Lake Somerville Trailway

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Lake · Wildflowers · Wildlife

*Parts of this trail and the primitive campsites along it have been closed since Hurricane Harvey, and the whole park is currently closed to equestrian use. Check the park website for current details/closures.

Lake Somerville Trailway is a wide, flat, doubletrack trail open to hikers, bikers, and horses*. It runs the entire length of the park, and passes through all three "units": the Nails Creek Unit; the Trailway region; and Birch Creek Unit. En route it provides access to 10 different trails, primitive campsites, and developed campsites in both Birch Creek and Nails Creek units. This trail is probably best used to create shorter hikes/loops with the other trails it meets—if you do it end to end, you'll need a shuttle or have to hike back 13.5 miles!

From the Nails Creek Unit, the Trailway begins near a large parking area with restrooms and access to the equestrian campground. It then parallels Nails Creek Loop to reach a nice overlook of Lake Somerville. After the overlook it meanders west passing the Colvin Hill Bypass Trail, Channel Loop, and Nails Creek Access Road (which is one of a few ways you can access the Trailway from parking). The Trailway then passes along the western edge of Flag Pond offering nice, slightly elevated views of the water and large bird populations.

After Flag Pond, the Trailway heads southwest through a forest, offering some nice shade, before entering a large meadow and heading back northeast. This meadow should have bluebells in season, and other wildflowers throughout spring time. You'll cross a tributary to Yegua Creek on a concrete bridge and then parallel the creek to an equestrian resting area at an intersection with Newman Bottom Access Road and White Bass Run. A sturdy bridge crosses Yegua Creek, but the region north of the bridge was closed as of April 2018.

If you have details on the northern section of the Trailway, please "Improve this Page"! Thanks.