Show Me The Trails – Resources to Get Your TALON Trail Run Fix
By David Hanenburg on 20 Jun 2010 at 3:47 pm | Tagged as: trail running or ultrarunning
Road running – walk out your door and go.
Trail running – where the hell is the dirt amidst all this concrete? Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes not.
I have collected resources for each state of the TALON region (TX, AR, LA, OK, NM) to help us become aware of the trails nearby our homes and beyond.
When you start looking at some of this information, you can’t help but want to go explore some new trails.
Texas
Online Resources
- Texas State Parks and Wildlife – Find locations and descriptions of all the state parks in Texas. Useful links within the site – Find a Park, Hike Texas Guide, Wildlife Management Areas with Hiking, Texas State Park Pass. One of my favorite local state parks close to home in North Texas is Isle du Bois (great 10 mile trail loop – my profile of the trail).
- National Parks – Map of the National parks in Texas.
- Texas Hiking – A hiking database that contains trails (both paved and dirt) all over the state. For each trail there is some basic useful information (trail type, difficulty, elevation gain, Length, cost, etc) as well as trail user feedback which can be insightful. You can find trails in their database by going to the Map Hikes page and scrolling into a particular area of interest. Then simply click on one of the green dots to check out the info on that trail. Another search method is the Find a Hike page which allows you to put in some search criteria (keywords, Location, Ratings, Access and Restrictions).
- MountainBikeTx.com – Great list of trails and insight (descriptions, maps, cost, etc) of places to mountain bike (or trail run). Just go to the Trails tab and you can perform various types of searches. I was impressed with the site.
- Trail Running Clubs - North Texas Trail Runners (DFW area), Hill Country Trail Runners (Austin area), HTRex (Houston area – Facebook page), Texas Trail Nerds (Facebook page)
- Mountain Bike Clubs – Dorba (North Texas / DFW area), Austin Ridge Riders (Austin area), STORM (San Antionio area) – All of the sites included trail listings and descriptions.
- You can always check with your cities (or nearby cities) Parks and Rec department.
Some of the more Popular Books
- 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Antonio and Austin: Includes the Hill Country
- 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Dallas, Fort Worth: Includes Tarrant, Collin and Denton Counties
- 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Houston: Includes Huntsville, Galveston, and Beaumont
- Enjoying Big Bend National Park: A Friendly Guide to Adventures for Everyone
- Lone Star Hiking Trail: The Official Guide
- Backroads of the Texas Hill Country: Your Guide to the Most Scenic Adventures
Arkansas
Online Resources
- Arkansas State Parks - Amazing pictures on the cover page of the site. WOW! The Park Finder page offers a nice state map highlighting the park and a useful amenities chart for each park.
- Ouachita National Forest – 1.8 million acres in central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. The Maps Page provides a nice listing of the various trails along with length and links to trail maps.
- National and Federal Parks – Contains links to the National and Federal parks in the state.
- Arkansas.com Maps Page – State Parks, National Parks, Various Hiking Map Links.
- Ouachita Adventures – Contains a nice listing and description of mountain bike trails in the Ouachita Mountains (Oklahoma and Arkansas) on their trails page. The bummer – no overall map.
- Talk with state ultrarunning group – Arkansas Ultra Running Association
- Check with specific cities Parks and Rec department.
Some of the more Popular Books
- 50 Hikes in the Ozarks: Walks, Hikes and Backpacks in the Mountains, Wildernesses and Geological Wonders of Arkansas and Missouri
- Hiking Arkansas: Nature Walks and Day Hikes
- Arkansas Hiking Trails: A Guide to Seventy-Eight Selected Trails in the Natural State
Louisiana
Online Resources
- Louisiana CRT – State Parks and Preservation Area Map – Simply click on the parks of interest to check on the amenities.
- National Parks – Map and listing.
- Bike Louisiana – Contains a nice listing and description of mountain bike trails on their Trails and Routes page.
- Check with specific cities Parks and Rec department.
Some of the more Popular Books
Oklahoma
Online Resources
- TZ’s Trail Guide – Ken Childress, Mr. Trail Zombie, has created a living resource that contains Oklahoma trails and beyond.
- Travelok.com – State Parks – Map of 56 state parks. The Find A Park page shows a nice map of the state with all of the parks displayed. After clicking on a particular park, you will get a nice description which will let you know about possible trails. The page also has a link to the park map. These 37 State Parks (listing) have Hiking listed as an amenity.
- Ouachita National Forest – 1.8 million acres in central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. The Maps Page provides a nice listing of the various trails along with length and links to trail maps.
- National Wildlife Refuges – A map will be displayed. You can click on a particular refuge of interest to get a brief description. I noticed you have to click on the actual Refuges website in order to find out if any trails exist.
- National Parks – Map and links to the specific park where you can find maps and details about any trails.
- Ouachita Adventures – Contains a nice listing and description of mountain bike trails in the Ouachita Mountains (Oklahoma and Arkansas) on their trails page. The bummer – no overall map.
- Talk to the state trail running clubs: TATUR and Oklahoma Trail Running Association.
- Check with specific cities Parks and Rec department.
Some of the more Popular Books
- Oklahoma Hiking Trails – The first comprehensive hiking guide for the state.
New Mexico
Online Resources
- New Mexico State Parks Division – Find a Park gives you a map and park listing. Use this page to see an overall map of the state. Then open another browser tab to this same location and check out the nice state park trails PDF chart. Other links: Rio Grand Trail info and map link.
- National Parks – State map and links to specific parks.
- Bureau of Land Management – Able to create a nice list (right sidebar) of recreational areas with hiking/biking divided up by region. Go to this page to see a basic state map outlining the regions.
- Explore New Mexico – Hiking – Contains a list of hikes and nice descriptions but unfortunately no overall map. Well, there is a map on the main page but it’s a bit rough around the edges but better than nothing.
- Check with specific cities Parks and Rec department.
Some of the more Popular Books
- 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Albuquerque: Including Santa Fe, Mount Taylor, and San Lorenzo Canyon
- 50 Hikes in Northern New Mexico: From Chaco Canyon to the High Peaks of the Sangre de Cristos
- 100 Hikes in New Mexico 3rd Edition
Whether for the day or weekend, the region sure seems to have a variety of trails to satisfy almost anyone’s running tastes. Go get some!
Are there any other useful resources you use to find some good dirt in the region?
Be active – Feel the buzz!
David – EnduranceBuzz.com
(Photos: Courtesy of TimoAndDog, Clinton Steeds, bobsacks, OakleyOriginals, cbanck, heyu1021, Wesley Fryer, rutlo, vintage queen, and Ryan Wick.)
[This article contains affiliate links that help support Endurance Buzz.]
About the author
David Hanenburg is the passionate dirt-lovin' creator of Endurance Buzz and has been playing in the endurance sports world since 2000 after knockin' the dust off of his Trek 950 hardtail thanks to a friend asking to go ride some local dirt. In 2007 he ran his first ultra on the trails and fell in love with the sport and its people. For more information on David's endurance sports journey, check out the About page.
Don’t forget about our new little trail club in the Houston area…
Texas Trail Nerds
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=132131143464508
http://www.texastrailnerds.blogspot.com
Hey Bill – Didn’t know your group existed. Thanks for making me aware of it.
Go Nerds!