Lake Bryan East Loop

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

This counter-clockwise route takes riders for a full tour of the East Loop At Lake Bryan. The trails have been well ridden and maintained for over a decade, giving them some nice sections of flow. There's also a handful of rooty sections that require a little technical skill to clean. During the warmer months a bit of sand can build up, so watch your turns.

As an added bonus, there's a lake house with cold beer and ice water at the end of the ride. The hours can be a little weird, but when they are open, you may get lucky on a summer weekend and catch a live band while watching the sunset from their deck.

It's important to note that the land is owned by Bryan Texas Utilities. Bikers are allowed on the property as long as their presence doesn't contribute to damage to the levee or surrounding area. Trail erosion easily occurs when trails are ridden when muddy - stay off of the trails when wet, so bikers can continue to recreate here.

Stay off trails when muddy. The area is susceptible to heavy rutting and trails may be closed for long periods as a result of misuse.

From the parking area, head south past the fee booth. You'll very quickly arrive at a four-way intersection, head to the left and ride the levee for a short distance until you see some singletrack to your right marked by a yellow sign. Hop on Roller Coaster and you're on your way!

The fast and twisty singletrack starts with a small jump as you enter the woods before leading into some gully dips and climbs. Pretty soon you'll start in on Wildflower Alley, but after about twenty feet, take a right at the fork to follow the tight twists and turns of Octopus. There are a number of steep off camber rollers and this is probably the most "technical" part of the trail system.

At the exit of Octopus, turn right to return to Wildflower Alley for a clear pedal that meets a fire road directly across from the Munnerlyn Loop. Just a little ways in you'll reach a "Y" in the trail. You can head straight to stay on Munnerlyn Loop, but it's worth heading right to add a little extra mileage via the optional Loop De Loop trail. After several turns, Loop De Loop spits you back on the fire road. Simply turn left until you find the singletrack turning back into the trees, this will soon wind back to Munnerlyn Loop, where a right turn keeps the flowing singletrack going.


Munnerlyn Loop also ends on the fire road. Here you'll see a teeter totter straight ahead of you as well as a trail map. Pay attention, because the intersection looks like you should proceed straight on an optional cutoff. Riders should turn right instead to head down Turbo Road until it connects with New Cut on the left. After New Cut, turn right on the road for a short distance until you find a singletrack entrance on your left.

This is Rat Maze and it keeps the tight twisty flavor going, but also adds some good sprint climbs and descents for some extra momentum. Where Rat Maze ends, look for the start of the Game Trail across the road. This easy going trail makes two large turns before traveling north below the levee where it ends across from Sunset Strip. Follow the singletrack into the woods for some winding turns that return along the reservoir before crossing back over the road onto Sunset to Peaceful Woods.

Continue south, below the levee, to eventually make a series of twists and turns around the sluice way before connecting onto the Peaceful Woods trail. Like the name implies, this relaxed trail winds through a pleasant, albeit small, grove of trees as the ride begins to winds down. Last Call follows directly after Peaceful Woods, and this final trail continues through the woods before climbing up onto the levee.

From here, turn left until you reach the paved road and then retrace your way back to the parking area.

Practically every trail at Lake Bryan is fairly tight and definitely twisty. This is some of the best tight and twisty trail in Texas. It will challenge you to maintain speed through corners and accelerate out of corners. The way this system is sectioned, there are plenty opportunities to bail if one decides to not ride the entire system. A two-track atop the dam will take you back to the entrance and parking area, on all but Sunset Strip; just turn left at the top of the dam. Feel free to jump in the lake after a summer ride, and catch some food at the lakeside restaurant or a really good handmade burger at the Top Of The Hill Grocery store around the north side of the lake on Texas OSR Highway. There is plenty of tent camping and a few RV spots if you want to camp instead of staying in the college town which is home to Texas A&M University.

The trails are over a decade old and have been maintained and built by the Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Association.


The owners of the land are not very supportive of the mt biking and have leased out parts of the land for oil pads to be put in. This kept riders off the trail for much of 2014 which led to quite a bit of overgrowth. The owners also insisted that having trails on the edge of the levee harms the levee (or something) so they had to be removed. This forced some interesting and unfortunate trail reroutes.