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The Great Escape Loop

RECOMMENDED ROUTE
Intermediate Intermediate
 4.0 (36)
  1. Areas
  2. TX
  3. …Central Texas
  4. …Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
  5. Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area
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“A great intermediate ride that has a nice mix of hardpack singletrack and some fun, short, rocky, and rooty sections. ”

Donovan Acker
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6.3

Miles

10.2

KM

95%

Singletrack

808' 246 m

High

702' 214 m

Low

333' 101 m

Up

329' 100 m

Down

2%

Avg Grade (1°)

7%

Max Grade (4°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

Family Friendly Great camping, well-marked trails, easy water/swimming access, nicely spread out and uncrowded.

Overview

A great intermediate ride that has a nice mix of hardpack singletrack and some fun, bumpy sections with some additional add-on sections for more advanced riders or those wanting to add more technical bits to their ride.

Need to Know

The main parking lot right at the entrance to the park has very nice bathrooms, water, and shaded area with tables. There's an outdoor shower and a water spigot in case you want to clean yourself and your bike after riding. The entrance fee to the park is posted at the entrance ($5/adult, kids 12 and under free)...and it's an 'honor system'. There is a box at the entrance where you self register, get a window tag for your car, and drop your money in the 'honor pay box' ;) CASH ONLY.

For full details on the park, click here.

Description

This ride is a single seven-mile trail loop called "The Great Escape" (as indicated on the trailhead sign and markers along the way). It is very well-marked with very visible signs each quarter mile indicating current mileage distance from the trailhead (very helpful!).

Along the ride, there are three or four black diamond add-on sections, which you can include to add another three miles to the ride. Completely optional, and well-marked.

As well, there are park roads and multi-use trails conveniently accessible at various points along the ride if you need to bail out back to the parking lot or shorten your ride.

Local middle school and high school mountain biking teams regularly practice here as well, so you'll often see young riders session-ing parts of the trail and honing their skills.

The ride is straightforward:
  • Enter through the main entrance and grab a spot in the parking lot immediately visible as you enter the park.
  • The trailhead and info board for "The Great Escape" trail are right off the parking lot.
  • The trail is designed to be ridden clockwise (the trail signs along the ride are marked only on the side facing clockwise riders).

Contacts

Local Club: Austin Ridge Riders (ARR)

Land Manager: Lower Colorado River Association - Parks

Shared By:

Donovan Acker with improvements by Liz Davis
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.0 from 36 votes

#1

in Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area

#681

Overall
  4.0 from 36 votes
5 Star
22%
4 Star
58%
3 Star
14%
2 Star
6%
1 Star
0%
Recommended Route Rankings

#1

in Muleshoe Bend Recreati…

#22

in Texas

#681

Overall
23 Views Last Month
9,899 Since Jul 16, 2014
Intermediate Intermediate
0%
0%
72%
17%
10%
0%
Add a Photo

Photos

Afternoon ride at Muleshoe Bend...
Jan 21, 2018 near Spicewood, TX
Gnarly climb over babyheads on a rigid sled.
Oct 21, 2017 near Spicewood, TX
Most of the terrain looks like this here.
Oct 21, 2017 near Spicewood, TX
Uphill battle just before the graveyard
Jun 14, 2021 near Spicewood, TX
One of the rock climb sections on this trail
Aug 5, 2018 near Spicewood, TX
Nice smooth covered section of the trail towards the start.
Aug 5, 2018 near Spicewood, TX

4 Comments

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 67 days ago
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Feb 13, 2025
Charlie Miller
Pretty fine, but very dry. Watch out for the roots. — 2h 00m
Feb 1, 2025
Tim Spang
6.3mi — 0h 48m
Feb 20, 2023
Kim Tran
Dec 18, 2022
Parker Boykin
May 21, 2022
John Hofmann
Jun 20, 2021
Amber Green
Extreme sand and gravel = not fun — 1h 29m
Jun 12, 2021
Liz Davis
Sessioning 2mi — 40h 00m
May 10, 2021
Mike Leggett

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