Mar

Exploring Trails: A Photo Essay on Schulle Canyon

We set off on an adventure to hike Schulle Canyon, which is nestled in a quiet neighborhood close to Texas State University. This is a wonderful trail for families with young children, persons with limited mobility, pets on leashes, and bird watchers. The trail is made of crushed limestone and is a half mile in distance. Nate and Nayeli found the trail easy to navigate, and we were able to walk through the trails twice, allowing both of them to guide us through, highlighting new discoveries.

Red buckeye

We met a friendly volunteer who educated us on the various non-native invasive and native plants found in this area. Along the trail, we spotted ligustrum, Johnson grass, and Chinaberry. You can see the hours of hard work volunteers put into clearing the green space for hikers as there are piles of invasive plants and brush all along the trail. This trail is waking to spring with the blooms of Texas mountain laurel, red buckeye, and nature’s symphony.

You don’t want to forget your binoculars for the Warbler Walk trail. There is a beautifully crafted bird viewing station to sit in peacefully so you can enjoy listening to nature’s sounds and watch birds and creatures in their natural habitat.

The bird viewing station provides shade for viewers, seating, and a bird-watching guide. We created a sketch journal and talked about the birds that have been seen in this area: warblers, kinglets, wrens, thrushes, woodpeckers, cardinals, and chickadees.

Birdwatching is a great opportunity to practice patience, quiet time, mindfulness, and observation skills with your family. As we sat in the bird station sketching, we discussed the rainwater harvest system that is customized perfectly to provide water to animals and birds in the area.

Along Virginia Witte Way, there is a guided book for children along the trail; every few steps there is a new page of the book to read together. My heart was filled with joy after learning this trail is dedicated to a beloved teacher at San Marcos High School. As I walked along reading the story to my children, I reminisced on Mrs. Witte’s kindness and bright smile showering the hallways. A trail fostering the love of reading, learning, and bonding is a fitting and beautiful way to honor her.

If you are looking for a way to spend Spring Break with your family, this is a short, easy trail to take your children on to observe nature, explore a new hobby, read a book, and spend time together exploring trails!