Riding at San Angelo State Park
posted July 25, 2010
San Angelo State Park is an awesome place to ride for anyone of any age and/or experience. Many, if not most, of the trails are very easy to ride; however, there are some technical areas too. There are reportedly around 50 miles of trail. Our group rode 25 miles and we’re are going to have to go back to see the rest!
Starting out, our group (pictured below) consisted of Kyle who is a local that rides there regularly and was a great tour guide, Joe who has ridden there before, and Dawn and Alvis of the Waco Bicycle Club.
It wasn’t long before we added another rider. Dan was in a parking lot unloading his bike as we passed by and joined us fairly close to our starting place. This was his first time to ride at San Angelo SP and hitching on to our tour group seemed a good thing to do.
As we were riding the typical flat and easy trails at the start of our ride, we stopped to talk to a ranger mowing the trail. This isn’t something you generally get to do on a mountain bike ride!
A lot of the trails look like those pictured below, either flat (and many times twisty)…
or loose and rocky.
There are some nice views at this park. Here is a high point just before hitting a descent.
You can see the river in the distance here.
There are a few places that give you a little extra something to play on if you would like. If not, you can always go around.
These ‘humps’ offer an opportunity to get a little air – or not!
Here are a few more examples of sections of trail.
Sometimes it gets a bit technical. These pictures are all taken at the same spot by different photographers.
This trail section doesn’t look like it would get too technical, but you can see from the second picture that it presents a bit of a challenge once you get to the rocks.
The ride along the river is very pleasant and enjoyable… and shady!
We got to the farthest point out where there was a picnic area and took a little break before starting back.
We took a different route back and were treated to some interesting things:
A horned toad, very rare and special, who didn’t appreciate that we wanted to take his picture, but was very happy when we let him go.
A number of sets of Dinosaur Tracks!
And Bell’s Point Scenic Overlook.
We would like to thank Kyle and Joe for such a fun and informative tour of San Angelo State Park and hope to do it again someday. These trails are much better enjoyed with a guide to show the things that normally would go unnoticed – like dinosaur tracks! Kyle loves to show off their trails, so contact the WBC and Dawn/Alvis if you would like a tour.
PS We found out from Kyle that our very own Don Ickles (leader of the new Beginner Road Ride out of McGregor on Thursday evenings) was the driving force behind putting trails in at San Angelo State Park! Way to go, Don!
Thursday Beginner Road Ride Beginning Road Cyclist Ride on July 29th