Lake Georgetown (Goodwater Trail) Trail Conditions

[Shakey Start]

Howz the trail now? OK or gummy bear?

 

[DesertNomad]

It’s possible some is still underwater with the lake level over 792.  The rest would be mostly dry.  It should be fine by Thursday.  There will be short seeping sections though which will likely be wet/muddy until summer. 

[Raincrystal]

Rode from Jim Hogg to almost Russel Park.  Trail was 90% dry

[bestbike85]

Plan to do the full loop this weekend. Never done it before. It seems clockwise it the preferred direction, is that accurate ? 

Thanks! 

[Shakey Start]

Yes, we always ride from Cedar Breaks Park, riding clockwise.

[TheX]

If I go out there, and ride, how lost am I going to get? I have never been there.

[Tree Magnet]

It’s a really easy loop to ride for the most part. I’d say the hardest parts are where the trail crosses the parks on the North Side of the lake and knowing where it starts back up. Basically, you have the lake on one side and not much on the other. It’s really a fun ride worth the trip but make sure it’s dry. That clay/mud/karst combo is a bike killer.


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[AntonioGG]

2 hours ago, TheX said:

If I go out there, and ride, how lost am I going to get? I have never been there.

Just make sure to bring plenty of water this time of year.

[TheX]

I have 6 weeks of time off to use by the end of the year, taking a week soon so I'm going exploring on some local trails.

[bestbike85]

It’s dry and g2g. First time out there. Went out from cedar breaks at 7:30. Pretty wild from there to Tejas Camp. One large down tree that made us get off the bikes. Made it to Russell park with cramps and a busted/burning leg from taking a really nasty pedal strike that drew blood when I went OTB earlier in the ride. Ended up calling it off and getting a ride back to cedar breaks. It was hot, leg was hurting, and cramps were happening. Just wasn’t right to finish it off. 

 

How some of you people do 3 laps of that is beyond me. Seriously. It’s hard to fathom that type of strength. I’ll go do a complete lap here in a month or two when it’s cooler out so I can say I accomplished it. 

Edited September 14, 2019 by bestbike85

[fontarin]

It's rough in the summer as it's super hot but there is water at every camp at least.  I generally do the loop a few times a year, but I usually go sometime late fall - early spring.  Bummed to miss the dragonslayer this year but will be travelling to AZ for riding during the last two weeks of Nov.   If you want to do the loop, that's a great event to try it on.

[Albert]

I love Lake Georgetown, such a variety of trail types, plenty of rocks to keep you busy, and nice views of the lake from various points along the trail.  It is brutal to ride in the summer, though, and it's not something I generally do these days.  Once it's cooler, though, that makes the trail considerably more bearable.  I have not personally done more than one lap in a single sitting, but I don't think two would be too bad as long as it's not hot and you have plenty of water.  Three laps would definitely be a challenge, but still doable as long as you don't push yourself too hard during the first two laps. 

I also usually ride clockwise from the Cedar Breaks parking lot.  Doing it this way you get the hardest sections of trail out of the way first on the south side, you can then fill up your water and take a break at Tejas, and then complete the northern section of trail (which begins with several miles of easy singletrack, although it's exposed to the sun, which is bad in the summer).  I don't think the trail flows as well in the opposite direction, so I don't ride it counterclockwise very often. 

I'd still like to do an entire lap at night someday.  🙂

It's definitely possible to make wrong turns in several areas, so improved signage would be a great help for those unfamiliar with the trail system.  Right now there are only mile markers and signage at the trailheads. 

 ..Al

[tomreece]

1 hour ago, Albert said:

It's definitely possible to make wrong turns in several areas

Oh no. I wanted to try the DragonSlayer and I wanted to practice first.

We should do a group ride up there to practice for the event!

[Barry]

11 minutes ago, tomreece said:

Oh no. I wanted to try the DragonSlayer and I wanted to practice first.

We should do a group ride up there to practice for the event!

Following the route on TrailForks or Project MTB will certainly expose you to everything that you would "need" to pre-ride. And it isn't like a lot of places where the trails are close together and you can't tell where you are--it's obvious on the GPS when you've gone the wrong way. The DS this year also includes a few extra miles around the dam and on the north-east side of the loop. But none of that stuff is tech and can be ridden sigh-unseen without problem...assuming the turns are signed well and the signs don't get taken down!

Also, if you Strava, you can download @DesertNomad's official route from earlier this year and save it as a route. 

Edited September 17, 2019 by Barry

[Albert]

1 minute ago, Barry said:

And it isn't like a lot of places where the trails are close together and you can't tell where you are--it's obvious on the GPS when you've gone the wrong way.

I agree, as long as you have a GPS with the route loaded into it, it'll be pretty obvious when you've taken a wrong turn. I do know people have gotten lost and/or frustrated trying to ride the loop for the first time without any such tools.

 ..Al

[JRIDER]

On 9/14/2019 at 1:06 PM, bestbike85 said:

It’s dry and g2g. First time out there. Went out from cedar breaks at 7:30. Pretty wild from there to Tejas Camp. One large down tree that made us get off the bikes. Made it to Russell park with cramps and a busted/burning leg from taking a really nasty pedal strike that drew blood when I went OTB earlier in the ride. Ended up calling it off and getting a ride back to cedar breaks. It was hot, leg was hurting, and cramps were happening. Just wasn’t right to finish it off. 

 

How some of you people do 3 laps of that is beyond me. Seriously. It’s hard to fathom that type of strength. I’ll go do a complete lap here in a month or two when it’s cooler out so I can say I accomplished it. 

I failed several times at doing the full loop before I was able to complete it.  Now a full loop not too bad for me. 

I would suggest doing an out and back the first time on this trail.  Probably start from Russel to Jim Hogg or from Jim Hogg to the dam.   Those sections are some or the harder sections of the loop (Cedar Breaks is the hardest IMO).  You can always turn around once you've had enough.

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by JRIDER
can't spell

[Chongo Loco]

The hardest thing to find is where it continues at each park. BUT you can just drive to each and poke around. Some of the gate attendants know the trailheads but not all.

 

On trail the one confusing spot to me is on the south shore. there’s a Y access trail that meets the main on each side of Cedar Hollow primitive camping area. Going west you’ll see the access trail heading to the left but if you look straight ahead about 50 yds you see the sign for cedar hollow on the main trail. so easy to figure out where you are. The access trail rejoins the main trail a few hundred yds ahead. It’s a loose steep trail to a dead end road up top with no water so only useful as a bailout.

 

 

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[DesertNomad]

56 minutes ago, Chongo Loco said:

The hardest thing to find is where it continues at each park. BUT you can just drive to each and poke around. Some of the gate attendants know the trailheads but not all.

 

On trail the one confusing spot to me is on the south shore. there’s a Y access trail that meets the main on each side of Cedar Hollow primitive camping area. Going west you’ll see the access trail heading to the left but if you look straight ahead about 50 yds you see the sign for cedar hollow on the main trail. so easy to figure out where you are. The access trail rejoins the main trail a few hundred yds ahead. It’s a loose steep trail to a dead end road up top with no water so only useful as a bailout.

 

 

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this trail also rejoins the main trail and its about 3/4 of a mile long all told. It is also on the DS2019 route, but CCW. I recently cleaned and cleared that trail as well as 80% of the south shoreline. It's a good time to go ride.

 

 

[tomreece]

I'm planning to try a lap around Lake Georgetown this weekend. Can someone share with me a google maps link to the best trailhead to start from? Thanks!

[fontarin]

Here you go:  https://goo.gl/maps/3T27nNR9FGa63Zar7

Pin didn't stick, but it's the little paved circle where the trail starts.  You can park outside the gate and ride there.   When you take the road in from DB Woods, you'll see the gate house to the left, park to the right.  

Edited September 20, 2019 by fontarin

[bestbike85]

On 9/19/2019 at 10:26 AM, tomreece said:

I'm planning to try a lap around Lake Georgetown this weekend. Can someone share with me a google maps link to the best trailhead to start from? Thanks!

Good luck! Last weekend I got about 18 miles in on my first try before I locked up at Russels park. Plan to go back and clean it here in a month or so when it cools down. Let us know how it goes! 

[bestbike85]

Planning to get redemption this weekend. Conditions should be fine I suspect, and trail should be good and cleaned up since it’s the weekend before DS. 

[Shakey Start]

Check out the Facebook posting.  I think that Cedar Breaks Park is closed.  I may head out Sat a.m. myself!

[Albert]

26 minutes ago, Shakey Start said:

Check out the Facebook posting.  I think that Cedar Breaks Park is closed.  I may head out Sat a.m. myself!

Which Facebook posting?

[Shakey Start]

Dragonslayer