Yaupon Trail

Dogs Off-leash

Features Birding · Geological Significance · Wildflowers · Wildlife

From the northern parking area, take the connector trail heading south. At the first junction, turn right to head south on the Yaupon Trail. Yaupon is the longest trail in the park and it follows the western boundary, paralleling Pope Bend Road for most of its length. The trail is mostly straight with little elevation change for the first half. Around the halfway mark, however, the trail begins to wind through the forest and rolls over more hilly topography. The trail crosses the main road that runs through the park before it ends at the junction with Coyote Road, which continues north, and Bobcat Ridge Trail, which heads to the east.

The Yaupon Trail, like Roadrunner Trail, is built on top of an ancient oyster reef that varies in thickness from 3-14 feet. This old oyster bed leaves sections of the trail littered with fossils of ancient oysters, and there are sections of the reef exposed along Yaupon Trail.

This part of the park is home to plants that are typically found in the Hill Country or the Edwards Plateau.