Friday, February 24th – Thursday, March 2nd
Cranes Mill
Campground – Canyon Lake, Texas
We drove through the eastern side of Hill Country, a lovely
part of Texas. The destination was Canyon Lake, just northeast of San Antonio
and halfway to Austin. This beautiful, blue, clear water lake is a dammed
reservoir of the Guadalupe River run by the Army Corps. We setup in Cranes Mill
campground, the only ACOE one still open on this lake. In 2014 and 2015, there
were major floods in this area, which wiped out many lakeside recreational
parks, including two ACOE campgrounds. The sites were very spacious and all had
a view of the lake. There was a fishing pier next to the campground and a boat
launch just down the road. Again, the Army Corps campground met all of our
expectations.
On the north side of the lake is a peninsula with the
Madrone Trails mountain biking and hiking system. We headed up there on the
second day to find several miles of very rocky trails with many drops and
elevation changes. These trails are so different from any we’ve ridden. The
geology in this region is all limestone base, with a desert atmosphere. We rode
the trails as best as possible, but they were not the fun flowing trails that we
really enjoy.
Hiking trails were mostly non-existent here, other than the
Madrone Trails. A couple of days we made our own hiking trail by taking the
dogs over to a closed tent camping area and let them run off leash. We all
enjoyed the walk around the lake shore.
Another day we drove east to San Marcos, where there are
more mountain biking trails. This system at Purgatory Creek was well designed
and maintained, but still very rocky single-track. There were some “moderate”
trails that were filled with huge, volcanic rock that was mostly impossible for
me to ride, so I hiked my bike through many of these trails. However, there
were trails through forested areas and open fields, a little more interesting
and fun. We enjoyed these trails and got a good workout.
Kurt did put his kayak in the lake and paddled around while
fishing, which he always enjoys. The Guadalupe River runs through this region,
upstream and downstream of the dam. We drove around the area looking for kayak
put-ins and take-outs. We quickly found that most of the river bank lands are privately
owned, with little or no public access. It is a beautiful river and is famous
for fly-fishing. But basically, to get on the river you must pay an outfitter
and you cannot use your own equipment. So disappointing.
This stop also allowed us some down-time, relaxing and
hanging out around camp. This is such a beautiful place, we definitely would
consider returning here if we ever come this way again.
From here we are heading to Big Bend National Park in
southwest Texas. So excited to explore this park and see what it has in store
for us. 