Description for Reveille Peak Ranch RPR
Reveille Peak is a 1300 acre private working ranch. The Trails will be mountain bike specific and will be open to the mountain biking public, in a model similar to Rocky Hill, Warda, and Flat Rock in Comfort.
Info about the ranch:
http://www.rprtexas.com/
The property is located a few miles west of Burnet, near Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake and Canyon of the Eagles. The terrain is fabulous and will feature a riding experience completely different from any other trail in the Austin area. It is on the Llano Uplift featuring huge granite domes and outcroppings, rocky creeks, craggy canyons and wooded valleys. A high ridge, 1250 - 1300 ft, provides "slick rock" riding opportunities and fantastic views of Lake Buchanan and the Hill Country. A quarry lake is available for swimming and a small primitive camping area will be constructed. The initial phase of the project is to build an 8-10 mile loop by the end of the year.
Comments/Reviews for Reveille Peak Ranch RPR
1. Young Trail but Epic Potential
by drc, Saturday, February 05, 2011 6:41 PM
| Overall Review: | 5 of 5 |
| Technical Difficulty: | 5 of 5 |
| Aerobic Difficulty: | 3 of 5 |
From a mountain biker's point of view. what makes RPR unique-- and awesome-- is that it sits on the Llano Uplift, an area of exposed granite in Llano and Mason Counties. Enchanted Rock and its surrounding granite plutons, as well as the formations at Inks Lake State Park, are part of this same uplift.
In a nutshell, RPR is as close to Moab as you can get in Texas. Like some of the trails in Moab (Sovereign, in my opinion, is the most similar), the trails at RPR consist of part dirt track but also a lot of "slickrock" riding over the exposed granite. As with real slickrock, you will find that you are able to defy gravity and clean stuff that you couldn't even approach if it was on limestone. There is a lot of advanced stuff at RPR, but in general, it's a lot more approachable by intermediate-level riders than the advanced stuff in other parts of the Hill Country.
No part of RPR is particularly fast, at least not at the moment. Even when a trail loses more elevation than it gains, it will still undulate up and down, and often there are technical obstacles preventing one from achieving a lot of speed.
Most of the trails at RPR are brand new, constructed by the Ridge Riders and others in 2010. Thus, one of the main difficulties out there is simply finding the trail. There is no real "trail" per se on the granite-- it's free-form, but like Moab, there is a painted dashed line to indicate the general flow. Unfortunately, however, the dashed line desperately needs to be repainted. It's currently very easy to lose the trail if you get even a few feet off of it. There is also no signage as of this writing.
The feel of this trail is like none other and will take some getting used to. Once it gets ridden enough to pack in the dirt and clarify the lines, and once proper signage is added, RPR has the potential of being the most epic ride Texas has to offer.
Refer to the park map and/or the GPS track to navigate the winding ranch road that leads back to the singletrack. The black, unnamed singletrack on the map is a windy, 8-mile intermediate-level loop that mostly consists of flowy dirt track but also features some short granite sections and occasional technical obstacles, such as granite rock gardens, gunsights, and a few intermediate-level ledges.
The Upper Loop singletrack (~2.6 miles), which departs from and returns to the black singletrack, is a difficult intermediate trail with some advanced moments. This is the trail that will remind you the most of Moab. It starts with a climb of about 200' over 1.5 miles to get up onto the granite dome. From there, it winds around the dome, exposing the rider to quite a few granite ledges, rollers, sharp transitions, and a few gravity-defying climbs and drops before returning back to the black singletrack.
The Lower Loop (~2 miles), which lies north and west of the Upper Loop, departs to the south of the black singletrack, winds up onto the granite to the south, then crosses the black singletrack to do another loop through the granite to the north of it. Both loops are advanced, and the north one has some obstacles which, by all rights, should probably be labeled expert.
Upon exiting the Lower Loop, ride briefly west to the 4-way junction with a ranch road. You can head south on this road to access the scenic overlook at Peak 1283 and to access the top of Super D. Super D is a bit of a misnomer. Although it does lose more elevation than it gains, it is a cross-country trail, not a downhill trail. It does have a fair bit of climbing. In general, it is technically advanced and has at least one expert obstacle.
Combining all the options makes a 13-mile ride with about 1600' of elevation gain/loss.
2. RPR - One of the area's best
by singletrack, Monday, February 21, 2011 8:03 AM
| Overall Review: | 5 of 5 |
| Technical Difficulty: | 4 of 5 |
| Aerobic Difficulty: | 3 of 5 |
I had the chance to ride RPR yesterday, overall the trail is really good, probably one of the best in Texas, however it does need some more burn in time, the trail is hard to follow in places and the double black diamond trails are pretty much unrideable due to the fact that they have hardly been ridden, you will start to follow them and quickly realize you are no longer on the trail.
RPR has TONS of potential and endless amounts of slick rock. The trail reminds me of a combination of parts of western Colorado and Moab, specifically Holy Cross, Sovereign and places on Porcupine (without the huge fall exposure).
Many have referred to RPR as offering Freeride and Downhill, both of which is not the case, there is a ton of climbing and you would be miserable on a DH or BigHit bike, even the Super D course does not require a large travel bike.
The overall flow is good, although they have some areas that need work, for instance the main trail dead-ends into a huge boulder that is not rideable and requires a dismount, there are a couple of other annoying features like that, otherwise it is well thought out. I think it will be a regular place for central Texans to ride and even has the potential to be a destination trail.
3. posted from iPhone
by Todd, Monday, February 21, 2011 5:17 PM
| Overall Review: | 5 of 5 |
| Technical Difficulty: | 0 of 5 |
| Aerobic Difficulty: | 0 of 5 |
I rode this trail after the big "Tour de Ranch" enduro race and super-D. The single track is well worn-in and easy to follow. The race loop is mostly non-technical blue with some smatterings of slickrock, designed of course, not to kill the rider starting his fifth lap in a six hour endurance race. It is still very flowy and challenging with some tricky switchbacks and rock gardens, but all reminiscent of a cross-section of typical Texas terrain.
That is where the familiarity ends. Take the upper loop and you will forget you are in Texas as you find yourself on a spaghetti bowl of slickrock trails weaving around on a large granite dome. This section is a mix of the fabled Moab Slickrock trail and Porcupine Rim sans the 500 foot drop of death on your right shoulder. There are some very difficult sections that require confidence and excellent bike handling skills. There are narrow gunsights in the middle of climbs or descents, ledges abounding and drops everywhere, narrow rock bridges with crevices on either side begging you to bury your fork to the bars, tricky cornering between and amid boulder-fields, and a continuously undulating rock surface that begs you to lean too far forward to send you on your face for a generous donation of blood and teeth to the Granite-Gods. In short, the best section of trail in Texas.
The Super-D is not a downhill/freeride type course. Once you understand that, you can get out there with a big travel all mountain rig and enjoy yourself. It is not a high-speed course either. It is however a mostly gravity-assisted technical exercise in descending very steep extended drops, burmed cornering, rock gardens, and a fairly serious gap-jump at the end where, on race days, an ambulance is staged. Apparently, anything below 8 minutes on the 1.5 mile descent is mercurially quick.
140mm plus front and rear travel bikes have the easiest time clearing everything without a dab, though my guide was on a full-rigid 1x9 and cleaned 90% of the obstacles. Mindset and momentum are worth much here.
Bring lots of water and sunscreen if you plan on riding the dome trails as there is no shade and summers here will lend for some brutal afternoon sun and heat. Elbow pads will also save you in the narrows as you will scrape your arms on granite walls at some point.
The ranch has showers, camping, night-riding (prepare to die), and a pavilion that can handle a meetup of many dozens. Parking is excellent. The trails are now well marked. There is an entry fee but it is worth it.
In a word, go ride this trail.
-Desert Nomad
4. About as epic as Texas gets
by gotdurt, Friday, June 24, 2011 8:41 AM
| Overall Review: | 5 of 5 |
| Technical Difficulty: | 3 of 5 |
| Aerobic Difficulty: | 3 of 5 |
I grew up mountain biking in the 80's/90's in the Houston/ Huntsville area... after graduating college, I took a couple of weeks and explored CO, UT and AZ, only to return to Texas and hang-up my bike. A year later, I moved to Arizona to spend a few years *really* enjoying my mtb and dirtbike. I finally moved back to Texas (Austin) for family reasons, and while I continued to ride a little, it just wasn't the same; that epic, big-ride feel I got on nearly every trail in Arizona, that fed my soul in such a big way, just wasn't here, even in the hill country.
Enter RPR... I saw pictures of this new place online that sparked fading memories of Porcupine Rim and National Trail, so my riding buddy and I loaded up for a 30 minute drive from Leander (just a few months earlier we had driven 16 hours just to ride the National Trail in Phoenix) to see what was there.
The trail was still pretty freshly cut at that point in time (this was the first open weekend), but with the map and close attention to the trail in areas, we managed to follow it without too much confusion... I expect by now that it is well burned-in and easier to follow.
Overall, a fantastic ride that actually delivered that 'feeling' I've been missing in Texas. There are big views as you wind through boulders and giant granite monoliths on slickrock-like trails, roller coasters in forests, and some good rock gardens... there were ever a couple of parts where I had deja vus of riding in Sedona.
As far as challenges go, there are lots of moderate sections to keep you entertained without interrupting the ride, although I felt some really great potential technical sections were bypassed in some places; I'd like to see some alternate technical options added in some of these places, especially in the slickrock areas. The trails are still young though, and it's already the best ride in Texas, and will only get better, I'm sure.
5. A must ride for any Texas moun
by Taintpretty, Sunday, June 26, 2011 10:35 AM
| Overall Review: | 5 of 5 |
| Technical Difficulty: | 3 of 5 |
| Aerobic Difficulty: | 4 of 5 |
We made the trip out to Burnett and we were blown away at how nice the facility and $10 to ride here but the trails are nothing like any other trail system in Texas.
If you have never ridden on granite it is like riding on sandpaper. Amazing traction and a great change from the limestone that dominates the Hill Country trails. Hard to call it slickrock, but they are quite a few sections you'll encounter that have no cracks but a wide variety of undulations that require a quick eye to pick the right line.
There are some distinct differences on the trails. When you hit the Upper Loop you will either love your chance to show off your technical skills, or you will learn where you are lacking. Walls, shelves, drops, squeezes are all waiting on you. The hardest part is to look far enough ahead to pick the best line. When you finally hit the Race Loop section you will get a chance to get out of your small ring and get some speed, but be ready for a sudden downshift and a granite bubble to attack. If you want to increase the difficulty do it in the summer. Your pedals will be lighter from scraping granite.
One girl we passed along the way described it best between gasping for air as "crazy fun', I fully agree.
A few sign posts along the way are something that will likely appear in the fututre. Not many intersections but some will be left guessing as ot which way to go. Nice to have access to some bike accessories and it looks like they have some nice rentals.
The facilities are easily the nicest I have ever seen at a place like this. Great chance to cool off afterwords and shower up. BYOB and bring your own soap as well. Have a few brews in the pavilion after the ride and look at the smiles of the riders and you too will be hooked.
We'll be camping here to get in multiple rides. Nothing fancy there but people can hang at the pavilion at night and meet new friends.
Check the website to be sure they are not having an adventure race or if open to the public.
6. posted from iPhone
by maverickisme, Friday, March 30, 2012 6:21 PM
| Overall Review: | 5 of 5 |
| Technical Difficulty: | 0 of 5 |
| Aerobic Difficulty: | 0 of 5 |
Best riding in TX...flow track is awesome.