A week in the mountains, the desert and the forest - TR with Pics - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

Neville · 12-17-2006, 05:14 PM

The Mountains
Davis Mountains State Park - Fort Davis, TX
The Davis Mountains are nestled in between Guadalupe Mountains NP and Big Bend NP and offers
a nice escape from the flat lands of East Texas. I arrived late in the evening and pitched camp in one of the developed sites and decided to crash early. I awoke early the next morning and scouted out the nearby scenic highway before packing up and heading to the trailhead. The trail is only six or so miles in length but offers roughly 800 feet of elevation gain and some nice camping on an open ridge where clouds are more of the exception rather than the norm. After taking about two and a half hours to reach the top, I pitched camp and spent the rest of the day scouting the ridgeline. As dusk came about, I ploped myself down in my favorite backpacking easy chair and watched the sky blossom with billions of stars. I see now why they chose to place a stellar observatory in this area.

Next morning I packed up and returned to the trailhead and spent the next day roaming around Fort Davis and the nearby McDonald observatory.

After the mountains, it was off to the desert. I headed east from the mountains and watched as the mighty rises slowly reduced themselves to rolling hills and finally a flat expanse that you could fit Connecticut into. I arrived in bustling town of Del Rio and plotted the next day's moves for Devil's River.

The Desert
Devil's River State Natural Area - Nowhere, TX
Indeed, in the middle of nowhere. The closest town is sixty-five miles away with about twenty-three of those miles spent on a dirt road filled with open range cattle and deer. As expected, I was the only one there. After setting up camp I hiked three or so miles down to the park's namesake; a spring-fed oasis in the middle of the parched landscape. If so desired, one can canoe down this river until it dumps into Lake Amistad along the Texas/Mexican border. I spent a few hours exploring the river before heading back to witness yet again another starry night with nary a soul in sight.
As with most deserts, the temps during the day were pretty high (upper 70s during the day) but then dropped as soon as the sun set. I awoke around seven in the morning to a temperature of 29 degrees, packed up, got back on the road and headed for a thick pine forest east of Austin.

The Forest
Bastrop State Park - Bastrop, TX
The park covers a sizeable area of pines and hardwoods surrounded by the sprawl of Austin and it's suburbs. When the park was created in the 1930s, I guess that no one expected Austin to grow by half a million folks.
At any rate, my plan called for hiking and backcountry camping along an eight mile loop thorugh the dense forest but I was forced to cut the trip in half due to a prescribed burn that occured a week or so earlier. After hiking around four miles, I located the quasi-primative camping area and set up camp. Later in the day I came across a portion of the burn area, still smoldering from the earlier blaze, casually poked my head into the charred ruins for a brief spell and then headed back to camp for the night.

Not a bad way to use up the last week of vacation for 2006.

copuswalker · 12-17-2006, 05:59 PM

Sounds great!
I have been curious about the Davis mountains but it seems the hiking is limited.

Neville · 12-17-2006, 06:59 PM

Yep, quite limited. It's a nice hike up but can be done as a dayhike with no problems. In fact, it's such a long drive from Dallas or Houston that I wouldn't make the effort unless it was combined with something else. As such, I combined it with Devils River and Bastrop to make a nice week out of the house.

copuswalker · 12-18-2006, 08:58 AM

I guess I should hit it wihen on a Big Bend N.P. trip.

We used to camp at Bastrop a lot. Really love the pines and trails in that park

Cougar · 12-18-2006, 12:39 PM

Dear Neville:

Devils River SNA is "on my list," and I often think about going.

Thank you for sharing all of the photos. I've always wondered what it was like, and these are the first photos I've been able to find on the internet.

Neville · 12-18-2006, 05:44 PM

copuswalker: That would be your best bet. Knowing what I know now I would add the park to my trip if I were heading to either Guadalupe Mountains or Big Bend.

Cougar: Devil's Rivers is definitely worth checking out. There are some things to consider before you go:
One, make a reservation if you're staying over night. As I understand it, the park will only accept reservations.
Two, the TP&W website says that the campsites can support trailers and/or campers. Don't believe it. I checked out campsites 1-4 and you might be able to fit a camper in number 4, but getting it to the park is a chore in of itself. You'd probably have some damage to your trailer before you left, not to mention that there aren't any facilities to speak of.
Three, it looks like there are other camping options there in the backcountry. I have a more detailed map of the park and it shows two backcountry campsites along the 12-mile loop. That's something that I plan on checking out on my next trip.

natureboyhays · 12-19-2006, 12:40 AM

Neville (or any others familiar with Devils River SNA): I have been wanting to visit Devils River SNA for quite some time, but wanted more info before venturing to such a remote spot. How is the road (Dolan Creek Rd.)? I know it is unimproved and over 20 miles long. Is it really rough (big sharp rocks & ruts) or moderately smooth gravel? I don't think my little car, with it's wimpy tires, could handle the road; might need to go with someone who has a truck or jeep, or rent one. Have you been to Colorado Bend SP, and if so, how does the road to Devils River compare (aside from being more than twice as long) to the road to Colorado Bend? I have done that one in my car. Also, once you take the trail to the river, can you walk some distance upstream or downstream along the river, or is access limited to a small area at the end of the trail. Finally, are reservations required (or recommended) for day use or only for camping? Sorry to be so full of questions, but I have been intrigued by the place for awhile. I have read that all the surrounding land owners are, shall we say, hypervigilant, so I know not to venture onto private land around there. Thanks to Neville for the photos. The area looks austere, but beautiful, just as I imagined.

Neville · 12-19-2006, 05:56 AM

natureboyhays: It's funny that you mention Colorado Bend SP because that was the road I thought about when I was driving down Dolan Creek road. The road is smooth dirt with some gravel and I did it with a Ford Focus so you shouldn't have any problems. If you go during hunting season like I did you're sure to get some strange looks from the occasional truck full of hunters.

I was told that reservations were required for an overnight stay so I don't think that day use would require one. It's not like they have to keep the crowds out.

Unfortunately the access to the river is somewhat limited. There's a nice big sign indicating that you have left the state natural area at the end of the trail and the rest is private property. As far as the trail itself is concerned, there's about a mile between campsite 4 - the closest to the river - and a locked gate. That's as far as you can go with your vehicle and there's a parking area there. The road leading from the headquarters is the same smooth dirt surface. After the gate, it's about one and a half miles to the river. I just walked from camp #4 instead of driving.

I would suggest an overnight as opposed to a day trip because it takes so long to get there. It's sixty-five miles from Del Rio and seventy from Sonora - those are the two closest cities. In a car like a Ford Focus it will take you at least an hour to get to the park once you hit Dolan Creek road.

Regarding Dolan Creek road; keep an eye out for it because it's not well marked (see the rusty sign in my pictures) and there's no sign telling you that Devil's River SNA is down the road.

Let me know if you have any more questions, I'll try my best to answer them.

natureboyhays · 12-19-2006, 01:09 PM

Thanks for the info

I may try to get there (Devils River) sometime in early spring before it's too hot, maybe March or April. Hopefully there will be some rain between now and then. This drought has gone on for too long. I have a USGS topo map of the area, but of course they are seldom updated, so it does not show the boundaries of the SNA, and I can't tell which interesting features on the map (springs, etc) will be accessible. Anyway, it's still a place I hope to explore some day. I have visited Seminole Canyon state park, which is in the same general area; it has somewhat similar scenery, but no flowing river...just nice views of Lake Amistad & Seminole Canyon, but no easy water access. It does have about 7 miles of easy hiking trails.

Neville · 12-19-2006, 07:19 PM

The topo I've got only shows one spring in the area that's about halfway around the loop but way off the trail down in a canyon.

The trail looks like it climbs about 300 feet just past campsite #7, descends about 150 feet after about five miles, climbs 150 feet and then descends about 300 feet a mile from campsite #4. The five miles in between climbs looks like ridgeline walking. It looks like the river may be the only unique feature in the area.

copuswalker · 12-19-2006, 10:54 PM

Some great info...Thanks for the post everyone...Can't wait for hunting season to end