Return to Mary Moore Searight Park

nice south austin trail
User: jimmy peace - 7/16/2017  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2point5stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 1star
Distance: 3.20 Miles Duration: N/A
Low-key hike/walk with some nice woodsy bits
User: plectrudis - 3/25/2017  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3point5stars Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 5.14 Miles Duration: N/A

I had no idea this park was here, but it's certainly popular with the surrounding neighborhoods and apartment complexes, for whom it must be a very handy amenity.  

It feels a little decayed--some years ago, the park put in an extensive asphalt trail with periodic exercise stations, but now the surface is rutted and full of potholes, and for some reason all the trail maps have been removed.

It's certainly not neglected, though, as the trails are fairly busy with a mix of walkers, joggers, and dog-owners, and cyclists, plus there is a model airplane park that seems to get heavy traffic on the weekends.  Not a great choice for solitude, but it is a good choice for safety-conscious singletons, at least on a fine Saturday afternoon in spring.

Like most parks in Texas, it could use more trees, but it does have some nice wooded areas (maybe 1/3 of the trail is shaded?).  In addition to the asphalt trail, there are also unpaved trails that wander off into the woods, which are a little less walk-y and more hike-y, but on the whole, this is a pretty strollable, non-strenuous trail.

User: jimmy peace - 2/22/2015  [View Log Page]
Rating: 1point5stars Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A
Not many people out
User: Eveline - 8/2/2014  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2point5stars Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A

It was hot.  The trails were not well marked.  We sorta got lost.  Not real sure of our distance.

User: Jamie - 8/1/2014  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2point5stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A
User: crocodile235 - 5/16/2013  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 2point5stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: N/A
Did a volksmarching event with lots of other people.
User: Eveline - 11/17/2012  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3point5stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: halfstar
Distance: 6.20 Miles Duration: N/A

It was great.  Trails were well marked for us.  We didn't get lost.  Nice overlook of Slaughter Creek.

Peaceful neighborhood trail
User: tarrains - 3/27/2012  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: N/A

The difficulty rating is higher if you do the excersise points throughout the trail. Flat terrain and the trails can be slightly confusing. Joggers and disc golfers enjoy.

User: austinali27 - 10/31/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 7.00 Miles Duration: N/A

my friend and i got lost....very very lost.  :(  ended up in a neighborhood and walked out to slaughter.  why isn't anything marked?!

Best South Austin hike I've been on
User: texaskdog - 2/18/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 7.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes

This wasn't in my 60 hikes book but turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  Easy to get lost here as we wound up going out of the park on the SE and winding up on a city street.  Trees, a nice creek that is crossable on the dam.   I'd rate this a 3.5 if I could split the difference.

nice walk
User: sandew - 5/17/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 5.78 Miles Duration: 2 hours

mostly paved trails, the view of Slaughter creek was impressive.   It was  a river, maybe because of the rains yesterday, but a pleasant surprise after seeing Barton creek the last couple of weeks during hikes.  Lots of trees plus the cool weather made it a very pleasant walk.

This is a really nice trail.
User: TristanPieper - 4/21/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Its not nearly as congested as the Town lake trail and ont he southern part where slaughter creek is the trail is green and beautiful.

Its definately worth a visit. Take you kids and a lunch an eat down by the creek.

Make sure you stay out of hte creek though, I dont htink its the best place to swim.

Great find for weekday walk
User: acanderson - 3/15/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour

This park and its trails, one of which is paved, are a great option for a South Austin weekday walk. I was happy to see the "Vita Course," I think they call it, of exercise stations along the paved trail. Good inspiration to get in some upper body work!

Very easy, flat trail but as others have noted, the many dirt trails can be confusing. Lots of people there on the weekend for playground, disc golf, dog walking and some kind of knightly battle. Those folks seemed to be having a lot of fun with their foam shields and "swords."

I felt safe there alone, but would not linger after dark.

Saturday Afternoon Visit
User: DirectionlyImpaired - 11/8/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 1.50 Miles Duration: 1 hour

Park is close to home so I tried it again.  I did not get lost this time but I am not sure that was a good thing.

I kept to the largest "paths" but they were close to noise sources.  It is a nice place to hike with paths that vary greatly but it is not well marked and there are few places to sit and rest of enjoy the peace.

Bring your GPS
User: DirectionlyImpaired - 10/4/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 5stars
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours, 15 minutes

The hike was enjoyable but I had a hard time finding my way back to the entrance.  I got to watch several critters and listen to various songs including birds, the wind and a high school band practicing.   

Good
User: smeevil - 4/1/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 minute

The trail was hard to follow/figure out.  Parts of it were interesting such as a clearing with an old tractor engine and a filled in well.  The dam that wasn't damming anything was fun to walk on, and there were trails after that.  The exercise "equipment" on the main trail made it more interesting.  Overall, a fun trail worth trying, just not at night.

Wildflowers
User: Ruslanchik - 3/25/2007  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: 30 minutes
There's a field in the middle of the jogging loop that is specifically desinated as a "Wildflower Area." With all the rains recently I expected it to be full of flowers. There were a lot of Bluebonnets, which made the short work worthwhile. Maybe later in the season there will be more variety.
A Sunny Walk w/ Geocache
User: tone - 12/31/2006  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: halfstar Solitude: 2point5stars
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: N/A
I was sort of lost getting to the park at first, so I got out my GPS and dialed in the way point for the geocache listed on this website for this hike. I took a bunch of side roads and eventually found a back entrance for the park. First item on the agenda was to find the geocache. That wasn't too difficult. I did some bushwhacking because I wasn't on the best trail, but eventually found a better trail, then finally the cache itself. After signing in, I stopped at the creek and sat. There were two fat geese on the other side of the water. As I watched the leaves and debris float down the creek, I turned my head to see two turtles treading water—one adult and one child. They were too cool! After about a full minute, I shifted moved, and the turtles bolted down into the water. I ended up hiking for about two hours. I dropped down to the creek to look around. The sun was brilliant and helped keep me warm. Not a lot of people at first, but on the main paths I saw perhaps 6 to 10 people.
User: lancescape - 11/23/2006  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: N/A
User: Haleyms - 1/29/2006  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 1point5stars
Distance: 3.50 Miles Duration: N/A
A wonderful trail, but a bit confusing
User: Haleyms - 1/20/2006  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 3point5stars
Distance: 1.50 Miles Duration: N/A
I seriously thought I was lost in this park. There are so many trails and I took one off to the side. It took me a while to find my way back to the main trail, but overall it was a beautiful park and I had a wonderful day.
User: nowheregirl - 10/1/2005  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3point5stars Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 1point5stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: N/A
Lots of people around. But a pretty hike none the less
Nice paved loop trail
User: figment - 10/17/2004  [View Log Page]
Rating: N/A Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 1point5stars
Distance: 1.00 Mile Duration: N/A
I only hiked the paved loop trail today, but will be back to explore the dirt trails later. This is a very nice, out of the way, city park. Very quiet today (Sunday), only a few other people using the trail system.
Nice overall
User: budrow - 10/4/2004  [View Log Page]
Rating: N/A Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 2point5stars
Distance: 4.50 Miles Duration: N/A
It was nice overall, but it seemed like there was always something there to remind you that you are still in town.

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