Thanks to the hard work of the Austin Ridge Riders and the Austin arm of BikeMojo, the Lake Georgetown trail is now available for riding. After a run down the trail, it's clear that this trail has something for everyone - unless you like road riding.

The trail is rocky and changes up quite often, from dirt and rock to rock and rock. There is not a lot of climbing, most of the climbs are short, but there were a few that really made me wheeze. The technical level varies from medium to mildly difficult, but there is no reason that a beginner couldn't take on the trails, and an expert will never be bored.

Location:

Georgetown, TX

Directions:

There are several entrances to choose from.

Cedar Breaks Park:
This is the primary trailhead for access to the southern trail, and closest to I-35. Coming from Austin, head north on I-35 and take exit 261 (Highway 29). Make a left onto 29 at the light and then take a right at the second light (after the bridge) onto D.B. Woods Road. Follow that for 1-2 miles and you'll see a sign for Cedar Breaks Road on the left. Follow that until it ends and take a left into the park. After passing through the gate, the trailhead is the first left, about 300 feet down the road. You can also park outside the gate to avoid paying the $4 fee for driving your car into the park. If you start out at Cedar Breaks and head west towards Cedar Hollow, there is a lollipop loop near the Cedar Breaks campground. When you get to the campground sign, you want to take the left fork. Eventually you will get to another fork in the trail, and you want to take the left fork up a hill. This will pass a small cul-de-sac parking area at the top of the hill at the Cedar Hollow access point. After that the trail heads back down the hill and reconnects with the main trail. If you hit the five mile marker then you missed the fork going up towards the Cedar Hollow access and you need to turn back around. Do not continue riding towards Tejas Park, as the section of trail between Cedar Hollow and Tejas is NOT YET OPEN! You can connect to the northern trails by riding over the dam to Overlook park. When you get to where the trail crosses the dam, take a left (you can also take a right to head towards the paved San Gabriel trail).

Overlook Park:
Take I-35 north and exit 261A, Williams Dr./2338 for Andice/Granger. Take a left heading west on 2338. Go about 4 miles and turn left on DB Wood Rd. The HEB will be on your right after the turn. About .5-mile later, take a right into the park. The trail starts at the bottom of the hill next to a large boulder as a crushed stone path. About 50 feet down, it crosses a faint doubletrack and the singletrack veers off to the right. Do NOT take the crushed stone path. Distance to Jim Hogg Park is 2.9 miles. You can connect to the southern trail by crossing the dam, entering Cedar Breaks park through the gate and then taking the first left to the trailhead.

You can connect to the southern trail by crossing the dam, entering Cedar Breaks park through the gate and then taking the first left to the trailhead.

From 183: Take 183 north to Seward Junction at Hwy. 29. Turn right heading east on 29. Go about 10-12 miles and turn left on DB Wood Rd. Go about 4-5 miles and turn left into Overlook Lake Drive and Overlook Park.

Jim Hogg Park:
Take I-35 north and exit 261A, Williams Dr./2338 for Andice/Granger. Take a left heading west on 2338. Go about 5 to 5.5 miles and turn left on Jim Hogg Road. This will lead you straight to the park. You can park on the right or left side of the road as you enter the park. There is no need to go to the attendant�s gate. To access the trail head to go east toward Overlook Park, ride past the attendant�s gate and turn left immediately after the gate. Take a right (against traffic!) and look for the trailhead about 30 feet down on the left. It�s crushed stone. To access the trail head to go west to Russell Park, ride past the attendant�s gate and take an immediate right into the U-shaped drive. The trail starts on the right. Distance to Overlook is 2.9 miles; distance to Russell Park is 4.3 miles.

From 183: Take 183 north through Seward Junction at Hwy. 29 and past the North San Gabriel River. Take the next right heading east onto 3405. Drive about 6.5 miles until it runs into 2338. Take a right heading east onto 2338/Williams Dr. Go about 1.25 miles and turn right into Jim Hogg Rd. Follow this to the park.

Russell Park:
Take I-35 north and exit 261A, Williams Dr./2338 for Andice/Granger. Take a left heading west on 2338. Go about 6 to 6.5 miles and turn left onto 3405. Go about 1.5 miles and turn left onto CR 262. Follow this 3 miles into the park. Park on the right in the long row of parking. The trail head to go to Jim Hogg Park is located on the park road that is on your left as you enter the park. The trail head to Tejas Camp, the farthest west park, is located in a round parking area to the west of the parking lot. Distance to Russell Park is 4.3 miles; distance to Tejas Camp is 5.5 miles.

From 183: Take 183 north through Seward Junction at Hwy. 29 and past the North San Gabriel River. Take the next right heading east onto 3405. Drive about 5.5 miles and turn right onto CR 262. Follow this into the park.

Tejas Camp:
Take I-35 north and exit 261A, Williams Dr./2338 for Andice/Granger. Take a left heading west on 2338. Go about 6 to 6.5 miles and turn left onto 3405. Go about 4-5 miles and turn left on CR 258. Drive until you cross the North San Gabriel River; take the next left into the park. The trail head is back across the low water crossing on the right. Distance to Russell Park is 5.5 miles.

DO NOT RIDE YOUR BIKE ON THE TRAIL BETWEEN TEJAS CAMP AND CEDAR HOLLOW ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE LAKE! This last section is not yet open, and riding it risks losing access to the entire trail around the lake. The Austin Ridge Riders are actively working on getting this last section open for mountain bikers--if you'd like to contribute, please visit their website.

From 183: Take 183 north through Seward Junction at Hwy. 29 and past the North San Gabriel River. Take the next right heading east onto 3405. Drive about 4 or 5 miles and turn right heading south onto CR 258. Drive until you cross the North San Gabriel River; take the next left into the park. The trail head is back across the low water crossing on the right.

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Technical Level:

Medium

Length:

Varies. From Jim Hogg to the lake is about 8.5 miles (17 miles out and back), if you go all the way down to Camp Tejas its about 20 mile or more round trip. The trail between Cedar Breaks and Cedar Hollow is about 11 miles round trip (if you do the loop at Cedar Hollow). The distance over the damn between Overlook and Cedar Breaks is about two miles.

Trails:

A good mix of dirt trails, rocks, limestone ledges and other surfaces should keep the trail moving along. It's a relatively fast surface, there are even some crushed limestone trails and jeep trails as well.

Trail Map:

Official map

Elevation: