South Shore - Playground Parking Area to Armadillo Ridge Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 2/15/2025
[View Log Page]
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:
Distance: 9.60 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Chaparral > Winding Snake > Burkett Park 2.8 miles
Leg 2 - Burkett Park > Burkett Trail > Potts Creek Trail > West Potts Creek > Rollercoaster Trail 3.5 miles
Leg 3 - Lanky Lackey > Nature Trail > Tasajilla Flats > Playground Parking Area 3.3 miles
Temp started at 40, ended at 79. Sunny with steady 15-20 Westerly wind.
Easy hike along dry and easy to traverse trails. Only wildlife spotted was a herd of deer right at the park entrance otherwise, no animals were sighted. Bird activity was also at a minimum due to the high winds. I saw more agarita bushes with blooms and today, I watched a bee look for pollen (photo attached). There were more people and bikes on the trail than I normally encounter but it was not unexpected - today is Saturday and is also the last of the warm days before we are hit with another Arctic blast.
NOTES -
Water, shade, info kiosk, toilets and a bicycle repair station are available at Playground parking area.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets are available at Burkett Park.
South Shore - Playground parking area to Burkett Park + Roadrunner Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 2/8/2025
[View Log Page]
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:
Distance: 9.40 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Chaparral > Talley Valley > Horny Toad (N) > Nature Trail > Lanky Lackey > WS to LL Connector > Burkett Park 3.2 miles
Leg 2 - Burkett Park > Winding Snake > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral > Playground parking area 3.1 miles
Leg 3 - Playground parking area > Roadruner Loop > Playground parking area 3.1 miles
Temp started at 63, ended at 83. Sunny with a fairly constant 5-10mph Westerly breeze.
Easy hike along dry and easy to traverse trails. Many more birds were spotted - a Loggerhead Shrike, Kestrel and a hawk were the raptors. Mockers, Phylluxia and numerous sparrows were also seen. Numerous deer, in herds of 6 to 20 as well as individual deer were also seen. What surprised me the most though was seeing two different agarita bushes with flowers (photo attached). The weather has been unseasonable warm but tonight another cold front will move through so I don't know if that will kill or merely stunt the growth. More folks using the trails which was expected with the warm, almost Spring-like weather.
NOTES -
Water, shade, info kiosk, toilets and a bicycle repair station are available at Playground parking area.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park. THE WATER IS WORKING AGAIN FOR BOTH HUMANS AND EQUESTRIANS.
Water and shade are available at various campsites along Roadrunner Loop and there are three places with toilets and info kiosks along the trail.
North Shore - Bell's Trailhead to Cougar Overlook and Back
San Angelo State Park
- 2/2/2025
[View Log Page]
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:
Distance: 9.00 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Leg 1 - Bell's Trailhead > Trailhead to Trailhead (S) > Dinosaur Trail > Dinosaur Tracks Viewing Area > Dinosaur Trail (S) > Upper Big Hill > Badlands > park road to River Bend Campground > Upper Ghost Camp > Lower Ghost Camp (S) > River Bend Trail (S) > service road (NE) > Cougar Overlook 6.0 miles
Leg 2 - Cougar Overlook > Trailhead to Trailhead (N) > Lower Ghost Camp (N) > River Bend Campground > Lower Ghost Camp (N) > South Slick Rock > Trailhead to Trailhead (N) > North SCenic Loop > Trailhead to Trailhead (N) > Shady Trail > Bell's Trailhead 3.0 miles
Temp started at 50, ended at 75. Sunny with steady 5-10mph SW breeze.
Easy hike along dry and easy to traverse trails. Saw a few deer (photo attached) as well as some birds but not many. There is still water in the river and it is still flowing but more of a trickle rather than a stream - nonetheless, all water is welcome! It was a pleasant day and I saw a few other folks on the trail but otherwise, not much else to say.
NOTES -
Shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station available at Bell's Trailhead.
Water, shade, and info kiosk available at the Dinosaur Tracks Viewing Area.
Shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station available at Cougar Overlook.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at the River Bend Campground.
EQUESTRIANS - The metal rectangular water trough at the base of the Big Hill, only has standing water in it. Recommend you use the water troughs at Dinosaur Tracks Viewing Area or River Bend Campground.
South Shore - Playground parking area to Burkett Park Loop + Roadrunner Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 1/25/2025
[View Log Page]
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:
Distance: 9.90 Miles
Duration: 5 hours
Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral (N) > Winding Snake > Burkett Park 3.4 miles
Leg 2 - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Lanky Lackey > Nature Trail > TTasajilla Flats > Playground parking area 3.4 miles
Leg 3 - Playground parking area > Roadrunner Loop > Playground parking area 3.1 miles
Temps started at 33, ended at 61. Mostly sunny with steady 10-20mph SSW breeze.
Easy hike along dry, easy to see and traverse trails. The initial cold and fairly strong winds kept most of the animals and birds in place so not many were seen. As the temps warmed, they became more active. A few groups of deer were seen as were numerous smaller birds, no larger birds were spotted until the end of the hike when I saw Black Buzzards.
Not much to report except it was a nice hike!
NOTES -
Water, shade, info kiosk, toilets and a bicycle repair station are available at Playground Parking Area.
Shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park. IMPORTANT - WATER IS NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.
Water and shade areavailable at campsites along Roadrunner Loop and there are three places where toilets and info kiosks are located.
Park Mid-section - Burkett Park to 5 Points Junction Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 1/18/2025
[View Log Page]
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:
Distance: 7.50 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Leg 1 - Burkett park > WS to LL Connector > Roller Coaster > West Potts Creek > Turkey Creek > 5 Points Junction 4.0 miles
Leg 2 - 5 Points Junction > Flintstone (S) > Playground > Bell's Point > Playground (S)> Potts Creek (ENE) > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park 3.5 miles
Temp started at 33, ended at 44. Clear and sunny w/5-10mph NNE winds.
Easy hike along dry and easy to traverse trails. Not many birds or animals out while hiking due to the cold. All trails were easily passable. There is still water in a few areas but lack of rainfall is hurting the environment. A few deer and a small group of javelinas were spotted as I drove out of the park.
NOTES -
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.
Water, shade, and info kiosk available at 5 Points Junction.
Water, shade and info kiosk available at Bell's Point.