Got questions about the Brazos. No more unknowns. Ever wonder where that water comes from or where it goes? We're unpacking the Brazos River.
Charlie Shugart:Welcome to the BRA podcast, Unpacking the Brazos River. This is a special treat for those who love to get outside. Whether you're interested in chasing that runner's high, trying to snag some tranquil moment in nature to nail that Instagram aesthetic, or craving a new bike route, one of the BRA's water supply reservoirs has a pretty cool hike and bike trail to add to your adventure list. I'm Charlie Shugart, and I'm with our public information office. And today, we're discussing the epic hike and bike trails at Possum Kingdom Lake. Joining me today is Troy Weatherhead, the reservoir manager of Possum Kingdom Lake. Thanks for joining me today.
Troy Weatherhead:You're welcome. Thanks for having me.
Charlie Shugart:So this is the first time our listeners are meeting you. So tell us a little bit about your history with the BRA.
Troy Weatherhead:I'll give you some brief synopsis. I'm originally from Southeast Kansas. I went off like most kids do after high school, joined military, did twenty five years in military, Retired back in 2013, and I've worked with the BRA ever since here at Possum Kingdom Lake, so I'm not new to the area.
Charlie Shugart:Well, alright. Thank you for joining us. Also with us today is Diane Davis, a reservoir programs coordinator at PK. Thanks for dropping in.
Diane Davis:Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Charlie Shugart:So tell us a little bit about what you do for the BRA.
Diane Davis:Well, I've been with the BRA for about four years now, and I was hired as a lake ranger. My position has since changed to reservoir programs coordinator. What we do is we teach water safety. We are checking the parks and the trails daily. Anything that has to do with the public and making sure people are safe and have information is what my job is.
Charlie Shugart:Awesome. Wonderful. Okay. So let's dive in. So for those who don't know, PK happens to be one of three water supply reservoirs the BRA owns and operates. The other two are Lakes Granbury and Limestone. Now our lakes were built for the purpose of water supply as the BRA is responsible for providing water to municipalities, industry, agriculture, and mining within the Brazos Basin. But as a secondary benefit to owning them, we also provide recreational opportunities. And one of the many special traits of Possum Kingdom Lake is its hike and bike trails. So for those who haven't heard of this Texas treasure, where is Possum Kingdom Lake located?
Troy Weatherhead:Possum Kingdom Lake itself is located roughly 70 miles North-Northwest of the Fort Worth area. Take I-20 or 180 coming out of it, you'll get to it about an hour and a half drive. And we're in, I guess, you would call the Northern edge of Texas Hill Country.
Charlie Shugart:Well, let's dive into the trails. Tell us a little bit about the hike and bike trails here at PK.
Troy Weatherhead:Most people probably aren't familiar or those who are not in this area. PK has a one season and that's summer. In the winter there's not a lot of action or economy going on at Possum Kingdom. So we as the Brazos Authority back in the 80's and 90's tried to put together some plans to help out the economy, what we thought of is if we develop a trail system, it'll give people in the off season a reason to come to the lake when the water's too cold. So because of that, we partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife and got some federal grants, and we decided to build a little over 14 miles of a hike and bike trail system and that's why they're there. And trails are very nice for those of who've never been out to Possum Kingdom. Yes, I work for BRA. Yes, I'm the reservoir manager. But even if I wasn't, these trail systems are very unique and I've heard a lot of people say you don't find them like this anywhere else in the United States based on what they have to offer, the amenities there are, and the wildlife that you can see.
Charlie Shugart:You mentioned the total mileage of the trails is...
Troy Weatherhead:Diane, I'll let you correct me, but I think it's a little over 14.
Diane Davis:Roughly 16, depending on which way you're going up there.
Charlie Shugart:So is it you start at one, you end at another location, or are there lots of ways to enter this trail? How's that work?
Diane Davis:Let's say it's 16 miles of trails that are, they crisscross the Central Peninsula there at PK. You have at least 15 trailheads. At least 12 of them there's parking and access to a bathroom. Whether it's primitive bathroom or, you know, flushing toilet. You can make your hikes as short or as long as you'd like based on where you park and where you decide. And you can find out how to access those trailheads by using one of our maps that we give out for free.
Charlie Shugart:So it's kinda like a choose your own adventure trail.
Diane Davis:Yes, ma'am. We've got hiking that's for the beginner, for children, all the way to, you know, extreme hikers. You've got flat areas, sandy areas, big boulders, all types of things. You can choose your own adventure. Absolutely.
Troy Weatherhead:For those who've never been to PK and if you wanna come out and enjoy the hike and bike trails, there are three phases: phase one, two, and three. Phase three is what we consider the Sandy Loom area, it's pretty much flat ground and it's all sand. Phase one and two is where you get into going up down the peaks. Johnson Peak is the highest peak on actual Possum Kingdom Lake and we have a look out at the top of that and there's various lookouts throughout all the trails. I've got to remind everyone but it is 100% all natural terrain. There's no concrete, there's occasionally washouts, we try to stay on top of it removing fallen trees or whatever. But just keep in mind if you come out to enjoy it, it is 100% all natural.
Charlie Shugart:So this isn't like your regular maybe subdivision park with planed routes
Troy Weatherhead:Correct.
Charlie Shugart:okay okay
Troy Weatherhead:And we have also something we just did. As a matter of fact, we just completed it last week at South D&D Trailhead on the East Side of South D&D . We've actually built a shelter that has a a concrete pad with a picnic table on it.
Charlie Shugart:Oh,that's great.
Troy Weatherhead:That alows people to once they get done doing the main trails, because that's one of our busiest trailheads. They can actually sit and relax in the shade, maybe bring some lunch sandwiches or whatever, have lunch before they go back to do whatever they're doing.
Charlie Shugart:That's a great addition.
Troy Weatherhead:Keep going, Diane, if you got anything
Charlie Shugart:Well, here. Okay. So you mentioned that at many of the different trailheads, there's parking and bathrooms. Is there access to and now we know about this kind of shelter location. Is there access to anything else, to some of the parks, or how does that work?
Diane Davis:Some will link you to one of the roadways, and then you cross over and go to the next, and then it will take you to almost all of our our public parks. If they're not right there when you get off the trail, they'll be across the street.
Charlie Shugart:Okay, so they're pretty close.
Diane Davis:Yes ma'am.
Charlie Shugart:So you can go out, enjoy a trail, and then end up at one of the parks and maybe go swimming in one of those swimming designated areas.
Diane Davis:Yes ma'am. Also from those trails, Troy hit on this that we have scenic views. I think on our map, it lists, I think, 21 scenic views that are easy to find. Also, there's a bench at every one of them. There's signs that have information about the area or what the view that you're seeing throughout the trails. Also, that kinda keeps you on track. Okay. I'm at this one. I'm gonna move to the next one.
Charlie Shugart:So we're not getting lost.
Diane Davis:I tell people it's very hard to get lost on those trails. Some people may
Charlie Shugart:That sounds like a challenge.
Diane Davis:disagree with me. You look, you'll see the roadway, you know, beyond the trees. If you look the other way, you'll see the the lake beyond the trees. So and it is on that peninsula.
Diane Davis:So you may get confused of where you're at, but by seeing all of those different trailheads and the scenic views that are listed, it helps you stay on track.
Troy Weatherhead:Park Road 36 is what leads into the actual peninsula itself because it splits off and there's a it's a state park road, of course, but that road will turn into 1148, I believe,
Diane Davis:No. 2951.
Troy Weatherhead:Okay. The West Side Road. 2951, and that will further go on down the peninsula. Peninsula itself, the road, once you leave Mister C's gas station on the corner, is roughly about six and a half miles long. It's one way and one way out.
Charlie Shugart:Okay.
Troy Weatherhead:So you've gotta come back out that way. I will also like to say what Diane mentioned about the trail signs or the trail maps that we have available online or in our office. At each trailhead, there's also a sign posted of the trail system itself too. So it is, I'm not gonna say it's easy to get lost but you can get lost but there's enough information around you and if everybody knows, you know, look at the sun, which direction it is, you know where you gotta go because you know where you came in.
Charlie Shugart:So you would have to work kinda hard to get lost. So when you talk about these scenic viewpoints, is are those the only locations where you can see the water, or why are they considered scenic viewpoints?
Troy Weatherhead:When the trail system was built, we decided to put these scenic points every now and then, a, to give you a rest spot and to tell you something about the history, such as there's one of them called, after Quanah Parker. There's a little rest area labeled after him, and then you got the Johnson's Peak, which has a big map of the lake. You can see both sides, all that, and it lays stuff out. But they're there for two reasons, to keep you on track so you don't get lost and to give you a place to relax if you need to if the trails become too much for you.
Charlie Shugart:So you mentioned it was all experience levels could get out there, family or more advanced. So I guess describe some of the scenery that's out there. What is the trail like? We know it's not concrete.
Troy Weatherhead:The trail is typical North Texas hill country. A lot of cedars, some mesquites. Majority of it's cedars, and it's a rocky terrain because we all know Texas is rocky. Trail system itself starts at Scenic Park. We talked about the parks earlier. Starts at Scenic Park and if you could do the complete trail system you'll end at Sandy Beach Park on the end of the peninsula. Like I said, it is 100% natural. There's animals, there's critters. Don't stick your hand in a place that you can't see the backside of because you don't know what's in there. It's truly nature. It's nature at its best.
Diane Davis:So I've been hiking these trails since probably two days after I was hired.
Charlie Shugart:I love that.
Diane Davis:It's hard to not wanna walk into those. The trailheads just look so inviting. I've seen everything from a honeybee to a bobcat stopping in the trail looking at me, you know wondering why I was there and then moving on with their life. We see in our our parks as well as, our trails, you see white tailed bucks to babies that were just born, deer that were just born.
Charlie Shugart:That's incredible.
Diane Davis:Every animal you can think of, I think I've seen out on those trails.
Troy Weatherhead:For those people who haven't frequented Possum Kingdom that often, the two animals you'll see the most of, whether you're on our trails or in our parks, are deer, as Diane said, or geese.
Charlie Shugart:Geese!
Troy Weatherhead:We're like a typical stopping point like most lakes are in Texas, but there's geese everywhere. Right now, we got a lot of little gozzlings that are less than a foot tall because they're all starting to hatch. But I'd like to say you're not gonna see a mountain lion, but there are mountain lions in the area, so who knows? So I'm not telling you to be scared or whatever. Just be prepared.
Charlie Shugart:Right. So it's all about being, you know, aware of your surroundings, knowing what you're getting into, and then I'm assuming you would wanna have some take some safety precautions knowing that there may be animals out there.
Diane Davis:Use your eyes and use your ears. See and listen to what's happening around you. Also, a lot of people take hiking sticks. You can use that hiking stick just to make sure that you stay upright. Also, moving things out of the the trail that you may not wanna touch. You know, I've seen many snakes. I've never seen a venomous snake on the on the trails. I've seen a lot of nonvenomous snakes and just different things maybe you don't wanna put your hands on.
Diane Davis:Yeah, absolutely.
Diane Davis:And you can you can get that out of the way.
Charlie Shugart:And all snakes are not bad snakes
Troy Weatherhead:And when it comes to hiking the trails too, you also wanna make sure you have proper footwear.
Charlie Shugart:That makes sense.
Troy Weatherhead:Depending on time of the season, I would make sure I had plenty of water with me because whether you think you may get dehydrated or not, you will because some parts of it are challenging. And I also do wanna emphasize it's not just a hike, it's also a bike trail. What that means is non motorized pedestrian bicycles are allowed on the trails. So I encourage you if you wanna do that, make sure you follow proper bicycle safety wear, helmet, gloves, or whatever because you never know. You could take a rock and fall. So just be wise about what you're be aware of your surroundings.
Charlie Shugart:Alright. So are they all hike and bike, or some more for hiking and others bike? How's that work.
Troy Weatherhead:The majority of them would be better to hike because there's some rough terrains, but they're 100% both ways, hike and bike.
Charlie Shugart:Which is important to note.
Diane Davis:Also, talking about safety, you wanna think about when you do go and use one of our trails, make sure that you check the weather. First thing you wanna do is check the weather. Example, yesterday, I was on the trails. We're not supposed to have rain for another week. Luckily, I checked and we had a major storm hit our lake yesterday. You know, and they can come out of absolutely nowhere. So you have to be prepared for that.
Charlie Shugart:Right
Diane Davis:Also, you can get a free map from the BRA, from our local office or...
Charlie Shugart:Or yeah, our office, we are happy. You can just email us at information@Brazos.org and we will mail you a map. You just have to ask, yeah.
Diane Davis:Also, bring water. We do have water fountains at a few of our trailheads. If you're gonna go more than just a few steps into the trailhead that you bring your own water and a snack because you don't know how winded you might get.
Charlie Shugart:And we love a good snack.
Diane Davis:Yes. Also, I think Troy talked about sturdy shoes, bug spray, I don't care what time of year it is. You want a little bit of bug spray, layered clothing and
Charlie Shugart:Sunscreen.
Diane Davis:Yeah. Sunscreen. Also, tell somebody where you're going.
Charlie Shugart:Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Diane Davis:I work for the Brazos River Authority. I hike those trails, and I still text or call my boss. If I text him, I wait for a response that he did get my text, and tell him exactly, I'm gonna be hiking from here to here if I'm going by myself.
Charlie Shugart:Why is that so important?
Diane Davis:Because anything could happen to you. Anything could happen. You could have a medical emergency. You could slip. You could trip. Those hiking trails are ever changing every single day. There's wildlife out there. There's it's raining. It's everything's happening out there. So I can hike it today, and it's almost a different trail tomorrow.
Charlie Shugart:That's incredible that you can go out to a location and it kind of be ever changing. You know, we say that about water a lot. There's that saying, you never step in a stream in the same place twice because it's always moving and always changing. That makes these trails really special that there's a lot of things happening too.
Diane Davis:Absolutely. When you go to the different peaks by the way, Johnson Peak is 1,363 feet above sea level, and then Sandy Beach, our lowest point, is 1,034.
Troy Weatherhead:To put that in perspective for the audience out there, that means Johnson Peak is 363 feet higher than what lake level is. And we do have a lookout up on the top of that peak so that tells you what your panoramic view accessibility is.
Charlie Shugart:That's gotta be an incredible view.
Troy Weatherhead:It's a very nice view.
Diane Davis:And it's different every single time because the sky is a different color. The water's a different color. Everything is different. You do see Gains Bend. You do see Hells Gate.
Charlie Shugart:A lot of people may not be aware of what Hells Gate is. Can you maybe explain that a little bit for people?
Troy Weatherhead:Over the millions of years that the Brazos River has been here, it's carved its way like every river does in nature. Well, Hells Gate is actually a portion of a cliff face wall that has got so thin due to the natural erosion of the river over time that it's collapsed. So at full lake elevation right now, one side of the Hell's Gate is called Devil's Island, which is an island owned by the Brazos River Authority. The other side of it is Sportsman's World, which is one of the communities out here. And just to put in perspective, at full lake elevation, the top of that cliff face on both sides of Hells Gate is roughly 95 to a 100 foot above the water. And the gate itself, never really measured it, if I was to estimate it, I'd say it's probably about a quarter mile wide. There's a lot of country songs out there and all that if you haven't seen fireworks or haven't seen Hells Gate yet, you ain't seen into Texas. But that is what Hells Gate is, it's just a natural cliff face that fell over top.
Charlie Shugart:So as somebody who takes to these trails all the time, do you have a favorite route or trailhead that you like to start in?
Diane Davis:I don't think that I do. Some days I feel like a flat route. Some days I feel like going to a peak. I'm just intrigued by every step that I take to see more beauty. Each time I go out there, just like, you know, we talked about, it's ever changing. In the winter, there's different colors. Right now, every flower is blooming.
Diane Davis:Oh, I bet that's incredible.
Diane Davis:It's amazing. Yeah. So, yeah I don't have a favorite. My favorite hike is the hike I get to take.
Charlie Shugart:I love that.
Diane Davis:I do work there, and yes, I do hike those trails. But on my days off, I grab my grandkids, and I take them up there, and I show them what I get to see every day.
Charlie Shugart:Is there a particular trail that's more popular than others? So let's say you are less interested in running into a bunch of people. Is there a particular route someone may wanna take?
Troy Weatherhead:All trails are pretty isolated. I mean, they do get some busyness, but I would say the majority of times, the most traversed trail is probably Phase 2 because Phase 2 is a combination of the flatland and the mountains even though it's all got rocks and all that other stuff on it because I can't say any of the any of the three phases are any easier than the others all depending what you look for. But if you wanna try to enjoy the best of all the environment of what it has, it's probably phase 2 section that is the most busiest. But they all have their own unique little quirks. So I'm just here to tell the audience that if they come out for one, they're probably gonna wanna end up at doing them all before it's all said and done. Once it grabs ahold of you, it just won't let go.
Charlie Shugart:For somebody who's used to taking their bike out on different trails, are these trails very difficult, or are they more casual rides for somebody who's on a bike?
Troy Weatherhead:I would say it is nowhere near casual. Phase 3 is sand. Anybody who's ever walked in sand knows how tough that is, so imagine biking in that. And phase 2 and 3, there's a lot of uphill, downhill, close clearances, having to climb over boulders or whatever. So we call it a hike and bike, but it is truly an off road biking trail. I will say that every year there is a race held out at Possum Kingdom, and it's a 52 mile foot race.
Charlie Shugart:Oh wow
Troy Weatherhead:But it traverses the trails three times. When I started working for the Brazos River Authority 12 years ago, we actually had what they call a it was a miniature triathlon where they had a swim, a run, and a trail system, all that, with the bikes, everything else. So they get utilized quite a bit, but I would think the average person would probably wanna do phase 2 to see everything and then determine whether or they wanna go sand or more more up hills.
Charlie Shugart:Talk about the maintenance a little bit. What goes into having to keep these up and going for everyone to enjoy?
Troy Weatherhead:Believe it or not, we try to leave them 100% natural. We don't do anything to them. The biggest maintenance for us is early in the spring, we might go do some weed killing along some of the sandy sides of it. Outside that, it's your rainy season. You're always gonna have washouts.
Troy Weatherhead:We try to even though we want it to be natural in nature, we also wanna make sure it's safe. So we take care of any kind of washouts, ravines, put culverts in where we have to to pick up felled trees or things like that. But outside that, we try to leave it 100% natural and just let nature take its course.
Diane Davis:When we get reports, if there's issues on the trails or something that the public wants us to check out, I'll go out there and get pictures of it, find out if it's something that I can just take care of or if our maintenance team needs to take care of that. Also, you know, being out there on those trails, I've seen countless hikers with little trash bags and they're picking up what people might leave.
Charlie Shugart:Oh that's so great.
Diane Davis:Our, you know, motto is pack it in, pack it out. But that doesn't always happen. Also, we're close to the lake. We're close to the roadway. So you know, things get blown in. The maintenance crew at PK, they really make sure that our hike and bike trails are taken care of.
Troy Weatherhead:The trails cross the roads on several places but we do have the little crosswalks looking out for hike and biker trails. Outside that, they run parallel to the road but you can't really see the road and the road ain't really gonna be able to see you. You just know that it's on one side and your water's on the other. So I don't want people that may hear that a lot that, hey. It runs with the roads. Don't be scared. The roads aren't really there. It's virtually I'm not gonna say it's impossible because nothing's impossible, but traffic and the pedestrians on the trails will hardly ever mix. They'll never really run-in each other.
Charlie Shugart:Do these trails have certain hours that they open? Do they close for any reason?
Diane Davis:No, ma'am. They're open unless we close them for some type of safety issue or some type of inclement weather. They're open three sixty five and they are free to the public.
Charlie Shugart:Well, people love a good free park.
Troy Weatherhead:We do not encourage people to utilize them after dark.
Charlie Shugart:That makes sense.
Troy Weatherhead:It's mother nature and you just never know. So we we caution people not to utilize them after dark. I would also like to we're talking about trails, but just for those people who are not familiar or local with PK, we do have two recreational parks that have free showers. So that if you came out here and got totally, you know, I don't wanna say exhausted, but sweating, you need to change clothes, all that, we do have two public recreation facilities that have showers available for free.
Charlie Shugart:And so that's at two of our parks?
Troy Weatherhead:That's at North D&D and at Sandy Beach.
Charlie Shugart:Okay.
Troy Weatherhead:Which Sandy Beach is the end of the trailhead on the West side.
Charlie Shugart:Okay. Great. Great. You talked a little bit about the animals that you encounter on the trail. What should people do if they come across, say, a bobcat or a deer?
Diane Davis:Most of the time, they're gonna look at you, find out if you've got something for them to eat, or if you're gonna attack them, and they'll move along. The best thing you can do is keep on moving, you know, after they go on their way, or see if you can get a good picture of them. We at BRA enjoy seeing pictures of the wildlife in our area.
Charlie Shugart:We do. We love when people send us photos. Now, if I'm not mistaken, the trails have actually won some awards in the past. Is that right?
Troy Weatherhead:Yes. In 2012, let me think here for a minute, they were awarded a major award in Texas but I don't remember what the name of that award is off of hand.
Charlie Shugart:Was that the Great Texas Trailhead Award?
Troy Weatherhead:The Great Texas Trailhead Award in 2012. Yes, ma'am. And I will say that these trails are pretty much renowned. It's not just local to DFW. There's people that come from surrounding states just to enjoy our trail system and Possum Kingland Lake itself. And, you know, word travels a lot, as word travels, they're getting busier and busier.
Diane Davis:I don't know if we touched on if you do have any safety issues. If you see a large branch down, something that, you know, you wouldn't be able to move quickly out of the way, you can contact our local office, which is +1 (940) 779-2321, and that is the local Brazos River Authority office at Possum Kingdom Lake.
Troy Weatherhead:And that phone number is also, if my memory serves me correctly, on our trailhead signs at all our trailheads too. And it's in the map itself also.
Diane Davis:Also, the the trails are located in Palo Pinto County. If you do have a medical emergency, you need fire, police, medical services, you'd call the Palo Pinto Sheriff's Office.
Troy Weatherhead:Which is 911 for the majority of part.
Charlie Shugart:Well, Troy, Diane, thanks for joining us today.
Troy Weatherhead:Thank you for having us.
Diane Davis:Thank you.
Charlie Shugart:Absolutely. So if anything sparked a tell me more vibe or left you a but what about thought, we're here for your questions. Again, you can email us at information@Brazos.org. So what other Brazos River water supply or lake questions are living rent free in your head? Don't hold back. Reach out. So we're gonna call it. Big thanks for tuning in to Unpacking the Brazos River.
Troy Weatherhead:Thank you.
Diane Davis:Have a good day.