The Legend of Hairy Man Road

For those of y’all who weren’t raised in Round Rock, TX, I doubt that you’ve heard of Hairy Man Road. Hairy Man Road, also known as Country Road 174, is a short 2.2 mile long road that winds through a startling dense length of forest and fern-covered bluffs. Recently, the local government has started to renovate the road and associated trail, but for those of us who grew up near Hairy Man, it is remembered to be overgrown and wild. It runs along part of the Brushy Creek Regional Trail, which is a well-paved 6.5 mile long trail that is popular for runners, bikers, and dog-walkers. 

This road sounds innocent enough, but the name itself actually stems from local legend. The legend goes, according to Texas Hill Country, that in the 1800s, during the pioneer and cattle drive days of Texas, a young boy was separated from his family. He was completely lost before anyone noticed he was missing. The boy grew up in the wildness of the forested Brushy Creek area, and became a hermit as he was unused to the company of other humans. He was known by the name “Hairy Man” because of his infamously hairy physique. 

As he grew older, he grew hairier and scarier. He started to chase lone riders through the forest. Local storytellers have watered down the legend in order to share it as a funny story with kids, but myth has it that he was a killer. He was also known to hang from the overgrown branches along the trail and scrape his feet along the tops of covered wagons, presumably to scare other young kids and startle them into falling out of their wagon, much like he had as a child. 

One day, this particular trick backfired. He fell out of a tree and was trampled by the wagon he had been preying on. However, even dead the Hairy Man refused to leave his forest. For years and years after his death, travelers would report sightings of the Hairy Man. Even years after any normal man would have died a natural death, people were encountering the Hairy Man. It is said that his ghost still haunts the road. 

Even if you don’t buy into this local ghost story, the Brushy Creek Trail isn’t free of crime. On July 30, 2021, a woman was pulled off of the trail and sexually assaulted. On May 27, 2018, a different woman was attacked on the trail. Her attacker had her at knifepoint and attempted to drag her towards the creek. Aly Nunez, another runner on the trail that morning, witnessed the attack and told the Austin American-Statesman that the woman was able to escape by biting her attacker. Neither of the suspects were found. 

Whether or not you believe in ghosts, there are many, very real, instances in which innocent people are harmed and the guilty party walks free.