Lake Colorado City State Park: Roadrunner Loop Trail (Blog Hike #988)

Trail: Roadrunner Loop Trail
Hike Location: Lake Colorado City State Park
Geographic Location: southwest of Colorado City, TX (32.32144, -100.93063)
Length: 2.2 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: February 2024
Overview: A lollipop loop through desert terrain with good Lake Colorado City views.
Park Information: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/lake-colorado-city
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=955658
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming February 14, 2025)

Directions to the trailhead: Just west of Colorado City, take I-20 to Farm-to-Market Road 2836 (exit 210).  Exit and go south on FM 2836.  Drive FM 2836 south 5.3 miles to the park entrance on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, pay the entrance fee, then turn right at the first side road to reach the parking area for the trailhead, which is located just past the Mesquite Circle Camping Area recreation hall.  Park here.

The hike: When most people think of the Colorado River, they think of the major waterway that flows southwest from Colorado through Arizona and the Grand Canyon.  Yet the United States has another Colorado River that, oddly enough, spends its entire 862 mile course in Texas.  The 11th longest river in the United States, Texas' Colorado River rises near Lubbock and flows southeast through Texas Hill Country and Austin until it reaches the Gulf of Mexico near Matagorda.  The word "colorado" is Spanish for "reddish color," a testament to the red soil of the Llano Estacado where this river originates.

            Formed by a dam built in 1949, Lake Colorado City lies high in the Colorado River's watershed.  The lake was built to provide cooling water for power generation, and the park was formed in 1971 when the State of Texas leased 500 lakeside acres from the utility company.  The park offers the usual aquatic activities, a 112-site developed campground, some picnic areas, and 2 hiking trails that start from a common parking area.  This hike features the Roadrunner Loop Trail, which forms a lollipop loop through desert-like terrain and offers nice views of Lake Colorado City.

Trailhead for Roadrunner Loop Trail

            From the signed trailhead parking area, the Roadrunner Loop Trail heads south on a meandering course with gentle undulations.  A few large rocks need to be stepped up or down, but overall the going is fairly easy.  Mesquite, cedar trees, and prickly pear cactus are the most common plants here.

Rock step in trail

            Quickly you pass what the trail map calls the Picnic Overlook, a nice viewpoint high above the lake with some interesting and colorful interpretive signs.  At 0.25 miles, you reach the unmarked intersection that forms the loop portion of this hike.  Trails go left and straight here; I chose the one going straight and used the one going left as my return route, thus hiking the loop clockwise.  Some white brush-like trail markers sticking up from the ground mark the trail here, but these markers do not appear elsewhere where they are needed most.

Hiking the loop

            The trail rises gradually and curves left as FM 2836 comes within a few hundred feet on the right.  At 0.6 miles, you reach the rim of a steep rocky ravine with some rusty metal car remains scattered about.  The official trail angles left and descends into the ravine, but it does not climb out the other side as some wild trails do.  There are no trail markers here, and I had to scout around for a few minutes to find the official trail, which does not require any steep boulder scrambling.

Approaching Lake Colorado City

            Next the trail curves left again to head north.  At 1.2 miles, you reach the grassy and brushy shore of Lake Colorado City.  The electricity infrastructure visible across the lake downgrades the view somewhat, but I did see a large waterfowl (probably a crane or heron; I could not tell) take flight near the opposite shore.

Lake Colorado City

            After a short stint along the lake, the trail abruptly turns south.  Just past 1.5 miles, you reach an area the trail map calls "Rock Ridge," a dirt and rock knife-edge ridge that separates Lake Colorado City on the right from a small wetland area on the left.  When you get to the west end of the ridge, you need to angle right and climb a short, steep, rocky section to reach a nice overlook with an interpretive sign.  Again, there are no trail markers here, and I took a couple of brief wrong turns before I found the right route up the ridge.

"Rock Ridge"

            The balance of the trail is a meandering course with minor but occasionally rocky ups and downs.  Near 2 miles, you close the loop.  Turn right to retrace your steps out the entrance trail to return to the trailhead and complete the hike.  If you want to do more hiking, the Cactus Cut Trail starts from the other (north) end of this parking area, and it offers a 1 mile one-way out-and-back along the lakeshore to the park's Lakeview Camping Area.