Spring Lake Natural Area - San Marcos (TX)

5 /5 Josh Kreider: These are some really cool trails. Highly recommend, its a little over 4 miles long but its an easy hike. Lots of side trails not marked as official paths. So pay attention if you are trying to keep it short and sweet.

5 /5 Randy Rodgers: Well kept trails, predominantly shaded, very little traffic (this Sunday afternoon, at least). We got in 5 miles and probably saw fewer than 15 other folks and 3 or 4 dogs. Trails are mostly pretty easy, with some moderate hills here and there. Today was wet from last night’s rain, so it was a bit slippery in patches, especially with exposed limestone. All in all, great local trail!

5 /5 Stephanie Jones: We had a great time hiking the trails here. We were only able to hit about half of the trails here, as the northern half is closed March-May for the nesting period of an endangered bird who calls the preserve home. Still, what we were able to see was great, and the trails had some good inclines and rocky paths to keep it interesting.

4 /5 Grouse K9: Much bigger than first thought. A lot of great space and different habitat areas. A very nice urban park to enjoy. One thing to note is that mountain bikers use it a lot. They are almost always polite & friendly, but be ready for them to scream by so be careful.

4 /5 Melissa Murata: Fun Wetland. I didnt even know we had a wetland area so this was a pretty cool find. The glass boat and scuba diving businesses were not open right now (pandemic) but we did walk the wetland trail which is a lovely metal bridge that meanders over the wetlands so you can enjoy them and watch the wildlife. The trail signage is also wonderfully educational and it was fun to look for the animals they said lived Cons. -Its super small and so theres not really much to do. Maybe theres more and I just need to spend more time exploring. -It appears that normally you must pay for parking which seems unreasonable given its size - There isnt much signage so you kinda just have to stumble about until you find what youre looking for.