Where The Trails Are...

Updated Review Provided by contributor Deb Demers.  Thank you Deb!

Location: Location: Onion Creek Metropolitan Park, 7409 Wild Onion Dr., Austin, TX

Directions:  Do not follow GPS directions to Onion Creek Metropolitan Park. Doing that will either take you to Trailhead #1 (Dog Park) or to the other side of the park which has no equestrian entrances.  To get the Equestrian access to the park, exit IH-35 onto William Cannon Dr. and head east passing the HEB on your right. Turn right on Pleasant Valley (you will see a Citco gas station on the corner).  Do not turn at the first left onto Onion Creek Drive (GPS will tell you to go there). That is Onion Creek North Metropolitan Park and has the Dog Park and Dog Park Path.  Continue down Pleasant Valley almost to the end.  You will see a dead end ahead of you. Turn left at the last street junction onto Onion Creek Drive.  Proceed two blocks to Wild Onion Dr.  The grassy area on the left between Wild Onion Dr. And Ladybug St. is where horse trailers park. Pull into the grass area using the driveway cutouts.  This parking area is the “unofficial” equestrian parking area.  You can also park curbside on Wild Onion and Ladybug to unload horses there. 

 

 

Trail Head #2:

Trail Head #2 From the Equestrian Parking area: 7409 Wild Onion Dr. (See Parking and Trail Access Photo):

There are two ways to access the horse trails:

1. (Best choice) Across the street from the parking is a cable/post fence.  At the end of the fence (near the blue house) is a gap in the fence.  Enter from there.  Follow the edge of the woods back 140 yards to a clump of large trees, look for some ribbons hanging from branches to mark the trail entrance, and you will see a path to the right.  Turn on the path and take the shortcut to Valley Loop Trail (Trailhead #2).  Turn left and follow that trail down to where it connects to the Dog Park Path.  Turn right, go a short distance and you will reach Creek Crossing #2.  Across the creek you will see the trail that leads to the riding area and trails.

2. (Requires riding in the road) From the parking area, turn right and go back to Pleasant Valley, then turn left towards the dead end.  At the corner of the end of the street you can see the Trailhead #2.  This is Valley Loop Trail.  When following the trail, you will find it very shortly splits at one point…stay to the left of the split. Continue down the trail following the instructions shown in #1 above.

 

 

Mileage: approximately 12 or more miles, 550 acres of riding area.

Facilities: None (however, the dog park does have porta potties and picnic tables).

Overnight Camping: None

Terrain:  Mostly flat, wooded, with the majority of trails being tree covered and shaded, trails are packed dirt with no rocks other than an occasional patches of small gravel.

Cost: None

Trail Users: Hikers, bicyclist, horseback riders.  No motorized vehicles allowed.

Dogs: Allowed on Leash Only.  Dogs can be off leash only in the dog park area north of the creek, not on the trails south of the creek. 

Trail Map:  The trail map is constantly being updated and can be found in the files section of that Friend of Onion Creek Facebook group.

Description:

The park is essentially divided into four sections.  The north section is Onion Creek North Metropolitan  Park and is maintained by the city with pavilions, picnic tables, restrooms, playground, sidewalks, and a Dog Park.  This park is Off-Leash. Although you can ride horses in this area, it’s not recommended because of the number of loose dogs.  Onion Creek divides the north park from the south park. 

 

 

The south park is called Onion Creek Metropolitan Park and is home to all the trails for hiking, biking, and horse back riding.  This park is On-Leash Only.  Please be warned that a lot of dog owners let their dogs run loose in the park, however the vast majority of the dog owners are very courteous to bikers and riders.  They will hold their dogs and get off the trail. 

 

 

The park is further divided by a spring fed ravine.  It divides the southern park into East and West sides.  The east side is smaller and about half of its trails are open to the sun. The majority of the trails are on the West side. Traveling to and from the East/West sides of the park is only accessible from 4 specific spots: Creek Crossing #1, Slider Hill, Mustang Trail, and Center Pass Trail. 

 

 

The majority of trails are wooded with thick vegetation. This provides fantastic shade during Texas summer heat. During springtime, the trails are surrounded by a vast array of wildflowers. There are two creek crossings: Creek Crossing #1 & #2.  Creek Crossing #1 is mainly used by hikers coming from the Dog park.  It is a steep descent with wood stairs. 

 

 

Although it is occasionally used by horses, most horse crossings are done at Creek Crossing #2.   Crossing #1 has the steepest descents/ascents.  Not overly hard but if there has been rain lately, they will be too muddy to attempt.  The crossing’s access must be dry or mostly dry to use them.  Crossing #2 is less steep – any easy incline, but it, too, is too slippery to use if it has rained.  The water at the crossings is four season so there is always water available for horses to drink. 

 

 

The creek bed is small gravel providing good footing. The creek is only 3-5 inches deep at the crossings but does deepen to about thigh deep on either sides.  Both creek crossings are favorite places for dogs to play and swim.  It’s quite common to find families out their with their kids swimming so be aware that floaties maybe used too and may cause some horses to spook.

 

 

Outside of the creek crossings, most of the land is flat with some mild inclines. The trails are flat, packed dirt with occasional small gravel patches in a few spots. Trails are marked with wood signs giving the names of each trail at the trail junctions. Look up – the signs are in the trees.  Since this is a city park, please stay on the trails – do not wander off the trails.

 

There are historic relics, homestead ruins, and protected areas within the park.  Do not remove objects,  materials, or plants from the park. Do not dump or leave trash.  The trails were created by and are maintained by local volunteers from the nearby stables and also by fellow hikers.  We do regular trail maintenance such as mowing trails, trimming overgrowth, picking up trash, and clearing out fallen trees/branches.  Help with these volunteer projects are greatly appreciated!

 

 

There are miles and miles of trails and you can get in hours of riding without repeating trails.  Since the trails all interconnect and loop around, you can easily get from one area to another. Because of the amount of trails and the dense trees, you can ride there for hours and only occasionally run into another person. Sometimes, you will feel like you have the whole park all by yourself! Quite often you will see wildlife: deer, birds, squirrels plus an occasional armadillo or possum.  Saw a fox one time! 

 

 

This park borders a few boarding facilities, private properties, and some residential neighborhoods so please be aware of the park boundaries and do not go onto private property. Motor vehicles are not allowed in the park.  If you see motorcycles in the park, call 311 and also call to report dumping.  The Facebook group:  “Friends of Onion Creek”  work to help maintain the park for fellow users. 

 

 

The trail map is constantly being updated and can be found in the files section of that Facebook group.  In addition, the Trailforks app has been updated to include a map of all the trails. Be aware that most phone mapping apps do NOT show the trails or only show a few of them.  Google Maps and All Trails only show a few, outdated trails.  Until you become familiar with the trails, it’s best to take a copy of the trail map with you or to use Trailforks program.

 

 

The Trailforks App is constantly updated with the latest new or changed trails.  For many examples of what the trails look like, go to  “debdemer” on YouTube  and you will find lots of trail ride videos there. This park is a fantastic place to ride! 

 

 

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Originally published March 30, 2019 — recently updated September 07, 2021

Ride beneath East Texas Woodlands deep in the shade of Davy Crockett National Forest. Discover the Piney Creek Horse Trail system, over 50 miles of sandy, gently rolling, well developed horse trails between Crockett and Lufkin.   If you want to horse around in comfort, skip roughing it for a change and stay at T Bar S… for both you and your horse’s pleasure.

Location:
T bar S Horse Camp in the Davy Crockett National Forest
6387 FM2781
Kennard, TX 75847

 

 

Directions: from Huntsville, travel on TX-19 approximately 20 miles to Trinity. In Trinity turn RIGHT on TX-94 (the 2nd traffic signal) towards Groveton. Travel 16 miles and TX-94 ends/merges with Hwy 287, turn LEFT towards Crockett. Go approximately 8 miles to Pennington and turn RIGHT on FM2781, there is a Spitfire Grill/Gas Station at the intersection. In Pennington make the RIGHT (just past the Church) and then a LEFT (just past Avery’s Welding & Feed) to stay on FM2781 towards Kennard. T bar S is then 6 miles ahead, just past Baker Springs, on the RIGHT.

or

From Crockett or Nacogdoches, travel on TX-7 to Kennard, turn SOUTH at the flashing yellow light which is FM2781. Go approximately 6 miles and T bar S is on the LEFT.

If you accidentally pass T bar S, you can continue on to either Kennard or Pennington to get turned back around.

 

 

Contact:
Tom & Stephanie Hanslik (owners)
Tbarshorsecamp@yahoo.com
(936) 655-3328 office
(832) 928-9584 cell / text

 

 

T Bar S Horse Camp Website: https://tbarshorsecamp.com     This is a great website, user friendly and very informative with a facility map, pictures and details about each campsite, park/trail maps and lastly you can make reservations and a deposit via this website.

T Bar S Facebook Group

Hours: Open daily from 8am to 8pm

Overnight camping:
Equestrian overnight camping is allowed, with parking space available for day riders as well.

 

 

Facilities:

• Enclosed air conditioned pavilion  with a front patio that has chairs, a barbeque grill and a freezer full of of ice bags for purchase
• Restrooms and showers with AC and vents
• 16 sites with 30 amp and two 50 amp electric and water hookups – see T Bar S website, as details about each campsite are described well with pictures of each site.
• Two horse pens per site; several of the pens are covered. Horse pens are 12×12’ Priefert panels; most pens can be opened to 12×24 for those camping with one horse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rates:
Camp for $35/night with 2 pens included in that price, reservations required. Day Riders are welcome at $10 per trailer. Includes secured parking and access to potable water & facilities. Contact camp in advance. There is no fee to ride the trails.

Policies: listed on website.

• Proof of Negative Coggins Required.
• Check-in time is 1pm, check-out time is 12 noon. For later departure check with owners if site is reserved by anyone else. If so, can move to day rider spot or another site if want to ride before heading home.
• No Stallions.
• Dogs welcome but MUST be kept on a leash. It is a working farm with cats, chickens, and ducks.
• Do not tie horses to pens or trees, tie to side of trailer only please.
• Horse pens must be cleaned of all manure and hay upon departure.
• Shavings are permitted.
• Campfires allowed in above-ground rings or community fire ring only.
• No discharging of any waste or gray water.
• Quiet hours begin at 10pm.
• Maximum 4 persons per site
• Maximum 2 horses per site. If more than 2 horses please contact owners, additional pens (if available) are $10/horse per night.

Manure Management:

A few rakes and muck buckets with carts are provided.  Please put manure in the spreader. Manure is to be cleaned out of the pens and campsites and then deposited in the manure spreader, there are limited muck buckets so if camp is busy be sure to bring your own muck bucket and manure fork to make the job easier.   This is a very clean well maintained facility, thank you in advance for helping to keep it that way.

Dogs: Are allowed but must remain on leash.  Owners have two very friendly dogs who do roam the facility freely and like to greet the guests.

 

Phone Service:  AT&T is fairly good (mine did not work inside my trailer but did work outside of my trailer).  Straight Talk is said to work well also; while other phone services don’t work as well in this area.

Hunting: Hunting is allowed in the forest, so it is best avoided starting on the first Saturday in November through the end of gun/deer season (approximately mid January).  The forest is commonly too wet to ride in these months anyway.  Riding the trails from T Bar S during hunting season will be closed, but the T Bar S facility will still remain open and is a great rest stop/lay over for any equine travelers.  October is bow season and you may still ride the trails during this time but be sure to wear orange.

Controlled Burns: The U.S. Forest Service conducts controlled burns in the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas from early spring to summer.  Check their website ( https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/texas/home/?cid=STELPRDB5355005 ) and with T Bar S owners, Stephanie or Tom, for information about any possible burns/fires.

Logging: It is always possible there could be some harvesting/logging going on of the pine trees but I hear the loggers are very courteous to the trail users.

Trail Users: Horse/mule riders, hikers, and hunters.  No motorized vehicles allowed.

Mileage: Over 50 miles of trail.

Maps and trail markers: Maps are online, printed out, and cloth maps on a bandana can be bought at T Bar S for $5.  Trails are color coded and well marked.

T-S Piney Creek Horse Trails May2021

 

Description:
T Bar S opened in 2019  and has direct access to the 50+ miles of marked and mapped trails in the Davy Crockett National Forest.  Owners, Tom and Stephanie Hanslik, have worked hard adding many additions to this awesome facility to include many nice decorative touches.   Tom and Stephanie check in on their guests and make sure to keep an eye out for everyone’s safety.  It is a good feeling knowing if you don’t come back from trail riding, they will be looking for you and calling the ranger.  Tom and Stephanie are helpful and friendly.  I would feel very safe camping here solo.  Their  newest addition to T Bar S is an air conditioned pavilion named Cookies Corner with bathrooms & showers attached to the side.    Inside Cookies Corner is a large table and chairs, which was great for playing dominoes.  The horse pens are very nice with well secured Priefert panels, soft sand, and several are covered.  I really like if you have just one horse, most of the double pens can be opened up to make one large pen. There are two areas where multiple pens are grouped together, a water spigot and hose is supplied for those. But be sure and bring your own water hose for your campsite. Camp and horse pens are very shady, pens that would otherwise be in full sun are covered.  Some of the sites are pull-through. Camp is located right off a paved farm-to-market road, very easy to find and no rough dirt or gravel roads to negotiate with your trailer.   There is no septic service.  There is a dumpster for your trash.

Trail Access from T Bar S is practically right in the front yard of Tom and Stephanie’s home.  Just head out the front entrance gate and turn right or head out the side corner gate to the north of the campsite, cross over the yard and you can head left across FM 2781 or through the trail entrance and to the right.  Trails from the camping area to Davy Crockett are yellow and black.

The Trails:
The Piney Creek Horse Trail system meanders approximately 53 miles through the East Texas piney woods in Davy Crockett National Forest.

The mostly barefoot friendly trails are primitive. Paths are cleared through the forest which follows Forest Service roads, tram roads, pipeline right-of-ways, game trails, and in some places it was established by clearing brush and trees through the forest. Primarily, it is on National Forest land, but there are crossings on private property and along public road right-of-ways. In general, the route is well cleared.

 

 

Trails are very well marked, and all road crossings are well signed. Different colored triangular markers indicate the route. Trails are easy with gently rolling terrain. It is also very shady, making it a great place for summer riding. There are no motorized vehicles allowed, to include,  atv, utv, and dirt bikes,  in the forest.

I have visited T Bar S twice now and was impressed both times.  I did most of my riding in 2019 as unfortunately my horse was lame during my recent visit in Sept. 2021. Regardless, I still enjoyed hiking the trails with my canine companion, Eva.  I also really enjoyed hanging out at the T Bar S campsite with my friends and critters.

This trail entry is a combination of information from my 2019 and 2021 visits, some information from friends, and information provided by the owners as well.