new to Austin

hi Texans.

I just moved to Austin from Phoenix. I bought a blue RL RTX just before Christmas. today it is no longer new as I spilled my coffee in the truck this morning:D

I do miss the desert and all the hiking. so my question is where to hike? I asked that of a few people here in austin and they pointed me to places like town lake...:( thats not really hiking to me.

hiking to me is.. 3 to 25 miles of jeep trail to get to a trail head. then about 6 to 10 (usually 6 as im getting a little older with less to prove:) )miles of hiking with 30+ pounds of gear to sleep overnight. getup, go exploring and hike back. anything like that within an hour or two of austin? or even close to that?

so.. any suggestions/information/websites.

also.. any chance of a BBQ anytime soon? love Q, and its really good around here. but maybe a get together?

thanks all.

Rontopia -

From a hiking perspective I'd say you are talking about Big Bend, or the Franklin Mountains. Unfortunately those are a bit more than an hour from Austin (and even farther from Houston where I am.....)

someone said something to me about a big rock somewhere near here? any bells?

thx
Rontopia

Welcome to Austin!

Sorry to say there will not be anything close to Austin that matches your idea of hiking. To do that will be the Big Bend National & State parks and Ft. Davis area, Guadalupe Mountains (not to far from Carlsbad Caverns). Actually, you were probably closer to these when you lived in Phoenix than you are now.

You may also want to look at the forests of east Texas (Davy Crocket National Forest, Big Thicket, and others).

There is also Witchita Mountains up in Oklahoma if you don't mind hiking around with wild buffalo and longhorns.

If you want shorter day hikes, then there is Pedernales, Enchanted Rock, and Bastrop state parks which are just an hour or two drive away.

For Texas state parks (including forests): http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest

For National parks: nps.gov
For National forests in texas : www.fs.fed.us/r8/texas/index.shtml
For Witchita Mountains: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/wichitamountains/

hope this helps.

Personally, when I'm in Austin I always enjoy hiking up & down 6th Street...

Welcome to Texas. I live in San Antonio. Our house likes Guadalupe State River Park. Happy trails with your new Ridge.

Big rock = Enchanted Rock maybe? About 90 minutes from Austin.

cool thanks guys..

so you camp overnight at Enchanted Rock?

thanks everyone for taking the time to post.

cool thanks guys..

so you camp overnight at Enchanted Rock?

thanks everyone for taking the time to post.

You can camp at Enchanted Rock, but it's not a very long hike to the top, so it's more like a day trip. You can hit Fredericksburg afterwards for some shopping, eating, etc.

For camping and hiking, try Colorado Bend State Park. You can do primitive or car camping, and there's good hiking. It's near Llano, I believe, so maybe a 90 minute drive. If you drive through Llano, make sure you stop at Cooper's for BBQ.

Anything become of this yet? I would be up for meeting at any of the nice state parks around central Texas or even a road trip out to Big Bend (only an 8 hour drive from Austin). Pedrenales has some pretty good car camping sites.