Brushy Creek Regional Trail

Type: Trail	Rating: (3.81)
Difficulty: (1.45)	Solitude: (1.86)
Length: 5.25 Miles	Elevation Gain: 150 Feet
ADAAccessible: N/A	Interpretive Guide: No
Dogs Allowed: Yes	Bikes Allowed: Yes
Cost: Free
City: N/A	County: Williamson

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Larger Map

Brushy Creek Regional Trail is just starting out, but is already a great place to stretch ones legs. (Click on map for larger view with more detail) (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 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.

The Hike: 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.

Several kiosks and signs along the trail provide an historical overview of early settlers to the area.

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.

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.

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.

The western half of the trail is a bit more "rough", which in this case indicates a rock face and more tree cover. (Photo by Austin Explorer)	The last section of the trail spans the dam that creates Brushy Creek Lake. From there a small, separate trail system loops through a park. (Photo by Austin Explorer)	(Photo by Eveline)
(Photo by xoxolat)	Near Twin Lakes (Photo by jojodow)	about 1.5 miles from Twin Lakes, The old railroad track has a historical marker (Photo by jojodow)
Brushy Creek (Photo by jojodow)

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.

Brushy Creek Regional Trail is a peaceful place
User: lloydhb - 8/30/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: N/A

www.youtube.com/watch

User: henryfamily - 4/25/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: 3 hours

User: chiricana - 4/25/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

Better for bikes

User: jojodow - 3/19/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Nice walk
User: karlye72 - 8/23/2008 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 5.25 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Walked this trail this morning from 10:15-11:45. My dog and I walked from Creekside trail head to the middle of the dam. It was a pleasant walk with nice shade and nice people. They provide poop bags but not so many garbage cans. There are a lot of emergency call boxes if something should happen. There were quite a few bikers but were good about calling out their position. Bring your own water and wear sunscreen. There is shade but for long streaches you'll be exposed to direct sun. Parts of the trail run parralles to CR 174 so you'll not feel very secluded but the scenery will compensate for the traffic noise. I look forward to walking my dog there again soon!

Jogged It
User: bspross - 5/12/2008 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 12.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes

This was a pretty good run. This trail would be awesome if it continued (which the rumor is it will some day). There are water stops which works well for those hot days. We ran it on a Monday morning so the solitude was pretty good; however, my guess is that weekends are very busy, especially at the parks throughout.

Crowded but pleasant.
User: xoxolat - 5/29/2007 [View Log Page]
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Brushy Creek Park's popularity has boomed over the past few years, especially since they opened the free waterscape during the summer. (We go here often--especially when it's boiling hot outside!)

There are a LOT of families here, so expect a variety of people on the trail--from individuals, to couples, to dogs, to groups of teens. And they are all doing something different--walking, jogging, practicing sprints, biking, or just sauntering along.

It was very pleasant, but I felt that most people on the trail were a little too serious. (Dare I say...borderline snobby?) That sounds like an odd thing to say, but everyone is usually very friendly and talkative on the hiking trails and the people here would barely crack a smile.

Regardless, the trail was very easy, well maintained, and quite pleasant. Brushy creek is fascinating with its quiet, rushing water.

Nice, easy walk in the suburbs
User: spacecitygirl - 1/21/2007 [View Log Page]
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I discovered this trail over a year ago and I really enjoy this hike because the trail is well paved, with crushed granite. The first part of the hike, is through a park area, with a pool, tennis courts, playground, and open fields for baseball and soccer. As you go further down the trail, you walk along the path of Brushy creek. There is a lot of shade along the creek, to keep you cool on a hot day. I enjoy this trail especially after a light rain, when you can hear the creek rushing. There is a small cemetary toward the middle of the trail, with a plaque, and grave markers. The trail is very busy on weekends, and during the evening. A lot of families, mountain bikers, and joggers use the trail. Early in the morning, around sunrise, and late in the evening, as the trail clears out, I have spotted deer coming out of the wooded areas to drink from the creek. The trail is pretty easy, with only a few hills and inclines, until you reach the dam that creates Brushy Creek Lake Park. Anyone can easily walk this trail, but I have seen young children get tired, and their parents have to carry them. There are restrooms and water fountains at the trailhead, but no other water along the way, so you might want to carry your own. If you go through this park, and over the dam to Brushy Creek Lake Park, they have restrooms and water there too.

User: toobsox - 1/1/2007 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 2 minutes

Very nice park and trail.
User: wdoud - 11/2/2006 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
Ethel and I walked opposite directions, so we wouldn't have to double back. Only met a few people. There was a construction "zone" near the road at about marker 9, so I had to wait at the yellow tape for a couple of minutes to let a front-end loader get out of the way. We'll go back there again soon and I'll get some photos.

Nice Walk
User: Eveline - 6/24/2006 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 6.20 Miles Duration: N/A
This was a volksmarch event that started at Brushy Creek Lake Park. It was an out and back. It was raining when we started, but cleared up before we finished. Good trail. No bikes today, but several joggers who didn't mind splashing us on their way past.

Looking forward to the expansion
User: Riff Raff - 2/4/2006 [View Log Page]
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Walked the full length of the trail as it is currently, plus most of Brushy Creek Lake Park for good measure. It really is a lot like the Williamson County version of the Town Lake Hike and Bike trail. With vastly fewer people, of course. You'll see lots of joggers, cyclists, dogs, strollers, tricycles, etc. Nice easy walking, with about half a dozen bridges crossing back and forth over Brushy Creek (and an emergency call box at each bridge). Take note that at the intersection with Great Oaks, Brushy Creek Road is actually called County Road 174. And the park you're looking for at the Eastern end of the trail (so far) is Shirley McDonald Park.

Nice walk in Round Rock/Cedar Park
User: eeboaz - 6/4/2005 [View Log Page]
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This is a fairly nice walking path between some Round Rock parks and Cedar Park's Brushy Creek Lake Park. There's a nice quiet pond about half way on the trail. Be sure to go early in the day to escape the heat and a lot of the bicyclists. Traffic along Brushy Creek Road is annoying as the trail runs right along since of the road for a majority of its length.

First time for everything
User: ejboaz - 4/21/2005 [View Log Page]
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This was the first time I had ever hiked Brushy Creek Trail, quite enjoyable for the most part and saw a great deal of nature's wonders. The only things that could have made that trail more enjoyable for me is less traffic on the road and people cleaning up after their dogs.

enjoyable hike good for families
User: lordrahl - 4/10/2005 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 5.25 Miles Duration: N/A

User: juanjochieh - 4/3/2005 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: N/A

User: texsunrose - 3/18/2005 [View Log Page]
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Very nice...easy...beautiful trail, saw Great Blue Heron and deer

The rain held off
User: Austin Explorer - 2/20/2005 [View Log Page]
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Finally got around to hiking the length of the trail as it exists today. When they get this trail finished it will provide quite a bit of mileage across the county. It's a fine hike and bike trail, but doesn't hold much for those looking for solitude or rough trails.

User: nocman - 1/25/2004 [View Log Page]
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Very nice and quiet (cept for rush hour traffic).

Wide crushed granite trail in Williamson County
User: figment - 1/16/2004 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: N/A
The Brushy Creek Regional Trail is a hike and bike trail, similar to the Town Lake trail, but much less crowded. Dogs, bikes, and joggers frequent this trail, which runs along the banks of Brushy Creek. This trail is flat, and connects several parks. I haven't hiked all the way through both ends of the park.

Lots of people.
User: Centex Trekker - 2/9/2003 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.50 Miles Duration: N/A
Good bike trail. We were here the day after it snowed.