I finished section hiking the Goodwater Loop around Lake Georgetown this weekend. Back in early March, I hiked from Tejas Camp to Russell Park (mile marker 11 to 16.8 on the map below). In late June, my wife and I hiked from Tejas Camp to Cedar Breaks Park (mile marker 11 to 0, the Cedar Breaks trailhead, on the map below). The final section was from Russell Park to Cedar Breaks Park (mile marker 16.8 to 26 on the map below), which I completed on Saturday.
I already posted a blog with details on hiking from Tejas to Cedar Breaks (which can be found here) and about the section from Cedar Breaks to Crockett Gardens Falls (which can be found here). This post will provide a general overview of all three hikes, along with a comparison and contrast of each. At the end, I’ll share one option for backpacking around the lake in a weekend.
OVERVIEW
CEDAR BREAKS TO TEJAS
Mile marker 0 to 11 on the map above was my favorite – this is the most-popular section of the loop for a reason. It has several dramatic lake views from on top of the bluffs (seen above on the left), you can take a short side trail to view Crockett Gardens (seen above in the middle), there are two primitive campgrounds at which you can stop for a rest during day hikes or camp for free on an overnight trip (Sawyer Hollow Camp is seen above on the right), and your trip begins or ends (depending on the direction you hike it) along the San Gabriel River. Many people will hike from the Cedar Breaks Parks trailhead to Crockett Gardens Falls (pictured in the middle above), which is a roughly six-mile round trip (click here for more details about this portion of the trail).
RUSSELL TO CEDAR BREAKS
Mile marker 16.8 to 26 on the map would be my second favorite section. The lake views are less frequent than Tejas to Cedar Breaks, but you get to enjoy panoramic views of the lake as you approach Overlook Park (see above on the left) and your final mile-plus across the dam gives you outstanding views of the lake (seen above in the middle) and the surrounding area (seen above on the right).
TEJAS TO RUSSELL
Mile marker 11 to 16.8 on the map was my least favorite section, it is the easiest and shortest of the three. And it is an enjoyable hike, as you begin alongside the San Gabriel River, you have several views of the lake, and you pass the third primitive campsite on the loop (and the only one on the northern side) just over a mile before you reach Russell.
LENGTH
Tejas Camp to Russell Park: 5.8 miles approximately.
Russell Park to Cedar Breaks: 9.4 miles approximately.
Cedar Breaks to Tejas: 10.8 miles approximately.
You can create additional section hikes on the Russell to Cedar Breaks portion if you’re looking for shorter options. From Russell Park to Jim Hogg Park is around 4 miles, from Jim Hogg to Overlook Park is roughly 3.4 miles, and from Overlook to Cedar Breaks is approximately 2 miles.
There are no trailheads or parks to break up the Tejas to Russell or the Cedar Breaks to Tejas sections. However, some mountain bikers we passed on the Cedar Breaks to Tejas section told us there is an unofficial side trail near the Cedar Hollow primitive campground that leads out to a neighborhood (the start of that side trail is somewhere around here).
TRAIL TYPE + SHADE
TEJAS TO RUSSELL
Wide, double-track trail for most of this section until the last mile or so, when it shifts to the more typical trail type for the loop: single-track and hardpacked dirt with rock / gravel sections and a little bit of elevation change. This section has the least shade of the three, so plan on being in the sun for all but the final mile or so. About a half-mile past the primitive campground, you’ll begin hiking through a mostly tree-canopied section. Everything before that final part is either fully open with few trees or with trees on both sides of the trail but either not tall enough or close enough to provide must help when the sun is higher in the sky.
RUSSELL TO CEDAR BREAKS
Mostly single-track with hard-packed dirt and a lot of rock / gravel portions until Overlook Park when you begin the road walk across the dam. The elevation changes are minimal and gradual, with no steep sections like Cedar Breaks to Tejas. It’s comparable in shade to the Cedar Breaks to Tejas section, though I’d say Cedar Breaks to Tejas has the most shade of all three. The portion from Russell to Jim Hogg was mostly hiking through tree-canopied trail. Soon after Jim Hogg, the trail opens up and begins alternating between sections of open air with few trees and sections of trees that canopy the trail. The final part from Overlook to Cedar Breaks is a road walk with no shade, so you’ll want to refill your water at the Overlook bathroom area before heading across the dam.
CEDAR BREAKS TO TEJAS
Wide, double-track trail for the first mile or so, before shifting to single-track, with an option to leave the main trail and hike on bedrock by the river for the last mile or so. It is the most challenging section overall due not only to the distance but also the elevation changes (there are three short, but steep sections to traverse). Much of this hike is either under a tree canopy or with trees close enough to the trail to provide sufficient shade for much of the day. There are a few open-air sections with little shade, but overall it is the most shaded of the three sections in my estimation.
LAKE + RIVER VIEWS
TEJAS TO RUSSELL
You start hiking along the north shore of the San Gabriel River, with views of the lake beginning about a mile into the hike. From there, you have several distant lake views, with an opportunity to hike down to the lake at the Walnut Springs primitive campground.
RUSSELL TO CEDAR BREAKS
There are only a few glimpses of the lake from Russell to Jim Hogg, but the views increase as you near Overlook Park. About a mile before Overlook, there is a side trail offering one of the best panoramic views of the lake on the entire loop.
CEDAR BREAKS TO TEJAS
Roughly 1.5 miles in, you can go down a slight hill to the lake to enjoy the view (as seen above). There are dramatic lake views from the bluffs around mile 2, along with several lake views through the trees throughout the hike. Around 2.5 miles in, there is the side trail to Crocket Garden Falls, which is always worth hiking the few hundred yards off the main trail to see. Finally, you have views of the lake at both primitive campgrounds (4.5 miles and 6.5 miles in) and you can walk along the San Gabriel River at the end.
WATER ACCESS
TEJAS TO RUSSELL
There is a spigot in the camping area at Tejas, and you can filter from the river for the first three-quarters of a mile or so. After that, the trail veers away from the river / lake, and the next option for filtering water from the lake will be at the Walnut Springs primitive campground (seen above). There are many options for backpacking filters, but we’ve been very pleased with the Sawyer Squeeze.
RUSSELL TO CEDAR BREAKS
This section has the most water access and options. Russell and Jim Hogg both have bathroom areas that you could access if needed. I’m not sure whether the park hosts / attendants would prefer that you pay an entrance fee if you use the facilities since they don’t charge you for entering to hike the trails. You can either ask them when walking through the entrance or take an “ask forgiveness rather than permission” approach, depending on your preference. Overlook has a free-to-use restroom facility with a water fountain inside both restrooms. Other than the parks, I passed one creek with clear running water (seen above; see map location here) that you could filter from, and there is a side trail roughly three-quarters of a mile from Overlook (see here) that you can use to access the lake to filter water.
CEDAR BREAKS TO TEJAS
In addition to getting water from spigots at either of the parks, there are several viable water sources from which to filter on this section. The first is the lake access you come to roughly 1.5 miles into the hike that I mentioned above. The second is Knight Spring just above Crockett Gardens (seen above) – the side trail takes you to the view of the water seeping through the ferns, while staying straight on the main trail takes you to the spring that flows across the trail where you can collect and filter water. The third and fourth options are at the primitive campgrounds (though I haven’t seen a sand or gravel part of the bank at these campgrounds, so it will likely be a little muddy collecting water) , while the fifth is when you get to the river again roughly a mile or so before Tejas. There is technically a large retention pond between the two primitive campgrounds (30.671485713212526, -97.77438221654445). However, there wasn’t an obvious or easy way to get down to the water to collect it for filtering (and I couldn’t tell if the pond was on private land or not), so without doing more exploration of the area I wouldn’t count on this being a viable water source.
BACKPACKING
I’m sure there are a lot of options for backpacking around the lake, but the one I describe below is based on plans my wife and I are putting together for doing the full 26-mile loop sometime this winter we hope.
Below are two options for a typical weekend. The first is for starting after work on a Friday (possible involving a little hiking by headlamp Friday evening, depending on the time of year) and finishing around midday on Sunday. The second is for starting around lunchtime on a Friday and finishing around lunchtime on Sunday. So, two nights and part of three days for both options. Both plans involves staying only at primitive campgrounds, so it doesn’t require advanced campsite reservations since all three are free to use and first-come, first-served (though I would note that all three are large enough that even on a busy weekend you could find somewhere to pitch your tent even if it wasn’t in a formal campsite). Also, a day-use pass is now required to enter any park at Lake Georgetown to access the trail, even if you are only hiking / biking the trail and not using any other part of the park. You must reserve / purchase a day pass via Recreation.gov here, or you can purchase an America the Beautiful Annual pass here.
HIKING PLAN NO. 1 (clockwise around the loop)
Day 1 (Friday): Park at Tejas and hike to Walnut Springs Camp (mile marker 11 to 15.25 on the map above) – approximately 4.25 miles.
Day 2 (Saturday): Hike from Walnut Springs to Cedar Hollow Camp (mile marker 15.25 to 4.5 on the map above) – approximately 14.75 miles.
Day 3 (Sunday): Hike from Cedar Hollow to Tejas (mile marker 4.5 to 11 on the map above) – approximately 6.5 miles.
If you wanted your Sunday hike to be shorter, then on Saturday hike to Sawyer Hollow Camp for night two. That would extend your Saturday hike to around 16.75 miles and shorten your Sunday hike to roughly 4.5 miles.
HIKING PLAN NO. 2 (counterclockwise around the loop)
Day 1 (Friday): Park at Tejas and hike to either Cedar Hollow Camp – approximately 6.5 miles.
Day 2 (Saturday): Hike from Cedar Hollow Camp to Walnut Springs Camps – approximately 15.25 miles.
Day 3 (Sunday): Hike from Walnut Springs to Tejas – approximately 4.25 miles.
HIKING PLAN NO. 3 (completing the loop in one day) can be found here.
Finally, if you have other suggestions for looping the lake – particularly a plan that would be good for children – please share those in the comments. I haven’t come up with a viable option for splitting this loop, even over a long weekend, into segments that would be feasible distances for our son (age 6) to hike each day, while also not resulting in us being either bored or frustrated sitting at a campsite for hours each afternoon before dinner / bedtime.
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