Lost Maples Nature Area: Fall Color and So Much More!

Have the trees changed color? This is the curious question from a man about to hike into the Lost Maples Nature Area as we are coming out into the parking lot after a magical morning hiking the Lost Maples Trail and part of the East Trail. He had his camera around his neck and the look of someone who didn’t want to waste time if there was no fall color to photograph. He had probably been here many times, but for us, this was the first time and I will never forget it.

We drove through Bandera and Medina and arrived at the nature area about 9:00 in the morning. The air was slightly chilly and a blue gray fog hovered over the tree tops. It has been many years since we hiked. This is only our second recent hike so I am no expert, but I have noticed if you get to the trail fairly early in the morning it feels as if you are alone in nature. By 11:30 or so there are people coming and going on the trails and it’s more sociable. There are greetings and sometimes questions about the trail. We stopped to take several photos of this large iridescent spider web covered in dew. As a huge fan of E.B. White’s children’s book, Charlotte’s Web, I am always interested in a well-made spider web! A man close behind us on the trail paused and we shared our find with him. He was amazed at the site as well and stayed behind to take some photographs of his own.

As we hiked we came upon several gigantic roundish mossy rocks that appeared to have fallen off the cliffs a long time ago and came to rest. The boulders were sitting on smaller rocks with water seeping around them. The water, I learned, is the Sabinal River; an uncommon type of river as it starts in the Lost Maples Natural Area and flows out of the limestone in fissure springs, sometimes sinking underground and then rising up again further along the trail. In the quiet of the morning I could hear it gurgling faintly. At times the trail runs over smooth river rocks and you have to look for the best path. My hiking sticks gave me stability as I walked on wet rocks over shallow waters.

I liked hiking on the larger rocks in water. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced.

The bigtooth maples are the “lost maples”. They grow here in the canyons. The literature noted they may be found in other canyons in Texas, but not on public land where we can see them easily. The Lost Maples are legendary in the Texas Hill Country and I believe, well worth seeing. The fall color is most visible between mid-October and mid-November and if you look at the website online you can find a weekly report on the progress of the color. We were fortunate to see the maples as they were in transition, part red, yellow, and green.

I felt as if I were hiking in an Enchanted Forest. The maples were breathtaking. There were also Texas Madrones, sycamores, and Texas persimmons among others. There were unusual root formations, including this one with a rock embedded in the roots. I was fascinated by this growth on the side of the tree; looks like an alligator head to me!

At one point the trees cleared and we found ourselves in a field of golden grass bordered by ash junipers

A wonderful morning! I had packed a picnic of Caesar salad broken down in separate bags to stay fresh; lettuce with Parmesan, sliced grilled chicken, salad dressing, croutons. My husband had created his own trail mix of almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews, and  cranberries toasted lightly in olive oil. A super custom blend! It would have been a pretty elegant picnic if not for the wind and the misting rain. I had suggested we sit at the picnic table and write in our journals, but we ate hastily with the tablecloth flapping and then huddled up in the car to write. I can’t wait to return and hike further on the trails of the Lost Maples Nature Area!