Location: 4920 Riverplace Boulevard Austin, Texas (see map for parking/etc)
Trail Type: Single Track/Stairs
Mileage: ~5.81 Miles if you do all the trails
Surface: Dirt with hundreds of wooden steps. Some very small rocks near the bottom of the trail near the creek.
Technical Level (1-5): 3 / Moderately technical due to the amount of stairs involved. The footing is not all the tricky other than the stairs. Hence the trail name the "Stairway to Hell".
Ammenities: I couldn't find any restrooms other than what mother nature provides! At the bottom of the trail (or the lower trailhead), there is a pond with a sitting area/map/etc. I did not see any water fountains so be sure to bring plenty of your own!
Fee: No fee to run the trail.
Hours: There are no gates on the trail, but I'd advise only running from sun up to sun down ;)
Other: PEDESTRIANS ONLY. No mountain bikes allowed due to the amount of stairs/etc. The trail does have mile markers every half mile which was VERY convenient!
Review: Wow. What a little gem of a trail. For what this trail lacks in total distance it more than makes up for in pure lung busting climbing. I had the privilege to run this trail with Steven Moore and he showed me what was up. We started at the top and decided to run down first, then back up for around 680ft of total climbing.
What first caught my attention here was the sheer number of stairs and the attention to detail. This trail was no doubt professionally built. There had to be 400+ logs used for stairs.
The trail winds it's way downhill quickly dropping 300-400 ft in the few mile or two. Around 2 miles we bottomed out at a creek, and meandered along that all the way to the bottom where we were dumped out at a pond with a nice little seating area/boardwalk.
After chatting for a few minutes we turned around and began pounding back up this thing. The trail to hell was easily holding up to it's name. About a half mile back into the trail there is a small turn off to the right that adds on an extra half mile or so and a little more climbing. We took that as you can see in the map and again turned around once at the top of that little section. Once back down we took a right back onto the main trail and began climbing.
I couldn't help but notice the beautiful bench cut along the creek here. It was absolutely beautiful, even the day after Christmas in Texas. We continued climbing and about halfway up I was finally broken. I began power-hiking the stairs and was struggling to keep up with the gazelle like Steven.
Finally I could see the end, but it was still around 150ft above us. I dug deep and held onto Stevens heels for dear life. We dashed past some walkers with their dogs and were soon at the top, albeit, huffing and puffing like I was a chain smoker.
If you want a tough, fairly technical, lung busting, kick your A** trail run, look no further than the "Trail from Hell".
A few sidenotes: The trail is in a residential area and I can only assume owned/maintained by them. I couldn't find any specific information anywhere in regards to groups that help maintain/manage the trail. I can only advise being respectful of the trail and the other people on it. There were a lot of people out walking with their pets, along with kids just playing along the trail.
The trail itself is absolutely beautiful, but tougher than rocks. Be prepared for a tough run.
As always, if you have any specific questions about a trail feel free to email me.
All photo credit to: Joe Prusatis of Tejas Trails.
_Jacob_
Trail Type: Single Track/Stairs
Mileage: ~5.81 Miles if you do all the trails
Surface: Dirt with hundreds of wooden steps. Some very small rocks near the bottom of the trail near the creek.
Map
Elevation: ~620-680ft total climbing and decent in one O&B loop.
Technical Level (1-5): 3 / Moderately technical due to the amount of stairs involved. The footing is not all the tricky other than the stairs. Hence the trail name the "Stairway to Hell".
Ammenities: I couldn't find any restrooms other than what mother nature provides! At the bottom of the trail (or the lower trailhead), there is a pond with a sitting area/map/etc. I did not see any water fountains so be sure to bring plenty of your own!
Fee: No fee to run the trail.
Hours: There are no gates on the trail, but I'd advise only running from sun up to sun down ;)
Other: PEDESTRIANS ONLY. No mountain bikes allowed due to the amount of stairs/etc. The trail does have mile markers every half mile which was VERY convenient!
Review: Wow. What a little gem of a trail. For what this trail lacks in total distance it more than makes up for in pure lung busting climbing. I had the privilege to run this trail with Steven Moore and he showed me what was up. We started at the top and decided to run down first, then back up for around 680ft of total climbing.
What first caught my attention here was the sheer number of stairs and the attention to detail. This trail was no doubt professionally built. There had to be 400+ logs used for stairs.
The trail winds it's way downhill quickly dropping 300-400 ft in the few mile or two. Around 2 miles we bottomed out at a creek, and meandered along that all the way to the bottom where we were dumped out at a pond with a nice little seating area/boardwalk.
After chatting for a few minutes we turned around and began pounding back up this thing. The trail to hell was easily holding up to it's name. About a half mile back into the trail there is a small turn off to the right that adds on an extra half mile or so and a little more climbing. We took that as you can see in the map and again turned around once at the top of that little section. Once back down we took a right back onto the main trail and began climbing.
I couldn't help but notice the beautiful bench cut along the creek here. It was absolutely beautiful, even the day after Christmas in Texas. We continued climbing and about halfway up I was finally broken. I began power-hiking the stairs and was struggling to keep up with the gazelle like Steven.
Finally I could see the end, but it was still around 150ft above us. I dug deep and held onto Stevens heels for dear life. We dashed past some walkers with their dogs and were soon at the top, albeit, huffing and puffing like I was a chain smoker.
If you want a tough, fairly technical, lung busting, kick your A** trail run, look no further than the "Trail from Hell".
A few sidenotes: The trail is in a residential area and I can only assume owned/maintained by them. I couldn't find any specific information anywhere in regards to groups that help maintain/manage the trail. I can only advise being respectful of the trail and the other people on it. There were a lot of people out walking with their pets, along with kids just playing along the trail.
The trail itself is absolutely beautiful, but tougher than rocks. Be prepared for a tough run.
As always, if you have any specific questions about a trail feel free to email me.
All photo credit to: Joe Prusatis of Tejas Trails.
_Jacob_
that really does look fun. what is wrong with me?
ReplyDeleteI've gotta be honest. It's totally awesome. (and brutal!)
DeleteJacob, awesome course, kinda like the trail version of running bleachers. I believe there are restrooms right across the street at the tennis courts (Woodland Park?), which is where some of us park as opposed to on Big View across from the water fountain.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of that trail. Impossible that Austin would have something like that. Austin is flat. Don't believe me?--just drive down I-35. The only running trails in Austin are around Town Lake. :)
ReplyDelete;)
DeleteYes, restrooms and water at the bottom, around the corner. Mini soccer fields too for some killer 2 on 2! That was fun man. You didn't mention we went around the bend and ran the Motorcycle Trails after!
ReplyDeleteI haven't mentioned the motorcycle trails yet! ;)
Delete