Getting there: From IH-35 in Round Rock, head west on RR 620. Turn right onto Great Oaks Drive. At the intersection of Great Oaks and Brushy Creek Road park in the spaces available in the southwest corner.
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Several kiosks and signs along the trail provide an historical overview of early settlers to the area.
The Brushy Creek Regional Trail is more than just Williamson County's answer to Austin's
Town Lake hike and bike trail. While currently a mere 2.5 miles on way, the trail as it exists today is only a small portion of a grand plan to create a connected trail system that will create a web of mobility and recreation from one end of Round Rock to the other, and eventually extent to the boundaries of Williamson County. The official City of Round Rock long range plan is available
online.
The trail has multiple trailheads along its length, typically, just off of Brushy Creek Road. On the topo map the waypoint "Trailhead" marks the most common starting point on the trail, just before Great Oaks crosses Brushy Creek. Click on the topo map above for the larger map that shows the actual regional trail in a red track and trails in adjacent parks are shown in blue tracks.
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The trail parallels Brushy Creek and the road that bears its name for most of its length.
The trail surface is crushed granite with the exception of a few spots of pavement here and there. With the exception of the switchback to get to the top of Brushy Creek Lake Dam near the trail's end, the path is almost perfectly flat and level. It parallels South Brushy Creek from start to finish and mostly parallels Brushy Creek Road. The cars driving by on the road cut solitude to almost nil along most of the trail, but one can find a quiet spot or two, particularly on the western half of the trail when it separates from the road.
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The crushed granite path crosses streams a couple of times over bridges, such as this one.
At several spots along the trail interpretive markers have been placed to add and additional dimension to the trail. Stories of early settlers and prominent families provide some insight into what the area was like before it became suburbia. The trail even passes right by a small family cemetery, marked on the map by the waypoint "Cemetery". The Champion family laid their dead to rest here between 1862 and 1909.
Brushy Creek Regional Trail is a fine place for walking, running and biking. Though it doesn't provide a more serious hiking experience, the promise of an artery of trails spreading like a web throughout the area is an exciting and I, for one, can't wait to see it grow.