Travel - Day Hikes in Central Texas - Mother Neff
Mother Neff State Park is a small-to-medium park located between Waco and Gatesville in central Texas. Like much of the modern Texas State Park system, it owes its existence to Civilian Conservation Corps labor in the 1930s, and many of the CCC structures are still on site, including as a rental cabin which we did not use but could be useful as a getaway. We went there as part of our continuing program to acclimate the kids to hiking. The hiking trails at Mother Neff range from extremely easy mowed trails across level grassland to short periods of moderate-difficulty trails across rocky ground. The overall difficulty, and trail length, for taking the largest and most-difficult currently open trail loop, is easy, about four miles, with plenty of opportunities to stop and look around, so it is an excellent entry-level hike for children, dogs, et cetera, and in March-April it is generally temperate and cool enough not to become a grueling exercise in self-flagellation....