Harper’s Horsepen Branch Maintenance

Come join Master Naturalist Stephen Hughes on a hike through the trails along Harper’s Horsepen Branch. Pick up litter as you hike from the Harper’s Landing Park, to the head of the creek, then hike along some wooded trails. The hike will take you to a lake north of the creek, for a rest and enjoying the view. After that, hike to the 3/4 mark of the creek and head down a side trail to access one of the more scenic locations along the creek. Then continue to the West Fork of the San Jacinto, for a rest stop and to enjoy the river, before making the hike back.

Expect a 5 mile (round trip) hike through well-worn trails with a few spots of mud, sand, or medium to tall grass. The hike will take a while depending on rest periods and amount of invasives and maintenance to be done, so be sure to come prepared.

There is invasive Japanese Climbing Fern in some areas of the creek bed. For those willing to get extra dirty, we will need to do regular maintenance in their primary growth areas.

Additional pointers from Stephen:

Bring a couple of your old grocery bags or another form of disposable bag and fill them up with litter as you go. We will backtrack along the same trails so you can leave the bags along the trail and pick them up as we return so you aren’t carrying as large a load.

I recommend a short sleeve shirt, jeans, a hat of some kind, and comfortable shoes you don’t mind getting dirty. Bring your preferred bug spray (stronger is recommended), plenty of water, a snack or lunch, a towel to sit on, and some grocery bags to collect trash. A small hiking bag or backpack should hold everything you need.

There are ticks in these woods, so make sure you spray your bag and the openings of your clothing to minimize the risk.

We will meet at Harper’s Landing Park located at: 2 Blair Bridge Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77386 by 9:00 a.m. underneath the awning to the left of the pool.

VMS code: RM: Other locations (Harper’s Horsepen Branch)