South Shore - Playground to Burkett Park + Roadrunner Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 7/31/2026
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 10.20 Miles
Duration: 5 hours
Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral > Winding Snake > Burkett Park 3.5 miles
Leg 2 - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Lanky Lackey > Nature Trail > Horny Toad > Playground Parking Area 3.5 miles
Leg 3 - Playground parking area > Roadrunner Loop > Playground parking area 3.2 miles
Temp started at 75, ended at 94. Sunny, some humidity, slight intermittent SW breeze at 0-5 mph.
Easy hike along mostly rocky trails. Vegetation has been cut back in many places, especially Roadrunner Loop, so the trails are easy to see and traverse. Animals spotted were deer, cottontail and Jack rabbits. A few birds were out and I spotted a very juvenile Nighthawk (photo attached). No raptors were seen. Wildflowers have pretty much disappeared as has the majority of bee bush.
NOTES -
Water, shade, info kiosk, toilets and a bicycle repair station area vailable at Playground Parking Area.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.
Water and shade at numerous campsites along Roadrunner are available as well as three points where toilet facilities are also available.
Park Mid-section - Balloon on a String Hike Route
San Angelo State Park
- 7/24/2026
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.80 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 20 minutes
Leg 1 - Burkett Park > Burkett Trail > Trailhead to Trailhead (N) > Flintstone (N) > Cougar Overlook > park road (W) > Trailhead to Trailhead (S) > River Bend Trail (S) > 5 Points Junction 4.8 miles
Leg 2 - 5 Points Junction > Turkey Creek Trail > Potts Creek Trail (ENE) > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park 4.0 miles
Temps started at 75, ended at 91. Sunny, slightly humid at first but dried out some. NO WIND for first leg then 0-5mph SE intermittent breeze.
Trace the route on the park map and you'l see why the route looks like a balloon on a string.
Easy hike along dry and for the most part, easy to see and traverse mostly rocky trails. Last week we had more rain which did what it always does and washed away surface soil leaving more bare rocks of various sizes in the trails. The benefit of the rain is the bee bush has bloomed again and in many places - the vanilla scent was very prevalent during the entire hike. Deer have birthed litters of twins and I counted three sets. The few bucks I saw have velvet covered antlers. Cottontail and Jack rabbits were out as well. Not too many birds although a few were spotted. A few lizards scampered along the trails and lots of grasshoppers are out. Prickly pear cactus have numerous tunas showing so with all the mesquite bean pods and cactus tunas, there should be a good food supply for awhile. Not so much for the bugs as all the wildflowers are gone but the bee bushes are flowering.
NOTES -
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.
Shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station are available at Cougar Overlook. The bicycle repair station air pump is not working as of this date.
Water, shade, and info kiosk are available at 5 Points Junction.
South Shore - Playground Parking Area to Burkett Park + Roadrunner Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 7/9/2026
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 10.20 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 45 minutes
Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Tasajilla Flats > Nature Trail > Lanky Lackey > WS to LL Connector > Burkett Park 3.9 miles
Leg 2 - Burkett Park > Winding Snake > Chaparral > Playground parking area 3.0 miles
Leg 3 - Playground parking area > Roadrunner Loop > Playground parking area 3.3 miles
Temps started at 75, ended at 95. Sunny, w/SSW wind at 10-15mph. NO CLOUDS!
Easy hike along dry and familiar trails. Some portions of the various trails have vegetation overgrowth but overall they are easy to see and traverse.
Animals spotted were Jack Rabbits (photo attached), Cottontail Rabbits, and numerous whitetail deer. The birds were more plentiful and varied - I saw more Scissortail Flycatchers today than I have in a long time! Quail were also very numerous as were doves, Mockers, various types of sparrows. No reptiles except for a few green lizards.
Flowers are mostly absent although the bee bush looks like it may have another bloom in the near future. Overall, a very relaxing and enjoyable hike feeling the wind on my skin and hearing the sounds of birds singing for mates.
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
Water and shade available at numerous campsites along Roadrunner Loop. There are three stations along Roadrunner that have water, info kiosks and toilets available.
North Shore - Bell's Trailhead to River Bend Campground
San Angelo State Park
- 7/3/2026
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 6.50 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Leg 1 - North Parking > Bell's Trailhead > Shady Trail > Trailhead to Trailheaad (S) > Rocky Creek > Upper Big Hill > Badlands > River Bend Campground Road > River Bend Campground 3.4 miles
Leg 2 - River Bend Campground > North Slick Rock > Upper Big Hill (N) > Park Fire Break Road (WNW) > Dinosaur Trail (N) > Bell's Trailhead > Park road to North Parking 3.1 miles
Temp started at 76, ended at 91. Partly cloudy, SW breeze 7-15 mph, somewhat humid.
Improved trails from my last visit although one in particular (Lower Ghost Camp) is still not do-able.
All trails that I hiked on were dry and easy to traverse. Park personnel have cleaned up Shady Trail so it is very nice to hike. Animal activity was minimal although I saw two armadillos on the north side of the river where I had to park. There are two entrances to the North Shore - one is on the south side of the river and is the where equestrians enter to the campground designed for them and their horses. The other gate is on the north sideof the river and is the "main" gate. Both gates are locked and to enter you need the current gate combo which should open both gate locks. For whatever reason, this morning the combo did not open the equestrian gate I normally use so I had to use the other gate and park in a different area so I could cross over the dried river bed to access the northern trails.
Put a bit of a damper on the hike but it was do-able so no complaints. Because of the damper, I did not go as far as planned and didn't go the route I intended so major trails have not been checked.
NOTES -
Water, shade info kiosk and a bicycle repair station are at or near Bell's Trailhead.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets are available at the River Bend Campground.
SPECIAL NOTICE - CURRENTLY, NO HORSES ARE ALLOWED AT THE PARK DUE TO SCREW FLY INFESTATION. CHECK WITH PARK PERSONNEL IF YOU DESIRED TO RIDE THE TRAILS WITH YOUR HORSE.
Park Mid-section - Burkett Park to 5 Points Junction Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 6/25/2026
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.20 Miles
Duration: 4 hours
Leg 1 - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Roller Coaster > West Potts Creek > Potts Creek (E) > Turkey Creek > 5 Points Junction 4.4 miles
Leg 2 - 5 Points Junction > Flintstone (S) > Playground > Bell's Point > Playground (S) > Potts Creek (E) > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park 3.8 miles
Temp started at 75, ended at 85. Overcast w/light winds becoming partly clouds w/strong 10-20mph WSW winds.
Easy hike along dry and familiar trails. Some portions of the trails had been groomed a few weeks ago and others hadn't - all the trails need some vegetation cut back either the grasses or some of the tree/shrub overhang. Only a few scattered spots where the vegetation was an issue.
Numerous cottontail and Jack Rabbits were out - I spotted six Jack Rabbits at Burkett Park, the most I've seen at one spot in a very long time. A few deer were spotted and the usual suspects as far as birds went. Nothing unusual or exciting. More grasshoppers are out as well.
NOTES -
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets are available at Burkett Park.
Water, shade, and info kiosk are available at 5 Points Junction.
Water, shade, and info kiosk are available at Bell's Point.