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Bluff Creek Ranch
16 reviews
4.19 of 5
7 Miles of rocky singletrack amid Texas pines, similar in difficulty to Cambodia in Memorial Park Houston (just one long twisty loop). Lots of it allow you ride fast but demand excellent bike control (lots of rocks and cacti).
In the 100-Akre-Woods trail there are many spots where you can cut across to a returning trail (if you are wore out).
Then, 4 or 5 miles of more extreme singletrack near the "bluffs", ending near the camping area and fishing/swimming lake. Dont miss this section, it is the most challenging (and dangerous) but very fun! When you drop into the bluff trailhead take it easy or you can end up sliding down the side of the bluff!
Paul says it stays dry most of the time, even when Houston is flooding. Definitely can be a workout, especially in the heat.
$5.75 lets you ride, a few bucks more lets you also camp. This is a working beef ranch owned by bike-freaks Paul and Susan Nolan (Paul is the Bike Doctor in the Houston Chain Ring News). They have 3 outdoor showers, but no ice and potable (but yukky) water. Their former apartment in the working barn is a "saloon" they open in the evenings and weekends for campers. They sell monster burgers of excellent beef.
Bring your own ice, gallon jugs of water, and beer.
I recommend camping so you can get enough of this great place.
From Houston, take I-10 west to Columbus, ext onto 71. Go North until the 77/La Grange exit (stop at the Texaco for ice/beer/water/sports drink). Take 77 North until you reach Owl Creek Road. Less than a mile, look for the entrance to the left.
Drive up to the front of the house, knock on the door and say "High - I'm here to ride!".
537 Owl Creek Rd. - Warda TX, 78942 -(409)242-5894
Summary: (I've posted a more complete review of this trail under the "Austin" listing also. Please see that summary for the correct GPS location of Bluff Creek Ranch. The one on Houston's is wrong.)
I love this place. The trails were great. The owners are terrific too. There were honest-to-goodness bathrooms and showers which is a nice change.
Recommended Route: Follow the one-way trail (watch for ribbons). Enjoy the huge, scary downhills at the bluff and remember you're going to have to climb back up.
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Summary: Just went out to Bluff Creek this past weekend for the first time with our group of 5 from Houston...had a blast! We were very impressed. The ranch is gorgeous, complete with horses, longhorn cattle, rolling hills, and lots of pines. The facilities were very nice. They have showers/bathrooms, first aid, and free purified water available. The trail was fun and winding, and best of all...quiet! We felt like the only riders out there. We had a great hamburger (one of his own cows!) cooked up by the owner, who was very nice, and then hit the trail again for more. A really great place, highly recomended!
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Summary: Bluff Creek is actually in Warda Texas. Just outside La Grange. Warda is a good course and great for a beginner. Advanced riders will still have tons of fun. It is mostly flat and you can get some serious speed going thru. However, take caution as there is sand in some of the switchbacks and you can easily wash out and slam into a tree if not carful. There is an extremely steep downhill that is concreted with little speed bumps on it. They call it "GAS PASS". It's pretty cool but take caution you're 1st time down as it can be unforgiving and intimidating. At the bottom of GAS PASS there is a hair pin turn to the right. I've done both a solo race and a 12 hour night race. My best time at Warda was at the 12 hour night race (4pm-4am). Ride this trail at night and the level of difficulty increases. Especially at 3am after you've down 3-4 10 mile laps! Have fun!
Recommended Route: Ask the owner where to start. Once you hit the start you can't get lost.
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Summary: This is a well maintained singletrack typical of the Hill Country. Lots of roots and rocks, many tight turns and drop offs. I love the oh sh*t! and sidewinder. The famous "gas pass" will test your brakes[at this point I realized that I should've spent a little more money and bought a full suspension bike with disc brakes over the a hard tail with v brakes] and so will the "mule trace" which I think is scary. The trail adds up to about 10 miles and we did it twice! The rest of it is fun fun singletrack. If you decide to go try to start out early in the morning when it's not too hot then make sure you bring extra tubes. By the way the folks that own the place are very nice and accomodating.
Recommended Route: Goes only one way
Other recommended trails in the same area: Rocky Hill, the Ant Hills
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Review Date September 10, 2003
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Aerobic Difficulty 4 of 5
Technical Difficulty 4 of 5
Ridden Trail: Ridden Once
Reviewed by: TXLonghorn
,
Cross Country Rider
, from Lufkin, TX (USA)
Summary: Me and my adventure race buddies entered a 12-hour mountain bike race in May '03, held at this location. Object was obviously to see how many laps you could ride in 12 hours. The entire trail is 10 miles (or that's what the race promoter had measured anyway). Facilities are great, and the bike trail is pretty danged sweet. It's not too technical but there are a couple of sections that you must pay attention in, especially if you ride at night (as in a 12-hour race). "Oh Shoot" is a 1 mile section of extremely tight singletrack / switchbacks through a pine plantation so thick you can't see anything except what's dead ahead of you. The bluff drop is a steep downhill on a concrete spillway into a river bottom. If you ride this at night, be very careful cause there's a nasty hairpin turn at the very bottom that will make you Reap The Wild Wind if you miss it. And if you spill your bike on this downhill, you DON'T want to spill it to the right cause you'll fall straight down 100 feet of rocks and roots into the river below. After the bluff, you ride a couple of miles of welcome flats, past Milo & Corn fields, and then back into the thick woods around a couple of ponds and then back to the starting point at the big barn. It's a great ride and I am definitely going back.
NOTES ON RATING: I rated the trak a 5 (highest) overall because it presents a wide variety of terrain and riding conditions. It's a challenging course without being so hard it's no fun. Some other trails are just so difficult that intermediate or beginning riders wind up pushing a good bit of the way and that's no fun. Go there for a fun time - it's definitely worth the trip!
Recommended Route: Frontwards or backwards, either way.
Other recommended trails in the same area: No better ride within 90 minutes of Houston
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4.19 of 5
5 of 5
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