Houston, TX: Richards Loop
Best in the cooler months, this easy 6.4-mile hike links creeks, rolling hills, and woodlands in Sam Houston National Forest.
Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ Sign up for Outside+ today.
Trail Facts
- Distance: 10.1
- Miles from city center: 76
Waypoints
RLT001
Location: 30.538703918457, -95.7850494384766
Head E from Richards Trailhead following white-blazed aluminum rectangles
RLT002
Location: 30.5379867553711, -95.782844543457
Turn R and follow orange-and-white blazed Little Lake Creek Trail S over a flat forest of mixed hardwood
RLT003
Location: 30.5304584503174, -95.7793350219726
Cross pipeline trace; descend toward creek. At sunup and sunset, endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers thump for food and hang near their hollowed-out nests in longleaf loblolly pines
RLT004
Location: 30.5140743255615, -95.7773361206055
Cross FR 203; drop into small brook and back up to knoll
RLT005
Location: 30.5085163116455, -95.7630386352539
Bear L onto purple-and-white-blazed West Fork Trail; descend hillside
RLT006
Location: 30.5105438232422, -95.7588500976562
Turn L; cross seasonal creekbed
RLT007
Location: 30.5157203674316, -95.7625350952148
Recross pipepline trace and leave creekbed
RLT008
Location: 30.5173034667969, -95.7613525390625
On L, pass pond ringed by trees
RLT009
Location: 30.5250358581543, -95.7656936645508
Cross FR 203 again, then Bay Branch (usually dry)
RLT010
Location: 30.5362968444824, -95.7808074951172
Pond on R. Close loop in .2 mi. @ WPT 2; go R .1 mi. to car
