Southeast Metropolitan Park
| Trail |
   (3.93)
|
| (3.17) |
|
| 5.00 Miles |
770 Feet |
| Yes |
No |
| Yes |
No |
|
Free
|
More Info |
| Del Valle |
Travis |
Take Action
 | The nature trails at Southeast Metro Park are probably the best in eastern Travis County. (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 Austin head east on Highway 71. Go past Austin
Bergstrom International Airport and look for park on the left in about two of miles. There are signs
along Hwy 71. When entering the park following the signs indicating a hiking trail by veering to
the right and following the road all the way back to the trailhead.
The Hike: Southeast Metro Park is one of the newer parks in the Austin area.
Maintained by Travis County it boasts a large number of playing fields soccer and baseball.
I had heard good things about the trails here for some time, but when I
arrived I wasn't sure how long they were or what type of trail it was.
 | | The trailhead has ample parking and a fantastic map of the trails. |
The trail starts on the topo map at the waypoint "Trailhead". There is ample parking here and a
very good map showing the trails and points of interest along them. The trail heads northeast and
follows the backbone of a ridge that becomes more pronounced. At the waypoint "Overlook" there is
a nice sitting area with some unexpected views of downtown Austin. This portion of the park resides
on a ridge that overlooks Onion Creek and as it turns out, the center of the city.
.JPG&size=small) | | Numerous dry stream bed crossings dot the trail, but they are easily forded because of the bridges like this one. |
Soon after the overlook the trail forks. I ended up going in a clockwise direction and so
turned right. The trail descends into and ascends out of the canyon between two ridges then heads
north. The trail surface here is mostly packed dirt with some rock. The trail surface was very
well maintained and easy to navigate, even in the steeper sections.
The trail descends almost to the level of Onion Creek, though it's never visible. Two ponds dot the
path, each with a fishing pier or platform. The second pier is covered and of recent construction.
Then it's time to get back up to the ridge top and this involves some of the steeper sections of the
hike. A set of log enforced stairs help control erosion of the slopes.
.JPG&size=small) | | Rabbits, such as this one, were just about the only mammals encountered on the trail. And there were lots of them. |
Once on top of the ridge, I came to a side trail that was reported to have led to a primitive camping
area. That side trail is represented by the blue track on the topo map leading to the waypoint "Camping
Area". My comments about the fantastic nature of the trail maintenance does not apply to this
side trail. It was severely overgrown and seemed to peter out completely without an obvious end to
the trail. I spent a bit of time deburring myself when I got back to the main trail.
 | | A view along the trail, facing towards downtown Austin in the distance. Visibility was not ideal on this particular day. |
Back on the main trail, the path leads south and at the waypoint "View" there is yet another glimpse
of downtown. This may be the better of the two views highlighted in the hike, but it's farther away
from the trailhead and so does not have as nice a viewing platform.
The trail descends a bit, but then follows the contour of the slope for much of the way back to the
fork near the view overlook. From there it's a quick walk back to the trailhead.
 | | A daytime sighting of a racoon along the trail was an unexpected treat. |
Encountering a confused racoon along the trail in broad daylight was a surprise. He ended up
deciding that the tree he was in was not high enough for his taste and he bounded to the ground and
into the brush away from the trail as quickly as possible. What they lacked in antics, the rabbits
made up for in numbers. I think I must have spotted close to 10-12 rabbits on this hike, more than
I can recall seeing on any other.
.JPG&size=small) | | Several small lakes lie within the park and the nature trail hits each. This one includes a covered fishing pier. |
The main trail loop (minus the camping side trail) is a bit over 2 miles. But there's a bit more to
explore. Just a short distance from the trailhead another side trail juts to the west that the
park refers to as the Wildlife Trail. This one leads to the waypoint "Blind" on the topo map. The
Wildlife Ttrail is not as well maintained as the main trail, but it is nevertheless in better shape
than the camping area spur. It descends down the ridge, again almost to Onion Creek level, to a small
pond. A blind sits on the edge of the water giving wildlife observers an opportunity to see and not
disturb some of the birds that frequent the area. On this particular day there was not much to see.
 | | The side trails off of the main loop are more overgrown, such as the Wildlife Trail shown here. |
One final "trail" is the service road that runs from the trailhead and arcs its way to the two ponds
found along the main loop. This is a wide, rocky jeep trail that is not without its own merits,
though the lack of shade on a sunny day made the going a bit rough as the temperatures rose.
In all I was able to squeeze out about 4.75 miles along the trails. The official tally for the park
is five miles, two of which is a concrete loop not documented in this writeup and three for the
nature trails. In three hours of hiking I only saw two people on the trail, and they were park
workers on a cart near the trailhead. This trail is one of the best, if not the best, hike in eastern
Travis County. It's got a couple of decent views, well maintained trails, descent terrain and
solitude. I know that I'll be back.
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Good view of Austin from here. (Photo by
Sleepindog)
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close in but a good getaway.
User:
seamonkey78704 -
2/22/2009
[View Log Page]
Rating:
Difficulty:
Distance: 2.20 Miles
Duration: 2 hours
I think i may start going here once a week and running the trail. It's a nice mix of up and down hills, even if it winds around a little bit, and feels really short.
I really dislike the trail markers. Every 200ft is one telling you your exact progress, and making it impossible to imagine even for a few minutes that you're lost. I can see why others will like them, but really... its a closed loop hiking trail. Do we really need a numbered marker every 60 seconds?
The trail is very narrow, and feels more isolated than it really is, if you can ignore the low rumble of the city's auto and plane traffic. Unlike some other trails further out, that never really goes away here. On a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon, there were half a dozen cars in the parking area and we passed or saw around five or six other couples on the trail. A pleasant indication of the newness of the park and the fact that it hasn't registerd on most people's radar yet.
60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Antonio and Austin (60 Hikes - Menasha Ridge)
by Tom Taylor, Johnny Molloy
List Price:
$15.95
Our price:
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Packed with valuable tips and information,
60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Austin and San Antonio gives you everything you need to get started. First, learn about the area's hiking possibilities and the author's opinions about the best places to go. Then, consult the author's recommendations for special interest hikes--wildlife hikes, historic hikes, hikes for families, and more. Each hike profile provides essential details on length, hiking time, difficulty, solitude, and more. The author also includes personal notes on the hike, a detailed hike map, and clear directions to the trailhead.