Originally Posted by Neville

Instead of spending Black Friday fighting the hordes at the malls I decided to fight the outdoor hordes at Garner SP.

As expected the park was a bit crowded, but for the number of people I saw and the number of campsites taken I was suprised that the trails were pretty quiet. I passed the occasional large party but for the most part only a few couples.

I headed out from Dallas early Friday morning and got in around one o'clock in the afternoon. After setting up camp in the Persimmon Hill camping area I hit the East Trail area at the start of the Bird Trail. The climb is a bit rough in places but it offers some nice views of the Frio River and the Hill Country. If you look at the trail map, I spent all of my time between Horseshoe Canyon and the 'Rock Fence' as there are plenty of places to explore and to sit around and soak in a few views. After an hour or two I headed back down the Foshee Trail past 'George's Patio' and down a very jagged descent back to the trailhead. Be very careful if you do this descent with children as some portions require a bit of scrambling.

Despite the cold damp weather and the crowds it was still a better alternative to the shopping malls. All in all, a nice Thanksgiving weekend on the trail.

A note to Dallas area folks: I personally wouldn't plan on making a trip dedicated to this park. While the park is very nice, it's just too far (roughly eight hours for me) for an overnight. Try tying it in with Lost Maples SP or Hill Country SNA and make a longer trip out of it.

Here are a few photos:
Garner State Park - TX - 112307 - 112407 pictures from hiking & backpacking photos on webshots