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Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
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The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
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Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
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Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months.
Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades.
Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
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Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
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Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
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Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
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SaveHillside trails from N. LBJ; Grey Fox, Roadrunner, Porcupine are closed March through May for Golden Cheek Warbler nesting season. Please respect this restriction as we acquired the property with this stipulation. More than half the property is open year-round.
Spring Lake natural area is one of the prettiest natural areas with majestic live oaks draped in Spanish moss, flowering Mountain laurel (two weeks in March), flowering Kidneywood (April) and many other butterfly attractors. The meadow along Blue Stem in the Spring has an assortment of wildflowers and its namesake, Blue Stem grasses, a Texas native. More than six-and-half-miles of trails traverse the 251 acres with elevation changes from the hillside down to the meadow.
The area around San Marcos Springs is thought to be one of the longest continuously occupied areas in North America due to its proximity to the San Marcos Springs. In 1926, A.B. Rogers purchased land around the springs and built the Aquarena Springs Resort. Aquarena was sold to Texas State University in the 1990s, and the 251 acres were later sold for residential development. In 2004, the developer and the City of San Marcos were preparing to create a large hotel and conference center on the highest location above the springs. Citizens and conservationists objected, the development was moved east of IH-35, and the city, Hays County and Texas State University committed to securing the property as a natural area. In November 2005, SMGA led a campaign for approval of a $2 million bond as payment toward purchase of the 251 acres. Subsequent grants and donations from Hays County, Texas Parks & Wildlife, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Meadows Foundation, Terry Gilmore, the McCoy Foundation, the Lower Colorado River Authority, and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority allowed the city to purchase the land in 2007.
Spring Lake natural area is one of the prettiest natural areas with majestic live oaks draped in Spanish moss, flowering Mountain laurel (two weeks in March), flowering Kidneywood (April) and many other butterfly attractors. The meadow along Blue Stem in the Spring has an assortment of wildflowers and its namesake, Blue Stem grasses, a Texas native. More than six-and-half-miles of trails traverse the 251 acres with elevation changes from the hillside down to the meadow.
The area around San Marcos Springs is thought to be one of the longest continuously occupied areas in North America due to its proximity to the San Marcos Springs. In 1926, A.B. Rogers purchased land around the springs and built the Aquarena Springs Resort. Aquarena was sold to Texas State University in the 1990s, and the 251 acres were later sold for residential development. In 2004, the developer and the City of San Marcos were preparing to create a large hotel and conference center on the highest location above the springs. Citizens and conservationists objected, the development was moved east of IH-35, and the city, Hays County and Texas State University committed to securing the property as a natural area. In November 2005, SMGA led a campaign for approval of a $2 million bond as payment toward purchase of the 251 acres. Subsequent grants and donations from Hays County, Texas Parks & Wildlife, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Meadows Foundation, Terry Gilmore, the McCoy Foundation, the Lower Colorado River Authority, and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority allowed the city to purchase the land in 2007.
source: San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance
Primary Trail Type: Cross-Country

Links
Activities Click to view
- Mountain Bike
18 trails
- E-Bike
14 trails
- Hike
17 trails
- Trail Running
17 trails
Region Details
- 1
- 9
- 8
Region Status
Open as of Jun 14, 2020Stats
- Avg Trail Rating
- Trails (view details)
- 18
- Trails Mountain Bike
- 18
- Trails E-Bike
- 14
- Trails Hike
- 17
- Trails Trail Running
- 17
- Total Distance
- 7 miles
- Total Descent Distance
- 2 miles
- Total Descent
- 594 ft
- Total Vertical
- 173 ft
- Highest Trailhead
- 762 ft
- Reports
- 198
- Photos
- 21
- Ridden Counter
- 780
Popular Spring Lake Preserve Mountain Biking Trails
Spring Lake Preserve Mountain Bike Routes
title | rating | distance |
---|---|---|
Spring Lake beginner route | 2 miles |
Photos of Spring Lake Preserve Mountain Bike
trail: Powerline Short Cut
19 |
Oct 8, 2020 @ 10:09am
Oct 8, 2020
trail: Porcupine
27 |
Oct 2, 2019 @ 7:53pm
Oct 2, 2019
trail: Porcupine
57 |
Oct 2, 2019 @ 7:53pm
Oct 2, 2019
trail: Grey Fox
41 |
Jul 30, 2019 @ 8:43am
Jul 30, 2019
trail: Roadrunner
53 |
Jul 30, 2019 @ 8:39am
Jul 30, 2019
trail: Grey Fox
50 |
Jul 30, 2019 @ 8:37am
Jul 30, 2019
trail: Grey Fox
58 |
Jul 30, 2019 @ 7:09am
Jul 30, 2019Recent Trail Reports
status | trail | date | condition | info | user |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roadrunner | Jul 4, 2022 @ 6:09am 21 hours | Dry | texas2putts | ||
Porcupine | Jul 4, 2022 @ 6:09am 21 hours | Dry | texas2putts | ||
Centipede | Jul 4, 2022 @ 6:09am 21 hours | Dry | texas2putts | ||
Grey Fox | May 7, 2022 @ 4:36pm May 7, 2022 | Dry | Turntex TRAILFORKS | ||
Buckeye | May 7, 2022 @ 4:36pm May 7, 2022 | Dry | Turntex TRAILFORKS | ||
Blue Heron | May 7, 2022 @ 4:36pm May 7, 2022 | Dry | Turntex TRAILFORKS | ||
Blue Stem | May 7, 2022 @ 4:36pm May 7, 2022 | Dry | Turntex TRAILFORKS | ||
Powerline Short Cut | Feb 6, 2021 @ 10:48am Feb 6, 2021 | Ideal | 1stTrance29 | ||
Blind Salamander Way | Dec 9, 2020 @ 11:08am Dec 9, 2020 | Ideal | 1stTrance29 | ||
Exogyra | Oct 18, 2020 @ 3:00pm Oct 18, 2020 | Dry | Turntex TRAILFORKS |
Activity Feed
username | action | type | title | date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | texas2putts | add | report | Roadrunner and 2 more | Jul 4, 2022 @ 5:14pm 10 hours |
![]() | Turntex | add | trail | SL1 | May 8, 2022 @ 1:18pm May 8, 2022 |
![]() | texas2putts | add | report | Porcupine and 1 more | May 8, 2022 @ 6:23am May 8, 2022 |
![]() | Turntex | add | trail | Blue Heron Alternate and 1 more | May 7, 2022 @ 7:25pm May 7, 2022 |
![]() | Turntex | update | trail | Blue Stem and 1 more | May 7, 2022 @ 7:21pm May 7, 2022 |
Nearby Areas
name | distance | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sessom Creek Natural Area | 1 | 0.6 km | |||
Schulle Canyon Natural Area | 3 | 1 | 1 km | ||
San Marcos River Trails | 6 | 1.6 km | |||
Ringtail Ridge | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.8 km | |
River Recharge Natural Area | 2 | 2.4 km |
Activity Type Stats
activitytype | trails | distance | descent | descent distance | total vertical | rating | global rank | state rank | photos | reports | routes | ridelogs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mountain Bike | 18 | 7 miles | 594 ft | 2 miles | 174 ft | #4,525 | #2,010 | 21 | 198 | 1 | 630 | |
E-Bike | 14 | 6 miles | 587 ft | 2 miles | 174 ft | #1,499 | #368 | 190 | ||||
Hike | 17 | 7 miles | 587 ft | 2 miles | 174 ft | #3,796 | #1,871 | 198 | 60 | |||
Trail Running | 17 | 7 miles | 587 ft | 2 miles | 174 ft | #3,808 | #1,872 | 198 | 4 |
- By Larsacus
TRAILFORKS & contributors
- Admins: SMGA
- #19505 - 2,816 views
- spring lake preserve activity log | embed map of Spring Lake Preserve mountain bike trails | spring lake preserve mountain biking points of interest polygons
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