Spicewood Valley Trail

Type: Trail	Rating: (3.73)
Difficulty: (2.32)	Solitude: (3.82)
Length: 1.30 Miles	Elevation Gain: 470 Feet
ADAAccessible: N/A	Interpretive Guide: No
Dogs Allowed: Yes	Bikes Allowed: Yes
Cost: Free
City: Austin	County: Travis

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Topo maps provided by MyTopo.com Larger Map

Getting there: From Hwy 183 in northwest Austin head south on Spicewood Springs Road. Turn right onto Scotland Well Drive and continue north. Turn right onto Middlebie Drive and look for the parking area.

The Hike: This trail is one of the newest in Austin, having only been completed and dedicated on November 12, 2005. The project was completed by the American YouthWorks? Environmental Corps. Over the course of two years 120 volunteers constructed the 1.3 mile trail and in the process have created a wonderful trail that occassionally draws to mind some of the stonework done by the CCC in national parks. Thousands of pounds of stone were harvested, moved, carved and placed to fortify the trail.

The start of the trail is just across the street from Mountain View Park.

The trail begins across the street from Mountain View Park at the waypoint "Trailhead" on the topo map. There is plenty of parking at the waypoint "Parking" and just a short walk to the trailhead on the other side of the ball field and playground.

The rugged terrain of the northern half of the trail required extensive stonework by volunteers to construct.

The trail starts off with a bang as it descends into the creek valley through a couple of steep switchbacks. The hard work put in by the American YouthWorks volunteers is evident right away. The steep terrain is workable by the average walker solely because of the stone steps put in place to ease the descent. While many hikers could have handled a steep descent straight down, the resulting erosion would be unacceptable.

The trail parallels a ridge of rock in the northern part of the park.

At the waypoint "Junction" the trail comes to a "T". A turn to the left and heading north will take one to the more hilly and interesting section of the trail. Here the trail parallels a rocky bluff before switchbacking it's way uphill to another trailhead in the neighborhood. Near the waypoint "Alt-TH" a stone bench overlooks a dry waterfall that feeds water into the creek during wet spells.

The southern half of the trail is flatter. Even here some stonework can be found in the form of stone benches in the distance.

Doubling back to the junction and continuing south results in an easier, flatter segment of trail that mostly follows the creek at the bottom of the valley. Unlike the northern trail segment, the southern trail does exit from the tree canopy, exposing hikers to the Sun.

The waypoint "Turnaround" marks the spot at which the trail runs into Scotland Well Drive, a short distance from Spicewood Springs Road. There's no place to park here, so I won't mark it as a trailhead. Although I briefly looked for it, I did not find a a way to connect this trail with the Upper Bull Creek Greenbelt trail across the creek. There probably is an unofficial way to connect them and it may be more obvious over time, but for now it's clearly a separate trail.

Though short, this new trail is a great addition to hiking in the Austin area. It boasts of some big hike features that make it an interesting trip.

Photos

The southern half of the trail is flatter. Even here some stonework can be found in the form of stone benches in the distance. (Photo by Austin Explorer)	This man-made waterfall on the trail is an older example of stonework in the area. (Photo by Austin Explorer)	In the southern reaches of the park the path turns into a jeep trail and the vegetation gives way to the open sky. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

The southern half of the trail is flatter. Even here some stonework can be found in the form of stone benches in the distance. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

This man-made waterfall on the trail is an older example of stonework in the area. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

In the southern reaches of the park the path turns into a jeep trail and the vegetation gives way to the open sky. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

Log Entries

User: Frank James - 5/10/2010 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: N/A

Loved this hike; was hard to find @ first. The enterance was between 2 houses. Very quite me and my Dogs where the only ones and we got close to some deer on the north part, while we where sitting down on the rocks.

Great!
User: texaskdog - 3/16/2010 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Okay I just review Upper Bull Creek, which is really an extenstion of this one (little did I know we did 2 hikes, I would combine them for the purposes of this page, you can do both in 80 minutes). Great path, only passes two guys walking their dog, solitude!

Great secluded area
User: sandew - 3/6/2010 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

It's very treed and great area, might be great when it gets hot in the next couple of months.

Spicewood Valley Trail
User: Melissa-Austin - 3/20/2009 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes

This was an interesting trail with two very different parts. I was first excited about the rapid decline towards the creek with a beautiful natural stone staircase with a log handrail. You quickly come to a "T" where you have to go left or right. I first chose the left path. This trail was absolutely beautiful - very natural, very secluded and lots of inclines and declines. It had nice stepping stones to cross a shallow creek. Along the trail, there were some large beautiful boulders and the pathway was very scenic and shady with lots of trees. Unfortunately, this path was very short and I had to turn back. I went back to the "T" and proceeded down the right path. This side of the trail was very different. The one thing that I loved was the river that had a beautiful waterfall sound that could be heard long before you reached it. There were also nice sounds of birds and crickets, so it sounded like you were really away from it all. However, shortly after passing this area, the trail became much wider and it almost seemed like you were walking down a dirt road. There was no shade, no fluctuating elevations, and I started hearing sounds of cars and construction. This side of the trail was much longer, but it was not very impressive. I came across a SUV which had burned to the ground in the middle of nowhere - very interesting. Overall, I absolutely loved the left trail, except it was just too short, but I was not very fond of the right trail once I passed the waterfall.

great hike & great park nearby
User: tnash - 3/29/2008 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

nice
User: jeff - 8/10/2007 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.30 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Took my 6 & 8 y/o kids before school started. Very pretty and has a small lake at end of hike. There is also a neighborhood park at trailhead for kids to play at.

A fun and relaxing walk in the woods
User: tres - 6/12/2007 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.60 Miles Duration: N/A
I hike here frequently and find it quite enjoyable. This trail winds through a wooded ravine from a reservoir in the north down to Spicewood Springs Road in the south. You feel quite isolated given that the park borders a housing subdivision. Typically I pass one or two other people along the trail. The net change in elevation is about 110 feet. Although the passage from the trailhead(s) in and out of the ravine is relatively steep, it only takes a few minutes. Along the main trail the slope is relatively modest. Points of interest not mentioned in other posts include a tree house, a small grassy meadow with wildflowers, and an old watering trough. If you want to start near the northern end of the trail, the alternate trailhead ("Alt-TH") is located at the intersection of Evening Primrose Path and Topridge Drive. The alternate trailhead meets the main trail just below the rocky path to the reservoir. On the southern end of the trail there appears to be a small, unofficial parking area at the intersection of Spicewood Springs Road and Scotland Well Drive (in front of the city wastewater utility lift station #105). An unmarked path goes directly from the parking area through the woods to meet up with the main trail. Alternatively, from the parking area you can take the sidewalk up Scotland Well and access the trail from the "turnaround" point. If desired, extend your hike by linking up with other nearby trails. Connect to the Upper Bull Creek Greenbelt trail by crossing the creek a few feet downstream of the man-made waterfall. The Upper Bull Creek Greenbelt trail goes through the woods, past a pond, and up to Canyon Vista Middle School. Also, the Talleyran Park hiking trail can be accessed from its "turnaround" at Old Lampasas Trail. It is about a 10 minute walk along a sidewalk from the Spicewood Valley trail "turnaround" on Scotland Well Drive to the Talleyran Park "turnaround" on Old Lampasas Trail.

Pretty & Serene
User: xoxolat - 5/26/2007 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A
I went in the afternoon after the storms we've been having. Descending the winding stone stairs in the beginning is truly beautiful.

I did the entire trail--both ways--and saw people below me in the creek when I was nearing the end of the "upper" trail. When I turned around to go onto the "lower" trail, I wound up following a friendly couple with two dogs.

It was getting into sunset, so the trail was dark in spots, but filled with fireflies! It was like a dream!

As it says in the main description, the "turnaround" is actually the end of the trail as it comes out onto Scotland Well Dr. Definitely no parking there, but I sometimes see cars parked down on Spicewood Springs. I may try that next time.

It was dark when I was done, so I had to walk up the hill and back to my car at Middlebie. OUCH! It is about .5 miles from the trail's end, up the Scotland Well hill--which is a 45-degree incline--and then how many streets to Middlebie? A great workout in the end!

Love the trees
User: schrochem - 5/26/2007 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: N/A
My son and I just did the northern section and took our time. We really enjoyed the trees and peeking at the creek every once in awhile. We climbed the waterfall at the end with all those huge boulders and saw the man made ravine. We climbed the wall to see that large reservoir before turning around and coming back. We didn't do the southern part but realized we were on it today when we did the Upper Bull Creek hike. We just did a small section of it but it was well maintained.

User: rhouston0405 - 12/27/2006 [View Log Page]
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Distance: 2.60 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

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