Stephen F. Austin State Park

Park just reopened after undergoing major repairs because of flooding. None of the trails running through the low lying areas are currently open. I did an inner loop by riding the Ironwood and Pileated trails. Open trails are in good shape just having been graveled. Will wait for other trails to open before I go back.

There is nothing on this trail that could even remotely be called challenging; that being said, it is fast. I went on a Wednesday. I ran in top gears all the way through only having to slow down for a couple people. On the weekend there will be a lot more people to avoid. It is a nice state park with camping, fishing on the Brazos river, golf, and the trail. The trails are all well marked. A lot of wildlife; deer, sneaky snakes, small mammals, and birds galore.

I'm new to this so I don't have much context, but for the short drive from town, I thought these trails were great. There's a great mix of terrain from some close singletracks that get you very close to the banks of the Brazos to some wider trails that open up through the woods. There's not too much in the way (if anything) of hillclimbs but it's a great ride if you've never been. I stuck to the outside loop of the park (Barred Owl, Sycamore, Brazos Bottom, Copperhead, etc.) and that came in at around 7 miles or so. There are some more trails that run through the center of the park but I ended up running out of daylight after my second lap. Also, I went out on about the nicest day of the year thus far (cloudy and 73 degrees) and only ran into two other riders on the trail. By the way, there are many river access trails to the Brazos that provide for some nice views.