to one report, in 1999 the Texas Department of Health conducted a study in which it received reports on no less than 599 "severe" attacks on people by dogs. Even more remarkable is that these reports came in from only 86 out of Texas' 254 counties. It's not an exaggeration to say that one is hundreds of times more likely to be attacked by a dog than a Mountain Lion. So be nice to Fido when you see him on this trail!

Sources:
Animal Bites and Attacks

photo by J.Lavin (Photo by pixistixs)	(Photo by Texpride12)	(Photo by Texpride12)
(Photo by Texpride12)

Logs

Have you visited this location? What did you think of it? Submit your own log entry to let others know of your experiences and to keep track of your adventures.

User: rdiamond - 7/9/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: 1 minute

Nice and Shady but creek dry due to drought
User: sandew - 6/7/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes

It was hot, but nice trail with lots of trees and wide trail. Missed the YL on the way up, but found it on the way back. You'll miss the little "hill of life" if you stay on the left (crosses the creek at the YL). There was a trail map on the right at the YL also.

One thing, they are trying to mark the trail with rocks, but you don't know that until you pass a mess of rocks, so pick up a couple BEFORE you get to the picknic table and sign about marking the trail.

Lots of dogs that were well behaved and they found a pool of water (standing) up the top of the loop.

Creek's Still Dry
User: bolilloradio - 2/21/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Creek is still dry but don't let that stop you as this is still a nice little hike. On a Saturday morning we encountered 20 people and about 15,000 dogs.

User: jrr.rhoads@gmail.com - 1/10/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A

User: wallis - 1/3/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.90 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 10 minutes

I think this trail will be a better hike for me and the pups during the week... Can't wait to do it when the creek has water running through it.

Dog owners: please, please, please pick up your dog's poop. One great thing about this trail is that it is "leash free" and it would suck to lose the privilege, not to mention it is better for the land AND no one wants to smell it.

We hiked this one with the kids and the dog.
User: Courtney - 1/2/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
It was great to see so many friendly dogs hiking free of their leashes.

Great for Dogs
User: bspross - 12/28/2008 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.80 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 5 minutes

This is a great hike for dogs. Ours must have met 15-20 "friends" and it was a cold, not so pretty day. This is another one of those great hikes in the middle of Austin.

Dog Central
User: klyevans - 12/9/2008 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Although it's not a bad hike for humans, I think I would feel weird going to Turkey Creek without a dog. Nice trail for an afternoon or weekend stroll with the pup. There are usually a lot of people and other dogs, but it's not overwhelming.

Canyon-like, surrounded by trees
User: HighFox - 12/4/2008 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.50 Miles Duration: 35 minutes

Great place to walk the dogs! The trail has 2 (bio-degradeable) poop-bag stations with trashcans. When I went, there was not a drop of water in the creek, but i expected that---Austin is in a drought and it's winter.

I visited at 2PM and found 4 other SUVs in the parking lot, but encountered only 1 woman with 4 large dogs (leashless) on the trail.

The trail stays near the creek bed and winds itself over it several times. My dogs were sniffing every rock on the dry bed, marking thier spots! It was cold today and very windy, but the trail is in a canyon and so the wind was not much of an issue. The large trees were barely moving because of the protection.

I saw no other wildlife, not even a bird or insect. But I suspect they are busy keeping warm someplace.

Not bad, Not spectacular
User: geoff - 6/24/2008 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes

I've only been in the Austin area for about 3 weeks but as far as I understand It's been a season of pretty suvere drought which was sefinately obvious. The creek has since turned into a scattered collection of puddles which i'm sure took away from the whimsey of it all. With this in mind it wasn't a bad hike we started about 5pm on a tues so everyone that we would have run into was still sitting in rush hour but we still ran into a couple people and they all definately had dogs. The slopes were pretty easy going as well. Overall I enjoied myself and will definately head back when the water is flowing.

Great place to hike with the dogs!
User: jmm482 - 4/19/2008 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 10 minutes

This is a gem of a little hike and allows an excellent glimpse of the attributes driving conservation efforts within Austin and the Hill Country. My dog absolutely loves the numerous creek crossings and meeting all the other dogs and people along the way. Most folks were out with their dogs and there was one group seeking a glimpse at the all elusive warbler. I was able to hear at least 7 golden-cheeked warblers while hiking around the loop and near the parking area. Only a couple were using the primary call (call I), with the majority using the secodary (call II), and call III every once and awhile. Between mile markers 0.5 to 1.5, there was a warbler near each of the quarter-mile markers, typically on the opposite hillslope as the previous one. The trail is well defined and lined with limestone rocks. It's encouraged to stay on the trail and respect the habitat of rare and endangered species found in this area.

A Little Bit of Everything
User: xoxolat - 5/27/2007 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
The unpredictable nature of the trail was what really stood out for me. True, there is a lot of crossing over the creek in the beginning, but the creek overall is simply beautiful. (Yes, I wound up slipping off rocks and deciding that it was just easier to walk through the water in the end.)

There is also a lot of twisting and turning throughout the trail. Once you head up at the peak/overlook, there is a lot of cactus and clear patches of ground.

I went while it was drizzling, and it had been raining. So, there was a LOT of mud.

Because of the mud factor, and the falling-in-the-creek factor, I can't decide if next time I should wear Teva-like shoes, or just plain tennis shoes.

There weren't many people at all on the trail. In fact, I think I was the last one to hit the trail and most of the people I met were just coming off. And, I only met two dogs, but there were obviously plenty of dogs. It was especially evident on the upper part of the trail where the trail was practically ALL mud for at least 1/2 mile.

Nice hike for getting feet wet
User: annieveg - 5/7/2007 [View Log Page]
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Phil saved a baby rattlesnake in the road. Thought we heard a mountain lion (sounded more like a jaguar). Lots of wet smelly dogs.

The Beginning of Our Hiking Adventures
User: silvershark1998 - 4/22/2007 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Well, this was a pleasant hike as this was a spur of the moment hike in that we were out on a drive and took upon ourselves to go for a hike. The weather was a little drizzly. It spotted for a little while. But the trees and the brush help protect us from the drizzle. Alot of river crossing and jumping/hopping across the ravines. Came across a rather interesting collection of trinkets/collectables at the top of summit in an open area. All in all was a great hike.

Dog Social
User: chrislepard - 5/2/2006 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
Want to get your dog socialized with other dogs, this is place to take 'em. Great place for dogs. You can jog the trail too.

User: glenlake505 - 11/14/2005 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A

Good Hike, Great for Dogs
User: SpicyMcBrett - 9/19/2005 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.25 Miles Duration: N/A
Trail was nice and well kept. Few areas of rocks and gravel, but overal was packed dirt and stone.

Turkey Creek Hike
User: Texpride12 - 9/15/2005 [View Log Page]
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Hiked Turkey Creek trail today in perfect weather. The scenery was great and the hike was very enjoyable. This trail is great for beginners and dogs as well. If you looking for solitude this is probably not the trail for you. There are camp grounds nearby and I think a lot of people frequent this trail. I saw maybe 10 to 12 people on the trail and most everyone had a dog or two with them. All were off their leashes but just strolled right on by. I would highly recommend this trail vs all the others I've listed before. There is a lot of shade, a lot of greenery and even some water and wildlife. Did see a notice to watch out for Mountain lions but if you are familar with these animals you know adults are pretty much in the clear. If you take kids just keep them close and keep your eyes open. Great Trail though

Shady hour long hike
User: pixistixs - 8/1/2005 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
This is our favorite spot, free, get's the heart rate going and easy to access. Most people you pass have big friendly dogs. Crosses over a creek several times. Nice scenery.

Nice and quiet
User: jkerr57 - 6/23/2005 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
Along this trail it is easy to forget that you are in the city. The brief time spent on the bluff over the creek at the turnaround provides a nice change of scenery.

User: Dean Geuras - 4/24/2005 [View Log Page]
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Dogtastic and gorgeous, every time.
User: labradorks - 2/11/2005 [View Log Page]
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We try to get out to Turkey Creek Trail at least once a week. It gets a bit crowded on weekends, but if you're fortunate enough to make it on a weekday afternoon, the solitude rating goes off the scale. The trail itself got a little trashed during the heavy rains of last November (more on that later) but now is, for the most part, easily passable. Regarding heavy rain--if it's sprinkling, hit the trail. However, if there are more than 2 or 3 inches of rainfall in the area in the day(s) preceeding your walk, you're going to get soaked,repeatedly,crossing the creek. And heads up: if there's been more rain than that, you might experience significant difficulty fording the creek in certain areas! The creek is gorgeous, with clear, pristine green-blue pools dotting the route. There are many places (on creek and off) to stop for a break. Wade, read, write, snack, fetch, sit, stay, whatever. If you've got a dog or two or ten, bring him/her/them. This is a superbly dog-friendly trail. If you run into anyone, they're probably going to be accompanied by well-adjusted, well-behaved canines on- and/or off- leash. We applaud the two-legged and four-legged users of Turkey Creek Trail that we've crossed paths with to date. Everyone seems to be courteous, friendly, and enjoying themselves. They are a credit to hikers just as Turkey Creek is a credit to area trails.

Dog romp heaven
User: Shylock and Fiona - 6/20/2004 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A
Took the Geo-hounds out for a hike today to meet some other Austin hounds and found 4 of the area geocaches. Great day hiking in this beautiful area. Plenty of water in the creek with a blessedly cool tree canopy. Really enjoyed this outing.

quick hike
User: eezra - 2/28/2004 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
Lots of crossing the creek back and forth so wear good shoes with treads.

beautiful spring day hike in February
User: manwithdog - 2/19/2004 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
With the temperature in the 70's and the sun burning through the haze, Willow and I jumped in the Civic to get out and spend some time with the trees. It was idyllic; the kind of day Thoreau would've waxed rhapsodic about. The water was up and the sound of the creek mingled with the breeze overhead in the branches - lovely. In deeper portions of the creekbed, the water stood in emerald green pools. I wanted to strip down and jump in, it was so inviting. Settled for dunking my head instead. We didn't see another person until we were headed back to the car - and the folks we did meet were nice. Not much in the way of critters - a flock of peeping birds around the halfway point - flitting about on stirring branches. Getting outside is the only thing that makes sense when it's spring in February.

User: Blizzard - 9/13/2003 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.50 Miles Duration: N/A
We did more than the loop, nice hike on a cool day. Autmn can't be too far away.

Nice Hike
User: woodrg0 - 7/14/2003 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A
I hiked this trail at 2:30pm with the sun directly above me. I couldn't believe how great the tree cover was on this trail. The creek is quite nice and the trail was well-maintained. The trailhead is well marked and the park provides clean-up baggies should Spot want to come along.

Very beautiful area
User: HikerGirl - 7/2/2003 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
Went on this day with a group from Hill Country Outdoors and really liked the hike. Will go back when it is less people so that I can look around more...but the hike was a treat. Nice climbing areas to work cardio & legs. Very cool since most of it is shaded by the trees. I will be going back to this one!...and yes, dogs roam free instead of leashed.

Nice peaceful hike on weekdays
User: figment - 4/17/2003 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.60 Miles Duration: N/A
If you don't have a dog, this isn't a great place to come on weekends. If it hasn't rained for a while, this hike isn't so great - but if it has rained, Turkey Creek can be very pretty.

This is for the dogs, and that's how they like it
User: Austin Explorer - 4/6/2003 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.30 Miles Duration: N/A
It's kind of strange to be in a place where you're the ONLY person without a dog, but that's what I was on this hike. The drizzle was held in check by the abundant tree cover. Not a great hike for solitude, but I did find one tranquil spot at the turning point of the hike, as far from the trailhead as possible.

This is Dog Walk Heaven
User: adonaione - 1/1/2003 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.60 Miles Duration: N/A
I rated the difficulty higher than the trail actually was because there were a number of water crossings that could only be done by walking on stepping stones. Easy for me, but some of my non-hiker friends were challenged by the water crossings. It's a Leash Free walk with my two chow mixes and they loved it. Some of the views are indescribeable. My next journey there will be off trail, which is lots of climbing and water crossings. The people I met were of all one mind THIS IS A GREAT PLACE! Great way to start the New Year!

Great go-to spot
User: rberry - 6/15/2002 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: 1 hour
I've done this trail many times. It's sort of my default trail whenever I need a nature bump.