South Shore Playground Parking Area to Burkett Park and Roadrunner Loop

Leg 1 -  Playground parking area > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral > Winding SNake > Burkett Park      3.4 miles

Leg 2 -  Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Lanky Lackey > Nature Loop > Horny Toad > Tasajilla Flats > Playground parking area     3.2 miles

Leg 3 -  Playground parking area > Roadrunner Loop > Playground parking area       3.1 miles

Temp started at 71, ended at 90.  Humid, overcast with none-to-light wind.

An unusually cooler day which means time to hike!  All trails except portions of Roadrunner Loop were dry, groomed and easy to traverse.  Portions of Roadrunner Loop are in need of grooming but can still be traverse easily enough. 

Today I saw the smallest snake I'd ever seen!  On Winding Snake Trail, I saw what looked like a piece of a black shoelace laying on the trail about three feet in front of me.  When I moved forward, the "string" moved!  It was a Ringneck Snake - jet black with a yellow ring-like collar (photo attached).  The snake was only 4-5 inches in length and extremely thin - literally as thick as a shoe lace.  He quickly slithered away into the brush.  No animals except for a few white tail deer were spotted and bird activity was surprisingly minimal.  Later, while on Roadrunner Loop, I spotted a much larger coachwhip snake. 

Hiking Edition LPT (Life Pro Tip) - if you have the foresight to bring TP in case "Nature calls", stow it in a Zip-loc bag (or two).  This keeps the paper dry, easily accessible and also gives you an easy and sanitary way to dispose of the used paper.  Do your business, then put the used paper in the Zip-loc, pack it out and safely dispose of the bag.  Although the waste, as well as the paper, is biodegradeable and will eventually disappear, it's rather rude to leave a pile of used paper somewhat near the trail where it can be seen by others.  Be courteous to your fellow park users and pack out what you bring in. Thank you!

NOTES

Water, shade, info kiosk and toilets available at Playground parking area.

Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.

Water and shade available at various campsites along Roadrunner Loop.  There is a toilet located near the mid-point of the Loop.