Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge

The past two days I have gone out to the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. I went out to do some hiking. Pictures added June 19, 2009.

The NWR is located northwest of Austin near the town of Lago Vista. The refuge has two trails that are open to the public, on in the Warbler Vista area and the other on the Doeskin Ranch. I hiked the Doeskin Ranch on Wednesday and the Warbler Vista on Thursday.

The Doeskin Ranch is on RM 1174. I approached from the north which gives a really neat perspective. The roads wind through the Texas hill country and then all of a sudden you turn and gaze into the Canyonlands with its much steeper and taller hills.


The sign on the highway directs you to the Doeskin Ranch. When you pull in the gate, take a left into the parking lot. From there, follow the asphalt path to the bulletin boards and trail heads. There are about 5 miles of trails available. My route is described below.

Map of trails at Doeskin Ranch

I set out on the Rimrock trail, following the southern branch. The trail follows the Doeskin Branch for a short while before climbing to the rim rock. The elevation gain is a little over 200'. The trail tops out at the top of the ridge and intersects the Shin Oak Trail. Follow the Shin Oak trail to the right and continue until you intersect the Indiangrass trail. This trail drops off this ridge and climbs back up another creek. One thing of interst I noted was a firering I came across. It was along the creek and the trail climbs back up the ridge. The ring was build of rocks, full of ash, had some trash scattered about, and an orange pool raft. The trash was metal and plastic, so it was hard to age. The ranch has been property of the government since 1992, I believe, and this was certainly not a 17 year old firering. The Indiangrass trail rejoins the Shinoak trail onto of the ridge. After exploring the top of the ridge, I backtracked the Shinoak trail back to the Rimrock trail. I continued down the northern route, which follows a drainage off the ridge back to Doeskin Branch.


Upon returning to the trailhead, I followed the Prairie and Ponds trial. It is a short trail that crosses a grassy pasture and glances by a tank. The tank was built by early settlers and usually contains water. I spotted a few turtles in it. The trail is also paved from the trailhead to the tank and has a few pull offs that overlook the Doeskin Branch.


I then finished my tour with the Creek Trail. It is an interpretive trail with a brochure available at the trailhead to guide you. Be sure to begin the trail at the trailhead and not where it ends at Doeskin Branch. The trail talks about the ecology of the area and some of the history. One of the interesting stops involves a cactus growing in a tree. We had this happen on our deer lease near Conception, but that was because we chunked the cactus into the trees when clearing brush. I always found it odd when the cactus would still be alive a couple of years later.


The wildflowers were gorgious throughout the area. It was worth a trip just to see them. The area is predominantly cleared of trees, giving rise to the wildflowers. The birds were plentiful, particularly vultures riding the updrafts on the rimrock. The information at the trailhead stated that hawks pass through the area in the fall, riding the thermals. Monarches also pass through on their annual migration.



The next day I went to the Warbler Vista public use area.

Map of the Warbler Vista public use area.

The Warbler Vista area is just west of Lago Vista on RM1431. You will see a brown sign indicating the road to the "National Wildlife Refuge." Take a right onto the road and follow it to the first parking lot. This is the trailhead.

I made sort of a double headed lollipop loop out of the trails. The only reason for the second loop was to have hiked all the trails in the area. I set out on the Cactus Rock trail. It follows the rimrock of ridge and is appropriatly named as the area has an abundance of cactus. Opposite to the Doeskin Ranch, this trail remains in a mix of cedars and oaks, with very little open areas. The Cactus Rock trail meets up with the Vista Knoll trail. Besure to take the Vista Knoll Trail as the Cactus Rock trail turns and ends at the road. The Vista Knoll trail immediatly intersects the Ridgeline Trail. I would encourage you to follow the Vista Knoll trail first as it is a short 1.2 mile lollipop loop. The trail provides some decent vistas of the area, looking back to Lake Travis.

After returning to the junction of the Vista Knoll trail and the ridgeline trail. Follow the Ridgeline trail to the Sunset Deck. This deck has a few benchs which make for a great napsite. The deck overlooks a drainage that flows to the lake and faces west. I didn't get to watch the sunset as it was cloudy, but there is a parking lot next to the deck, so one could drive to the deck just for sunset. It is a place Max Stalling sings about in Skyview Cabaret.



After my nap, I followed the road back to where the Cactus Rock trail ended. I backtracked the trail back to the trail head.

If you are in Austin, I encourage you to visit this new refuge. If limited on time, visit the Doeskin Ranch. It is a prettier site between the two.