Stephen F. Austin State Park

Stephen F. Austin State Park

My husband and I wanted an easy day hike this weekend, so we drove out I-10 West to SFA State Park. It's really close to town and neither of us had ever been there. It's a small park with a golf course, dining room, and cabins you can rent if tent camping isn't your thing. This park is not very remote and isn't what we would normally pick for going camping. However, I think its draw is very alluring for families looking for a close and easy way to go camping for a weekend. 

We basically hiked all the trails at the park in about 2.5 hours if that tells you anything. It was just over 5 miles, and I'm glad to report that the trails were well-maintained, easy to hike, and very accessible for those who are out of shape or who (like me) don't handle steep inclines well. 

Here's the trail map from the park that I've marked up to show our route. The yellow arrows show the trails we chose. 

We started our loop at the amphitheater and headed all the way around starting with the Cottonwood Trail. 

The Cottonwood Trail is very wide path that clearly gets some vehicle traffic. It's basically a gravel road that is overgrown with soft trampled grass at some points. We turned left onto the Copperhead  Trail, which took us on a nice twisty shady path through the trees. 

Here's a shot of the Copperhead Trail. This doesn't really show how pretty it was, but I forgot to take more pictures. The trail is mostly flat with a few very small inclines - I only got short of breath once today. The flat trail is great for trail running if that's your cup of tea.

Here's me in my hiking outfit for the day. I wanted to get a good shot of my Old Navy skirted leggings since I plan on reviewing them. The upshot is that you should buy them. I'll post a full review soon.

From the Copperhead Trail we branched off to the River Bend Trail, which is another twisty trail through the trees. These two trails were not only easy, but were very peaceful. Not all the trails at this park are peaceful. The ones closer to the campsites are not peaceful...or maybe they are if there isn't a giant boy scout campout happening?

 

Toward the end of the River Bend Trail there is a little path to the river. It's a small spot, but pretty - perfect for a picture!

At the end of the River Bend Trail there is a river access point. Scramble down the steep dirt bank and go right to the river. Or, if you're like me, watch your husband scramble down the path! 

Next up was the Brazos Trail. Close to the start there is a river access point similar to the one in the  last picture as well as this really pretty meadow path. Follow the meadow path for a short little jaunt in the beautiful green corridor. It meets up with the main Brazos Trail and you can continue on your way. 

From the Brazos Trail we continued onto the Sycamore Trail. It's a lovely and easy hike through more shady woods. However, at the end of the trail there is an incline that could be difficult for some people. I'm pretty out of shape and I made it up just fine, but I'm just throwing it out there that some people might have trouble. This was the only point during the trip where I actually felt like the path was challenging. Most of this park is very very easy flat and soft dirt path.

This cloudy looking picture is from the lovely Wren Loop Trail. I don't know why this one shot turned out so foggy looking, but it was so pretty the way foliage had grown in a blanket over a bunch of trees and shrubs. 

Halfway through Wren Loop Trail there is beautiful vista point with benches for resting. If you stand at the fence you can see 180 degrees of pretty river view. 

From Wren Loop we jumped on the Dewberry Trail for a bit to catch up with the Ironwood Trail. We followed that all the way around to hit the Pileated Trail that took us all the way back over to the amphitheater where we parked our truck. 

I don't have any photos of those last two trails - not because they weren't pretty - but because I forgot to take any. This section of trails was very close to the campsite area, which I found really annoying. I could hear kids screaming and adults yelling at the kids almost the whole way, which really made the hike less enjoyable. The second half of the Pileated Trail was better than the first half, if that's helpful. Again, this weekend may have been an anomaly since there was some sort of boy scout campout happening. It's completely possible that it's not always that loud on the Ironwood and Pileated trails. 

The verdict? 

I would come back to hike here only if I needed a day hike that was very easy, kid friendly, and was prepared for the possibility that part of it would be loud and less peaceful.