3 of my 60-year-old buddies and I have completed the full 64 miles of the trail. The segment from South Plains to Monks Crossing is very scenic as it drops off the caprock and into the rolling plains, canyon breaks, and creek crossings. We have camped overnight at the Clarity Tunnel after an hour of 3 tornadoes, wind, rain, hail and intense close-in lightning; a typical West Texas weather sampler. The segment from Monks Crossing to Quitaque is slightly uphill and feels deceptively long. The segments from Quitaque to Estelline are varied, but mostly cut through red dirt farmland. We encountered very difficult red mud in places after the storm up at Clarity. The segment from Tampico Siding to Parnell station is fairly pretty, but Parks and Wildlife needs to mow it as of May 5, 2012; the dead sunflower stalks were too hard to pedal thru. Cactus and mesquite are growing up on the trail, so mowing is badly needed for that too. It was very special to see a large 4-5 pound bass in a creek pool under one of the crossing bridges on the Tampico-Parnell segment; also a very large mud turtle. The Parnell to Estelline segment was prettier than expected, with Grundy Canyon making a beautiful view down to the Red River. Also several tree "tunnels" over the trail were welcome shade and wind brakes. A baby rattlesnake along this segment made it known that the trail was his, not ours : )

All in all, this trail is a workout on the crushed rock rail bed. Once you git the hang of "surfing" the ruts it's not too bad. We figger we burn 4x calories over riding on a concrete path, so that's good.

The state park people are great, and even sent out a rescue ranger to git us after the tornado storm, just in case we were in trouble ... but he got stuck in the mud and had to be rescued himself. We were fine; just hunkered down with our bike helmets protecting us from flying rocks and small hail. A true West Texas experience !!!

I hiked the Trailway from South Plains to the Clarity Tunnel and back on Thursday, October 6, 2010. As noted in another review, the first few miles are pretty rough. In fact, the first 2.5 to three miles is like walking across a pasture with rocks. After those first three miles, however, it becomes pretty much a dirt road (still with quite a bit of rock) that appears to be used fairly frequently. Here, it also begins to parallel the canyon, providing regular views from right along the side of the canyon. From South Plains, it is about 12.8 miles to Clarity Tunnel, and mostly all down-hill, a fact I didn't truly realize until I turned around to go back to the truck.
About 6.8 miles from South Plains is the first official rest stop, the John Farris Station. Here you find a toilet and water supply. Although the printed literature for the trailway says not to count on finding water here, it was available when I went through. There is an additional toilet at Clarity Tunnel. On this hike, I did not encounter any other person. My total distance was 25.4 miles and it took me 10.5 hours.
Do not expect to find any trash containers on the trail. I picked up some trash others had left, but found no place to dispose of it.

On October 13, my 10-year old son and I hiked from Monk's Crossing to Clarity Tunnel, a distance of about 4.5 miles. The path here is very well maintained, with a crushed rock type surface. The bridges have recently been redone as well, though I'd be careful on a bike since some of the screws used are not completely flush with the surface of the boards. Although we saw a water container at this end of Clarity Tunnel, it did not have water in it.

I intend to continue hiking the Trailway to Estelline if possible, and will update my findings in later posts.

I recently drove from New Mexico to the Texas Panhandle specifically to ride the CCSPT. When I arrived, I learned that instead of the 64 miles listed on Websites, only 32 miles were available, as the 32 miles from Estelline to Turkey is not maintained. At the Turkey end it appears completely overgrown with grass. So I went to South Plains to ride to Turkey, but I bailed out after half a mile. The surface--large chunks of cinders and slag and tufts of grass--was all but unridable, even on my tough, fat-tired touring bike. It was like riding over RR ties. Later I was told at the Hotel Turkey (a great place) that other riders have complained about the trail being too rough. After I bailed, I had a great ride to Turkey on the rural roads--all paved, good shoulders, light traffic, and courteous drivers. But the trail itself was a bummer.

As a child growing up near the FW&D switchyard in Lubbock I am well familiar with the rail history
behind the Caprock Canyons State Park Trailway. The Ft. Worth and Denver railroad ran freight trains
from Lubbock to Childress via this line for years. My favorite steam engine #404 ran this line regularly
carrying freight and cotton from the Plains Co-op Oil Mill in Lubbock. I have often dreamed of walking
the old rail line and now have the opportunity to walk/ride at least part of it. There were only 2 or 3
railroad tunnels in the whole state of Texas and 2 are on the FW&D line to Childress.

"We’re very new to this bike-riding hobby so were a little wary of our ability with a rural ride. It was wonderful! The caprock scenery was beautiful with an awesome blue sky, the weather very pleasant, and the trail condition good. On Memorial Day morning, we rode from Monk’s Crossing to the Clarity Tunnel and back (approx. 10 miles – gentle incline up to the tunnel – “downhill” back from the tunnel). After a picnic lunch, we rode up the trail from Monk’s Crossing to the bridge. This trail is an easy drive over from Caprock Canyons State Park, one of Texas’ best kept secrets, a true beauty! The trail is a 90 min. drive from Lubbock and Texas Tech University, a perfect day trip. "

"We did an early October ""Harvest Moon"" night ride on this trail (probably in 1995) with a group mostly from the Dallas/Ft Worth area, and had a very nice ride. We rode about 30 miles of the trail, one way, in the Quitaque and Turkey area. I remember riding thru a tunnel with a bend in the tunnel. With the full moon, the tunnel was the only place we really needed lights. It was one of the most enjoyable rides I can recall. Fat tires are probably still the recommendation to do this ride. Unfortunately, the trail is probably very under-used, due to its rural location, with the Amarillo area, at about 1 1/2 hours away, being the nearest metro area."

Be sure to call the CapRock Canyons State Park and talk to a Ranger for conditions & to insure that the trail is open. I called today and was told that the trail is closed indefinitely from Turkey to Estelline/US287 (almost half the trail!) due to lack of funding / budget cuts from the State of Texas.

"Important note: The trail not currently maintained nor supported by the TXPWD from Turkey to Estelline due to budget cuts.

Anyone interested in hiking this trail should seriously evaluate the times listed on length of completion. Based upon that information I planned a three day hike from South Plains to Quitaque. I ended up day hiking from South Plains to Monk Crossing (17 miles) in 11 hours; what should have taken 16-20 based on TXPWD information. Information can provide for some logistical errors.

Trail has some great scenery and wildlife along with a few interesting facts. I saw more rabbits than I could count, several mule deer, biggest bull snake I've ever seen, lizards, numerous hawks, bats.

Three animal highlights were: 1) was priveleged to witness a hawk with his recently killed rabbit enjoying his meal in the middle of the trail. Flew off with it after about 5 minutes. Guess he didn't want to share ;) 2) Had the crap startled out of me by a mule deer that was 20 yards away that blended into Canyon wall so well that I didn't notice him while I was enamored with how squash covering the same incline got there. After gathering my wits I got to watch him bound up the 45 degree incline and cough on his dust 3)the bats in the Clarity tunnel.

A portion of the trail between Clarity Tunnel and John Farris provided a surprise that is not mentioned in any of the material in the internet. I'll let you discover it for yourself. If you're able to appreciate it ;)

Although it was June, there was a constant breeze. Wasn't until 2-3:30 PM that it got to be ""hot"". The breeze could mislead some to not realize the amount of water that is actually being evaporated via perspiration. I went through 2 liters of H2O between SP and JFS. Water is very important.

Ended up terminating the trip early due to injury at Monk's Crossing. The folks in the area are incredibly friendly and helpul. Two older couples out for a drive after dinner took me back into town and then onto the home of the folks that run the Caprock Home Center. The owner drove me back into town to open up the gated area to get my truck. 1st class people. You strongly recommend for shuttle service.

Feel free to contact for any suggestions on hiking the trail or information."

My husband and I biked 30 miles on this trailway. It wasbsolutly great. I hope more people will go there and understand what I mean.

"In the spring of this year, my friend Clark and I biked the whole trail in two days. The first day, we traveled the 32 miles from South Plains to Turkey. Our wives met us at Turkey where we stayed overnight in the historic Turkey Hotel Bed and Breakfast (the Internet special is $99 for dinner, lodging and breakfast).

The next morning we biked on to Estelline while the women slept in and then enjoyed the antique stores.

This is a great trail -- it's rougher than most. The Turkey to Estelline portion is not well traveled, but well worth the effort. We've seen badgers, deer, bats, turkeys. Watch out for the rattle snakes. I've run over more than one."

My wife and I rode this trail in mid-October and thoroughly enjoyed it -- even in a light mist. The scenery is great and it was a relatively easy ride for us. We are in our early 60's and have just started biking.

Carry a spare tube or a patch kits; there are some thorns along the trail.

This is an excellent trail. I rode from Quitaque to mile marker 292 (just pass the tunnel) and the next day from S. Plains to the Tunnel. Make sure you put the Slime in your tubes before you leave. An excellent place to stay is Hotel Turkey. The rooms are great and the price is excellent. I will be back to do the entire trailway.

"This was a fun and memorable ride! My wife, our 6-year-old son and I rode the Caprock Canyons State Park Trailway during mid-July 2004 while camping at the Caprock Canyons State Park campground. We rode our bikes south from the Monk's Crossing access station to the Quitaque Tunnel (9 miles round trip) one morning and north from Monk's Crossing to the Los Lingos Creek bridge (3.5 miles round trip) one afternoon.

We found the trailw in both directions to be well maintained and the crushed rock riding surface more than adequate for easy travel. We were concerned about the endurance level of our 6-year-old son, but he did superbly on a 20-inch, 6-speed mountain bike. It was pretty hot, however, so I carried a small rope in my backpack and I did have to pull him the last few miles of each ride. But even that was fun, for he fancied that his bike was a caboose and mine was a locomotive. After all, we were riding on a former railroad line.

I would recommend this rail-trail to any outdoor enthusiast, especially those with an interest in railroad history. I appreciated the interpretive panels that included historic photos. I only wished there were more.

Concerning wildlife, we didn't see any sheep, but we did see quite a few hawks and road runners, as well as a variety of lizards. We also saw an occasional stray cow.

It was a great family outing. We hope to return again in the future when we will perhaps be able to do more of the trail.

Happy Trails!"

"Don't attempt to ride this trail with a skinny-tired road bike! I rode the section from Quitaque to South Plains and back on a Vision R-40 recumbent with 2 inch knobbies at about 40 PSI. This set-up was adequate, but I really could have used a recumbent or MTB with full suspension. The trail surface is mostly this dark red gravel, and it is quite large in places (3 to 5 inch rocks!) This large gravel looks like the original railroad bed stuff, and is found especially around approaches and departures from the bridges. A few places had washboards, but mostly the surface wasn't too bad if you stay in one of the two main tracks.

The grading of this rail trail is near-perfect. From Quitaque to South Plains you gain about 600 feet in altitude, but the climb is so gradual, you hardly feel it. All the old railroad bridges are still intact, so there are no low water crossings.

The tunnel is full of deep wind-blown sand, not to mention hundreds of bats roosting on the rafters...but they won't bother you if you don't bother them.

At road crossings there are these narrow gates you have to go through, which are made more bothersome by the fact that they are way off to the side, where the goatheads are!

The last few miles near Quitaque are somewhat overgrown with thorn-bearing weeds. I stopped several times along the route to yank thorns from my tires, but none penetrated my thorn-resistant tubes. This is rough country--bring sturdy bike.

Finally, the views of the caprock escarpment are spectacular, and there are plenty of opportunities to see wildlife. I saw a bunch of large deer (antelope?) along the way. Bring a camera, and plenty of water, and a cell phone. This can be a very lonely trail."

"My 12-year old nephew and I recently completed the portion of the trail from the western end at South Plains to Quitaque. (A big thanks to an earlier reviewer who posted the name and phone number of the folks at Caprock Home Center who shuttled us to South Plains.)

Even with a steady headwind, the gentle downward slope made it a relatively easy, enjoyable ride -- a perfect outing for my pre-teen companion.

The red rock formations of the caprock canyons were spectacular, and we sighted lots of wildlife, including mule deer, turkey, and a golden eagle (near mile marker 292). The Clarity Tunnel was a real treat. We could hear the chirping of the bats as we walked our bikes through the tunnel.

In the summer months, get an early start to avoid the heat. Park Rangers advised us that temperatures reached 105 the day before we arrived although only reaching 90 on the day of our ride. The water tanks along the route were stocked but take plenty of your own just in case. The portion of the trail that we biked was in excellent condition.

You certainly don't have to worry about crowded conditions. Other than a rancher tending his cattle, we didn't see another soul on the trail the entire day. We thoroughly enjoyed the day and are planning a return trip to camp near Clarity Tunnel to watch the daily bat flight.

In a nutshell, the portion of the trailway through Quitaque Creek was beautiful and the biking was easy to moderate. This is an underutilized gem. As a side note, we also spent some time biking the trails in the nearby Caprock Canyons State Park. The Canyon Rim Trail near the Honey Flats camping area was a fun, non-technical single-track with some great scenery. The camp sites in the State Park were very nice and well maintained.

We'll be back!"

The section to visit is the 24 miles from South Plains (western end) to Quitaque. This passes through TERIFFIC Texas Rough Canyons. Call Roland at the Caprock Home Center in Quitaque (806) 455-1193 and he will shuttle you to South Plains so you can ride one way downhill back to Quitaque.

This section of the trail is very well maintained and water tanks are stocked.

"The amazing caprock, mule deer and aoudad sheep, sandhill cranes, 46 bridges, and a railroad tunnel - what's not to like?

Well, both of the times I've been on the trail ('97, '99), the state park system was only maintaining about 20% of it's length: from the parking lot at Quitaque over Los Lingos Creek and thru the tunnel to the horse trough & restroom. They were allowing the remaining 50 miles of trail to grow up in waist high vegitation and sandburrs. It might be enjoyable if you were riding a camel. "