Kickapoo Cavern State Park

First off, the park is located 20 miles north of Brackettville, Texas, so not exactly on the way to anywhere. Proper MTB trails are sparse in the area, so it's a nice little gem in the middle of nowhere if you ever happen to be passing through the area. The park consists of a loose network of trails varying from complete beginner to the advanced. As of this review, there are 14 total mixed-use trail miles with another 2 miles of exclusive MTB trail currently under construction. I rode the Long-Way Home, the Barbado Ridge, the Vireo Vista, and the Armadillo Lookout trails completing a 7.3 mile loop.

I started at the Park HQ. The staff were knowledgeable and friendly and happy to answer any questions. They offer camping and bat-cave tours, so there were plenty of other non-MTB patrons in the park. Parking was plentiful right in front of the HQ with a couple other smaller lots around the various trailheads. I set out at about 11:30 on a mostly cloudy day in early October. it's South Texas, so there's no way I would do this ride at that time of day in the summer months. Even with the cloud cover, it warmed up significantly every time the clouds broke for even a few moments. As with all trails in this part of Texas, take lots of water and use good judgement. The Long Way Home trailhead is .6 miles up a paved road from the HQ and is well-marked but there is no parking at this trailhead. The trail is a 2-track converted jeep trail that is well-maintained. It climbs gradually for the first mile or so until reaching the Stuart Bat Cave cut-off. From there a sharp left turn takes you up a steep incline. This was the first and only spot on this trail that I had to walk the bike. Once up top, the trail leveled out into a smooth and fast section with moderate twists and turns for the next 1.5 miles. I rode right past the sign for the Barbado Ridge turn-off and had to back up to read the sign. It's low on the left hand side and easy to miss.

At the HQ before my ride, I asked about the Barbado Ridge Trail since it is marked as hiking only. The ranger's exact words were, "It's not a bike trail unless you're an extremely advanced rider." What I heard was "It's a difficult trail unless you're an advanced rider." Since I consider myself an "advanced" rider, I thought why not give it a try? I should probably have listened to him. This is not a biking trail at all. Climbing the back side of the ridge was the single most difficult trail I have ever ventured to take my bike on. It's a steep climb with no switchbacks. The trail is literally rock, not flat rocks but steep, uneven, sharp-edged, bang-your-crank-set lava rocks. The trail is marked by smaller rocks lining the edge of the path. Hiking this trail would be a challenge. Riding your bike up this trail is near impossible. I actually tried is several spots and succeeded. While technically I might have been able to tackle any one of the obstacles individually, in succession, they were simply unsurmountable, if not for the technical difficulty, then surely from the sheer exhaustion. The trail climbs for about .75 miles until you reach the top of the ridge. From here it levels out and becomes rideable even though there are still periodic obstacles that keep you from gaining any momentum. I still had to walk past a fair number of them. After a half mile along the top of the ridge, the descent begins and the trail smooths out into a very nice ride. The front section is actually a decent stretch of single-track with plenty of challenging but not insurmountable obstacles to keep a moderately advanced rider interested. The bottom of the trail is well-marked and ends back at the main paved road.

Crossing the street takes you to the Vireo Vista trail, more a short trail connecting the Barbado Ridge to the Armadillo Lookout and the Pine Canyon Loop. My original plan was to take the Vireo Vista to the Pine Canyon Loop and end up back at the HQ where I started. However, I mistakenly took the Armadillo Lookout trail not realizing it wasn't the Pine Canyon Loop. About two-thirds of the way up the lookout trail and already exhausted from the Barbado Ridge, I checked my map and realized my mistake. At this point, I turned around and headed back to take the paved road back to the HQ skipping the Pine Canyon Loop entirely.

Total time was just under 2 hours to travel 7.3 miles. I don't regret taking the Barbado Ridge Trail, but I won't do it again. I might attempt it from the front and come back down the same way. i would never attempt to go down the back side on the bike.

The ranger mentioned to me that most of the current trails are converted 2-track roads, The Vireo Vista and Armadillo Lookout being the exceptions. They are currently constructing a 2 mile addition to the Long Way Home Trail that is designed specifically to be a MTB trail. He offered to let me take a test ride but I had to take a rain check. I'm looking forward to riding it at the next opportunity.

All-in-all, the ride was challenging with a variety of terrain and required skill level and well worth the 1 hour drive from Del Rio. Definitely worth a short detour if you're ever driving through the area.

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