South Shore Park on Lake Bastrop opened its first mountain bike trail in June.

The new North-South Trailway is about five miles long and connects South Shore and North Shore parks.

Outdoor and mountain-bike aficionados asked for such a trail, and the LCRA Parks department happily obliged.

"It's got great scenery," says Susie Baxter-Harwell, supervisor for LCRA's Eastern Parks District.

"You ride through a pine forest, see Lake Bastrop up close and go over a new floating bridge built over a cove in the lake. There are some hills, too, which will be a challenge for some riders."

The new trail is not a "challenge course," but it is good for beginning and intermediate mountain bikers of all abilities.

Mountain bike club members are encouraged to try out the new trail, which is built with a natural surface. Pets are welcome, too, if they stay on a leash and their owners clean up after them.

Great for hiking, too, the new trail rounds out the different types of trails already available in eastern Bastrop County. Bastrop State Park is known for its hiking trails through what's called the Lost Pines, while LCRA's McKinney Roughs Nature Park with its popular equestrian trail system is a big draw for horseback riding.

Baxter-Harwell says that during the summer season, the best time for mountain bikers to try out the new trail is Monday through Thursday. The park is busier on weekends, making for more crowded trails.

South Shore Park is becoming a destination park, with its cabins and mini-cabins, tent camping, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, picnicking, swimming, RV camping and other amenities like the boat ramp and pavilion.

"For less than $150, visitors can come stay in a cabin at South Shore Park a couple of nights, do some mountain biking, rent a kayak, fish a little, have a picnic and have an all-around great weekend," Baxter- Harwell says.

For more information, visit www.lcra.org./parks.