Mountain Biking at Guadalupe River State Park – By Barrett Durst, Park Superintendent
Mountain biking is a growing sport across Texas and one of the recreational activities that you can enjoy at Guadalupe River as well as a wonderful way to explore the great outdoors. Whether you’re a novice or an expert, you will enjoy the experience of being outside amidst nature seeing this beautiful place. There are basically 2 types of biking that you can do: road or mountain biking. They are totally different, and you can do both here in the park. You can choose to ride your mountain bike on our roads as well but you’ll want to keep your nice road bike on the paved surfaces because in the park you will encounter boulders, roots, and more boulders along our rocky trails.
Visitors can use the park as a staging area or starting place for road rides in the hill country but to get more than just 6 miles of pavement you’ll have to venture out onto Park Rd 31 and HWY 46 to make a longer ride. From here you are on your own because I like to stick to off road and backcountry experiences myself to see, hear, and smell nature.
Please take a trail map with you on your ride or at least study it before you venture off in the park so you don’t get lost.
Trail map
Please click on the map to the right for a zoomable map of the Park’s trails. There are two areas in the park that you can mountain bike in: the Bauer Unit and the main park. The main park has approximately 5 miles of trails and the Bauer Unit has approximately 6 miles of trails.
What to expect: All of the trails in the park, with the exception of 2 trails, are not for beginners but rather novice riders to advanced. Don’t let this scare you away though, because you can always walk your bike around or through the advanced portions of trail otherwise known as “hike a bike”! Most trails in the park have sections of trail that are easy and hard, and none are too long, but remember that these trails are not a leisure ride in the park.
The Bald Cypress on the main park side is a very easy trail that is short and basically an old concrete road that meanders along the river. It’s best to ride this trail Monday-Friday, since this is our day use area and it gets busy during the weekends. Remember that our peak season is summer time and we are even busy during the weeks for this trail due to our summer crowds of visitors enjoying the river.
The other easy trail is located at the Bauer Unit and is called the Bauer Trail. The Bauer Trail is basically an old road that starts at the highest point in this portion of the park and traverses down through the property on a maintained gravel road to the river traveling past the Bauer House (must stop to see the old historic building) and through the old farming fields to the river. On the way down, remember to make sure that your brakes work because you will gain some speed on the hill down! This is an out and back ride for all easy or novice riders. Remember that on the return trip to the parking lot that you will have to pedal back up the hill. If you like more adventure and have some skill, then add on the rest of the trails for one scenic adventure. The Bauer Unit trails are more of an outdoor adventure experience that you won’t see too many people on because its off the main park and it’s a bit of an extra drive to get there. The Bauer Unit is open 8am-8pm with a gated entry that is time sensitive with a code that is posted on the gate. Please wait to enter the code after 8am so it doesn’t lock out due to multiple early entries.
The trails in the main part of the park (the section south of the Guadalupe River) consist of old two track ranch roads and some single-track trails some of which are multi-use (which mean that you may see a horse on the trail). Most of the trails are not far off the roadway in case you have a bike malfunction, or something happens on your ride where you can’t finish the anticipated route. Most areas in the park on our trails have decent cell phone service so be sure to take your cell phone if you have one to make any necessary calls if needed or to just post your experiences to your social media pages so we can all live through your experiences!
Directions to Bauer Unit:
Turn right onto HWY 46 from Park Road 31. Go 3 miles and turn right on to FM 3351. Go approximately 3.5 miles and turn right on Edge Falls Road. Continue for 2.4 miles and turn right on Acker Road. Go 2.2 miles to entrance.
Suggested Items to bring:
Bike Gear:
- Mountain Bike: multi-speed or single speed. Bike designed for backcountry travel over rough terrain. This bike should be in good running order with lubed chain, working brakes, etc.
- Bike tires: in good shape, designed for traveling in rough terrain.
- Sealant for your tires/tubes comes is highly recommended, but tires without sealant will work.
- Spare tubes with sealant. Carry at least 1 with you for shorter rides, 2 or more on longer excursions.
- Pump for your tubes; carry with you on all rides.
- Tire levers: to remove and install your tire after you have a flat tire.
- Patch kit for your tubes, in case you run out of spare tubes on the ride.
- Wrench: if you need one to take off your wheels.
- Allen wrench/key set, with sizes to fit bolts on your bike, for tightening up those bolts that are bound to rattle loose.
- Helmet; this should be required to ride a bike so please protect the most precious thing which is your kids and yourself.
- Sturdy shoes: good for cycling as well as hiking.
- Gloves: for hand protection as well as grip on your handlebar.
Other Stuff:
- Eye Protection: shades or clear lenses.
- Hydration Pack: recommend a pack with at least a 70 oz. capacity, 100 oz. for folks doing longer rides.
- Water bottle(s) on bike. Some folks like to have electrolyte in a bottle for hydration supplement. Bring more water than you think you’ll need.
- Snacks/food: enough to get you through the ride you have planned plus a bit more to share with friends that did not bring enough.
- First Aid Kit is a great idea; bring a small kit with enough stuff to deal with small wounds.
