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San Angelo State Park

Type: Trail

Length: 50.00 Miles

Elevation Gain: N/A

Cost: $4.00

Rating:

(4.16)648

Difficulty: halfstar

(0.87)

Solitude:

(4.64)

ADA Accessible: N/A

Bikes Allowed: Yes

Dogs Allowed: N/A

Interpretive Guide: N/A

City: San Angelo

County: Tom Green

More Information: More Info

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Photos

He was about 2-3 feet long and sunning himself when I saw him. No threat was presented by him or to him. All the park residents have a place and should be left in peace. (Photo by MikeHikes)

Always nice to see a sunrise through the mesquite trees. (Photo by MikeHikes)

This skunk went into defensive mode even though I kept a lot of distance between us. At one point, he decided to show he meant business when he lifted his tail and was stamping his feet in prep to spray. I kept my pace and no spraying occurred. (Photo by MikeHikes)

Although there aren't many flowers out at the moment, this bug was enjoying what pollen he could get. (Photo by MikeHikes)

Despite the heat and number of 100+ degree days, we are adequately compensated by having a large number of colorful sunrises - even on a cloud-less day. (Photo by MikeHikes)

One of the two Axis bucks spotted as I drove into the park. They have become more numerous so what was once a rare sighting of an Axis deer at the North Shore is now as ordinary as seeing white tail deer. (Photo by MikeHikes)

This very young Nighthawk flew from one tree to a second and the effort exhausted him. I got my snap and let him catch some zzzz's in peace. (Photo by MikeHikes)

One of the three sets of fawn twins I saw today. Always nice to see! (Photo by MikeHikes)

The female Jack Rabbit was grooming herself during sunrise when I parked at Playground parking area. Unperturbed by my watching, she groomed for a few minutes before she settled down and enjoyed the sun's rays. (Photo by MikeHikes)

This was the only cactus flower I saw during today's hike. Looks good but I don't know if he is an indicator we'll have a second bloom or if he finally had enough water to bloom later than the others. (Photo by MikeHikes)

Not much bird activity but this Lark Sparrow was watching something below him when I snapped this shot. (Photo by MikeHikes)

Two juvenile Great Horned Owls were seen on Tally Valley Trail. They watched me for a minute then flew away. Very glad I saw them! (Photo by MikeHikes)

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Log Entries

Park Mid-section - Burkett Park to 5 Points Junction - Short and Easy Loop
By MikeHikes on 9/14/2026
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 6.20 Miles Duration: 3 hours

Leg 1 - Burkett Park > Burkett Trail > park service road (W) > West Potts Creek > Turkey Creek > 5 Points Junction 4.1 miles

Leg 2 - 5 Points Junction > Flintstone (S) > park service road (ENE) > park service road (SW) > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park 2.1 miles

Temps started at 76, ended at 91. Sunny with fairly constant 10-20mph SW breeze.

Short but enjoyable hike along familiar trails with a few new routes taken. Nothing unusual as far as the trails went.

Animals spotted were deer and as I was driving to Burkett Park, a small flock of turkeys took their time to cross the road in front of me. There were two adults and six younger turkeys in the group. Haven't seem too many turkeys lately so seeing the younger ones is a good sign. Along one service road I haven't been on for a few years, I spotted a Great Plains Rat Snake sunning itself (photo attached). He was no threat to me and I was no threat to him. I did nothing to get his attention just took a few photos and left him in peace. I can accept this will result in a boring photo but I am comfortable leaving the wildlife as they are.

NOTES -

Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park. SPECIAL NOTE - The water has a very bad taste coming out of the new water fountain and I would strongly recommend you not drink it.

Water, shade, and info kiosk available at 5 Points Junction. SPECIAL NOTE - The water at 5 Points is NOT on. There have been water issues that were supposedly fixed but .....

South Shore - Isabel Harte to Burkett Park - Short Loop
By MikeHikes on 9/7/2026
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 3.40 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Leg 1 - Isabel Harte > Winding Snake > Burkett Park 1.4 miles

Leg 2 - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Lanky Lackey > park road to Isabel Harte 2.0 miles

Temp started at 75, ended at 84. Sunny with 0-5mph intermittent SW breeze.

VERY short hike today along familiar trails that were easy to see and traverse. Being Labor Day, there were many more park guests so the opportunity to take photos was limited as the hikers, mountain bikers and trail runners spooked most of the park inhabitants. A photo of the sunrise will have to do (photo attached).

Animals spotted were in singles - a single turkey, a single doe, a single cottontail rabbit. Same went for the reptiles - a single horned toad and a single lizard.

Although not a long hike, it was relaxing and I took the opportunity at the end to sit at a picnic table to look at the scenery.

NOTES -

Shade and dry toilets available at Isabel Harte. Water may be available but not certain.

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

South Shore - Playground parking area to Isabel Harte Loop + Roadrunner Loop
By MikeHikes on 8/31/2026
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 8.20 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 15 minutes

Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Chaparral > Lanky Lackey > Horny Toad > Nature Trail > park road to Isabel Harte > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral > Playground parking area 5.0 miles

Leg 2 - Playground parking area > Roadrunenr Loop > Playground Parking Area 3.2 miles

Temps started at 76, ended at 88. Sunny w/light SW breeze.

Easy hike along dry, easy to see trails. Took a different route today for variety and to try to stay in the 7-8 mile range. Bird activity was up from my last hike and I saw more kinds of birds but still no raptors. I also saw a rat of some type, perhaps a cotton rat, on my way back to Playground. Of course, no photo was taken as it shot across the trail and into some cactus plants about ten yards in front of me. I did see another park resident, a skunk early on in my hike on Lanky Lackey. Eeven though I kept a far distance from him, he let me know he was aware of me and at one point, pointed his tail and stamped his feet in warning (photo attached). I was not sprayed and made no attempt to get closer to him - I let the camera zoom to get the photo.

I was surprised on Roadrunner loop to see a large horned toad, about 5 inches long, and further down the same trail, a toad about the size of a quarter. BIG difference is sizes!

NOTES -

Water, shade, info kiosk, toilets and a bicycle repair station are available at Playground parking area.

Water and shade available at campsites along Roadrunner Loop.

Water, shade, info kiosk and toilets/showers available at three points along Roadrunner Loop.

Park Mid-section - Burkett Park to 5 Points Junction Short loop
By MikeHikes on 8/20/2026
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 6.60 Miles Duration: 3 hours, 15 minutes

Leg 1 - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Rollercoaster > West Potts Vreek > Potts Creek > Turkey Creek > 5 Points Junction 4.5 miles

Leg 2 - 5 Points Junction > Flintstone Trail (S) > park road (NE) > park road (SW) > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park 2.1 miles

Temps started at 76, ended at 93. Sunny, some humidy. Light, sporadic 0-5mph SW breeze.

Easy hike along rocky trails. VERY little animal or bird activity on the hike although I stopped on my drive to Burkett Park to let a family of six javelinas cross the road. I also saw a few deer and a few cottontails on the drive in as well. The weather, although warm, was not unpleasant but there was minimal wildlife activity. On a sad note, when I reached 5 Points Junction, I saw a fairly large dog (perhaps a golden lab) about 50 yards away. Although I made no moves toward him, he saw me, spooked himself and took off running in the opposite direction. I'm sure he was lost but there was nothing I could do except report him to the park.

NOTES -

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

Water, shade, and info kiosk available at 5 Points Junction. RUN THE WATER TO GET THE RUST/DISCOLORATION OUT BEFORE DRINKING!

South Shore - Playground Parking Area to Burkett Park Loop
By MikeHikes on 8/13/2026
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 7.60 Miles Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Tasajilla Flats > Nature Trail > Lanky Lackey > WS to LL Connector > Burkett Park 4.0 miles

Leg 2 - Burkett Park > Winding Snake > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral > Playground parking area 3.6 miles

Temsp started at 76, ended at 86. Sunny with 10-15mph SW wind. Low to moderate humidity.

Easy hike along dry, easy to see and traverse trails. Deer were out - lots of fawns! Also saw a hummingbird and a Horned Toad - be awhile since I'd seen either one! A few cottontail rabbits, Mockers, and a few lizards pretty much rounded out the animals and reptiles spotted. Not much was going on so it was a very pleasant, quiet way to spend a few hours in Nature.

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.

North Shore - Bell's Trailhead to Cougar Overlook Loop
By MikeHikes on 8/7/2026
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 9.90 Miles Duration: 5 hours

Leg 1 - Bell's Trailhead > Dinosaur Trail > Dinosaur Tracks Viewing Area > Dinosaur Trail (N) > Bypass to Big Hill > Big Hill > Badlands > River Bend > park road (NE) > Cougar Overlook 6.6 miles

Leg 2 - Cougar Overlook > Trailhead to Trailhead (N) > Upper Ghost Trail > South Slick Rock > Trailhead to Trailhead (N) > Bell's Trailhead 3.3 miles

Temps started at 75, ended at 96. Sunny, light breeze increasing to SW 5-10mph. Comfortable humidity.

Hiked along dry and for the most part, easy to see trails. Vegetation obscures some portions of the trails and caution is advised which traversing them. In the past sighting an Axis deer was rare but lately, I see between 5 - 10 Axis deer as I drive to the parking area. Today I saw two young bucks (photo attached) and does all within a few minutes of entering the park. Another resident rarely seen was a large porcupine sitting by the road. White tail deer were spotted as were numerous cottontail rabbits. I also saw a hawk flying in the distance. Raptors have become rare for some reason.

Not much else to report except to say for whatever reason, the water stations are no longer working at the Dinosaur Tracks Viewing Area as well as at the River Bend Campground. BRING PLENTY OF WATER WITH YOU BEFORE STARTING OUT!

NOTES -

View the Park's Facebook page and website for current information! NO WATER AT THE NORTH SHORE IS AVAILABLE!

Shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station are available at Bell's Trailhead.

Shade and info kiosk are available at the Dinosaur Tracks Viewing Area. NO WATER AT THIS TIME.

Shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station are available at Cougar Overlook.

Shade, info kiosk and dry toilets are available at River Bend Campground. NO WATER AT THIS TIME.

South Shore - Playground to Burkett Park + Roadrunner Loop
By MikeHikes on 7/31/2026
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
By MikeHikes on 7/24/2026
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
By MikeHikes on 7/9/2026
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
By MikeHikes on 7/3/2026
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.

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