Lone Star Hiking Trail: Winters Bayou and Tarkington Section

Sam Houston National Forest (FM 945 to FM 1725, near Cleveland)

The eastern end of the Lone Star Hiking Trail passes Double Lake Recreation Area, the Big Creek Scenic Area, and the Winters Bayou Scenic Area. Wikipedia’s Winters Bayou/Tarkington Creek Area covers about 27 miles, from the FM 945 trailhead at South Butch Arthur Road east to Double Lake, south through Big Creek, and southwest through Winters Bayou to the trail’s end near Cleveland.

It’s also the only part of the trail with National Recreation Trail status, according to Wikipedia and the National Recreation Trails database.

The hike

The big obstacle comes early. Texas Highways reports that the footbridge over the East Fork of the San Jacinto River has been out since 2005, and its writer waded a stretch about 15 feet across, several feet deep, cold, and murky. Nutty Hiker, on her 2019 thru-hike, puts the crossing shortly after mile 71 and says it means fording or swimming depending on water levels and can be impassable after extended rain. She took a ride around it, noting a pickup point at mile 70 on FS 2126 and a drop-off at mile 72 on FS 280D. Backpacking Routes says the Lone Star Hiking Trail Club documents a reroute.

Double Lake Recreation Area, with its 23-acre lake (Texas Highways), sits at about eastbound mile 75 by Backpacking Routes’ count, with a seasonal camp store. Wikipedia lists potable water there, though the 2024 closure order listed the campground as closed.

Beyond it, the trail runs through Big Creek Scenic Area, where the Forest Service says no camping is allowed. Texas Highways found the footbridges over Big Creek and other streams in good condition, and Nutty Hiker found the trail hard and compacted until Big Creek, with mud there and a mostly dry Tarkington section afterward.

Her water notes for this stretch list a good source about a mile from Trailhead 11, a reliable source just before a hiker’s camp at mile 75.5, another just past mile 79 before Trailhead 12, and reliable creeks around miles 84 and 85.5. Texas Highways quotes the district ranger describing the forest as a “primary management area” for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, with “the third-largest population in the southeastern United States.”

The Forest Service puts the eastern end near Montague Church on FM 1725 near Cleveland. For the rest of the trail, see the central section and the Lake Conroe section. For more East Texas backcountry, see Big Thicket’s Turkey Creek Trail.

Tips

Plan the East Fork crossing. Check water levels or arrange a ride around it.
Don’t camp in Big Creek Scenic Area.
Plan hunting-season nights around designated camps from Sept. 26 to Jan. 8.
Treat all water. CleverHiker says water is easier to find in winter and spring and that “the falls are quite dry.”
Check the closure order first (see the notice).

Camping

The Forest Service allows camping anywhere along the trail except in designated no-camping areas such as Big Creek Scenic Area, and from Sept. 26 to Jan. 8 only in designated camping areas. Texas Highways says those are hunter camps and 12 designated primitive hiker sites. The forest-wide occupancy order (08-13-00-25-001, through Dec. 31, 2027) limits stays to 14 days in 30, bans camping within 300 feet of developed parking, and caps sites at eight people and two tents.

Inside Intel: Nutty Hiker (2019) lists a hiker’s camp at mile 75.5 just after a reliable water source, and a hunter’s camp around mile 83.5, but she did not recommend the hunter’s camp on Shell Oil Road because of trash and nighttime traffic. No other camper accounts recommending a specific site were found.

Trail facts

Distance: About 27 miles (Wikipedia)
Route type: Point to point
Difficulty: Moderate; unbridged East Fork crossing
Campsites: Dispersed most of the year (not in Big Creek Scenic Area); designated camps Sept. 26 to Jan. 8
Water: Creeks and ponds; treat all water
Permits: None found for the trail
Dogs: Leash no longer than six feet
Trailheads: FM 945 at South Butch Arthur Road; eastern end on FM 1725 near Cleveland
Last verified: October 12, 2026

The Lowdown

Wading the East Fork of the San Jacinto:

The footbridge over the East Fork of the San Jacinto River has been out since 2005, and one writer waded about 15 feet of cold, murky water several feet deep. After long rain it can be impassable. Five tips for that ford.

See the water-crossing tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.