Trails

Savanna Meadow Trails

The Savanna Meadow trails introduce you to the Balcones Canyonland ecoregion of the Central Texas Hill Country. The entrance to both trails is located behind the breezeway between the Library and the Administration Building.

The Savanna Meadow Trail (1/2 mile). A savanna is a grassland graced with scattered trees and shrubs. Our trail takes you through wildflower meadow. You can take a side trip to a cave, where, over thousands of years, the soluble limestone slowly eroded, creating this cave. Water flowing through the cave filters into the Edwards Aquifer, a major source of water for the region. (For your safety, do not enter the cave.)

The Woodland Trail (1/4 mile) connects to the Savanna Meadow Trail. It is lined with many common Hill Country woodland species, including pecans, elms and three species of oak-- post oak, red oak and live oak.

The Hill Country Trails
The Hill Country trail system provides another look at the Edwards Uplift area west of the Balcones Fault. The entrance to both trails is located across the staff parking area. These trails are wheelchair-accessible and feature three water fountains and numerous shaded rest areas.
The John Barr Trail (1/4 mile) is the perfect place to become familiar with the trees, shrubs and cacti of the Texas Hill Country. In the Spring, look for blooming prickly pear as well as bluebonnets, damanita, coreopsis, pavonia and bitterweed. In winter, watch for colorful pencil cactus.
Restoration Research Trail (1 mile) provides a look at our landscape restoration research. You can learn how fire, grazing and mowing affect the growth of native grasses. See the green roof research plot, where various mini-roofs planted with native species transmit real-time data on temperature and stormwater runoff. View also tests of how much fertilizer applied to lawns drains into the aquifer.

 

The Hill Country trails feature the Center's outdoor classrooms:  Persimmon, Elbow-bush, Agarita and Cedar Elm.