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stephenson nature preserve


Jammy
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Does Stephenson Nature Preserve allow bikes ?  I cant find out anything at city of austin .org.

Last time I checked it was a PUD.  I dont know if it changed designations or not.  I called 311 and the lady couldnt find out for sure but said she thought bikes weren't allowed.

I use it as a connector and have ridden there off and on for about 10 years, maybe 13 years.

Let me know, thanks !!

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Go to the PARD Interactive map https://austin.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=c069f13f4f1a4260b8694a2cb30b5880 (If that link does not work, go here and scroll down to click on the map - http://www.austintexas.gov/page/park-directory)

Scroll over to show Stephenson Preserve.

Click on the trail. It should pull up a dialog box that shows what is allowed and what is not allowed. (It takes a minute to open)

The last time we discuss this on here that map no longer said MTB was not allowed. When I checked just before I posted that link, it did say hiking only.

I would say to be nice to people and not to make a stink about of it. Most of the hikers you will meet will have a dog with them. Or they are camping in there (homeless) That would mean both of you are violating the 'rules'.

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3 hours ago, cxagent said:

I would say to be nice to people and not to make a stink about of it. Most of the hikers you will meet will have a dog with them. Or they are camping in there (homeless) That would mean both of you are violating the 'rules'.

Agreed. My experience with Stephenson is that if you are a polite social rider, riding alone or perhaps with one or two other polite social riders -- no issue. Go flying through with a group of fifteen as though you own the place, and you'll get different feedback.

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You have to be a good internet sleuth to find out on a city site where it says, "hiking only." And the signage at all the trail heads say nothing about "no bikes." But this definitely is still the policy as it was the topic of a discussion I had with a park police person at a meeting a couple of months ago.

Hopefully that policy will change in the future, but I doubt it. This is one motive behind the SATN Social, to make it enough of a thing that the city will want to get behind it. But I doubt it. You know, the city being the city and all. It would be nice though. It's almost as big as Walnut Creek and has a lot of elevation change. It would  be nice to start over with the trail construction because it is very haphazard and poorly constructed for sustainability. But an interesting and fun system as it is anyway.

The chances of getting a ticket or anything there are very low. I was in there once and came across two policemen that were looking for a homeless guy that had been breaking into houses. When I saw them I thought, "oh shit" but they were not concerned with me at all. It was funny too because after our chat they asked, "can you tell us where we are and how do we get out of here?"

I have rarely seen a hiker there. The ones I have seen are usually with an off leash dog. But as mentioned, and not just in Stephenson, when encountering a walker be pleasant. I don't know why this is such a difficult thing for our mountain biking community to learn.

 

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I think Stephenson Preserve is possibly the best single section of mtb trail potential in SW Austin and would love to see it become officially open to mtb activity. And it should, given how hard it is to move around Austin these days with all the traffic problems. Perhaps if the City is approached from the POV of aiding its citizens need for not having to get in a vehicle and travel 20 miles to and from parks in North Austin — saving energy, roadway wear and tear and congestion, usage congestion in North Austin parks, and helping the local economy (restaurants, bike shops) — they might bite... Especially given the proven track record of the trail-building/maintenance folks down here in South Austin.

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I've started many rides in Stephenson preserve since my brother lives right there.  It is extremely confusing to navigate but a good ride with some fun terrain.  There are some 'art' projects out there including a few metal sculptures and a cedar tree tunnel that you can almost ride through if you don't have modern width bars.  Everyone I have seen out there was polite and almost all of them had a dog.  I made it a point to slow down and say hello and never once had any problems.  I did notice recently that some of the more unsustainable fall line trails were closed down so someone is taking ownership of the trail system out there.  If it's not ARR (which it's not), maybe it's a group that we could offer to partner with to help maintain those trails.  A little good will from the MTB community.

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