El Camino Real De Los Tejas continued


longest hikable section of El Camino Real de los Tejas. If one looks closely, U-shaped depressions, known as swales, can be seen on either side of the hiking trail.


Another solution the association has implemented is simply buying land that contains part of the historic trail route. This is what they did with an area known as Lobanillo Swales in Sabine County, Texas. The swales, caused by hundreds of years of wagon use over the land, are in high concentra- tion in this area.


The association, working with the National Park Service, used a money- raising campaign to acquire the land tract, clean up the area, create a hiking trail, and install trail signs. That project was officially finished and opened to


the public in 2018, with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by over 140 people. By continuing to pursue creative solutions, Gonzales believes they will be able to complete the route between two of Texas’s most populous cities. He even leaves open the possibility of a space for multiple trail user types, such as equestrians and cyclists in addition to hikers, being able to use at least parts of the trail.


The association is already working on the first leg of the trail, which will follow Onion Creek, just south of McKinney Falls State Park in Austin. Currently the association, alongside city and county representatives, has been scouting the site and using GIS technol- ogy to create a trail plan. If all goes according to plan, this will the very first


stretch of a hikable and bikable Camino trail leading out of Austin and towards San Antonio.


   visit www.elcaminorealdelostejas.org.


 ago; photo by Steven Gonzales


16 SPRING 2019 AmericanTrails.org


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