Welcome to the Goodwater Loop and thank you for watching my video. This 26.2 mile Loop Trail circles around Lake Georgetown, located a little north of Austin, TX in Georgetown. I hiked this trail once before and ran into a sweet lady named Vivian who alerted me to the history of the area where Lake Georgetown is located. When I got home, I started reading all about the history of the area and was completely amazed. From there, this became a little passion project for me and I couldn’t wait to learn all I could then return to the trail and make this video to share with all of you.

Below are some links and info that you should find helpful and I’ll add more info in here as people ask good questions in the comments.

One of the most heartbreaking things about editing this was cutting out content that I felt was interesting, but had to go to keep the video from getting too long.
One of the interesting topics I had to cut was about Georgetown Flint (Georgetown Gray or Blue). It’s a steel gray or dark blue colored flint and you’ll see a lot of it between Mile Markers 1 and 0. The interesting thing about this type of Chert/Flint is that it can only be found in the Georgetown area. The Natives highly prized this stuff, making things like arrowheads, jewelry and other tokens out of it, and since this flint can only be found around Georgetown, items made from it found far away showed just how far their trade routes went.
Here’s a couple links where you can learn more about it.
History: https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/pl....
Pictures of both the Gray and Blue colors: https://www.etsy.com/market/georgetow...

Maps
Topo Map (shown in video): https://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...
Basic Map with some trail rules: https://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...

Here’s some links to the Campgrounds and info about the 3 Backpacker Camps. I’m listing these in counter-clockwise order, since that’s the direction this video was hiked.

Cedar Breaks: Full Campground with RV Hookups, Potable Water, Real Restrooms, Electricity, Picnic Benches, and Fire Rings.
Reservations: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/ca...
Campground Map: https://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...

Overlook Park: Wild Camping (free), Potable Water, Real Restrooms, Vehicle Access to parking lot only. This area is highly trafficked.

Jim Hogg Park: Full Campground with RV Hookups, Potable Water, Real Restrooms, Electricity, Picnic Benches, and Fire Rings.
Reservations: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/ca...
Campground Map: https://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...
Dropped Pin for that cut-through to the campground for water: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dbDWH2cYKjaGs...

Russell Park: Full Campground with RV Hookups, Potable Water, Real Restrooms, Electricity, Picnic Benches, and Fire Rings.
Reservations: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/ca...
Campground Map: https://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...

Walnut Spring Camp: Backpacker Campsites (free), Picnic Tables, Hang Hooks, Fire Rings, No Potable Water, No Restrooms, No Electricity, plenty of flat areas for tents, a really beautiful place and verified not haunted. No Vehicle Access.

Tejas Camp: Primitive Walk-up Campsites only (parking area is nearby, within view), Picnic Tables, Hang Hooks, Fire Rings, Level Tent Pads, Potable Water, Vault Toilets. No Electricity.
Reservations: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/ca...
Campground Map: https://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...

Sawyer Camp: Backpacker Campsites (free), Picnic Tables, Hang Hooks, Fire Rings, No Potable Water, Open Air Pit Toilets (poop with a view), No Electricity, very sloped…..not ideal for tents (a hammock hangers heaven), probably not haunted. No Vehicle Access.

Cedar Hollow: Backpacker Campsites (free), Picnic Tables, Hang Hooks, Fire Rings, No Potable Water, Open Air Pit Toilets (poop with a view), No Electricity, some sites are fairly flat and others are sloped…..much better for tent dwellers and verified not haunted. No Vehicle Access.

When I was planning my first hike on the Goodwater Loop, I found a blog by the Nutty Hiker very beneficial and helpful.
Here’s the link: https://nuttyhiker.com/goodwater-loop...