If you have a bad knee like me, I highly recommend wearing a knee brace. I also recommend hiking shoes with thick soles because the rocks are really sharp. I wore some Vivobarefoot and they were way too thin. Id recommend going to the end of Dantes trail, its quite a sight. Bring lots of bug spray if youre going in warm weather.

Great place, pretty and natural. Could use some updated signage, its easy to get lost. Take a pic of the map as you go in to keep track of where you are, gps works so you can always find your way out. Really very beautiful, lots of flowers!

Pretty good place to hike although you do hear the noise from the highway the entire time

I loved the hike with my K9. What a peaceful way to spend my morning and got my 11,000 steps in in less than two hours. If you visit with your dogs, please keep them on a leash. Maybe your dog is friendly but not all dogs like dogs coming at them.

Nice trails for walking or mountain biking. Bring water on hot days.

This is a really cool park. Ive riden my bike there a couple times which was great. Yesterday I did my first hike there. My wife pointed out all the road noise from highway 12. It was constant. I had never noticed while biking because I tend to have earbuds in. Even with the noise its still really nice. Sloping hills and nice thicc forest. There are many miles of trails to explore. I recommend any local to go check it out if you like to walk in the woods.

Easy hike, I would say more of a stroll but it was entertaining. Enough curves and interesting scenic points. Went later in the evening and I took a shortcut, got lost and made my hike all the more interesting.

This park is SUPER awesome. Its very clean and has a lot of different sights to see such as fairy baths, cool person-sized caves inside willow tree trunks, and pretty wildflowers all around. The only problem is that once you get further up the trail there is zero shade. Sounds fine in the evening or early morning, but this is Texas and its hot as heck. Its not the parks fault that some trees arent growing tall enough near the trail to provide shade, but it definitely makes a difference both for people and pups.

Best walk. Goes for miles. Beautiful scenery and wildlife.

Beautiful and well maintained set of trails by City of San Marcos. Though there are trail markers throughout, some areas may be confusing if this is your first time here. I recommend printing a map of the area or downloading a trail app to your phone to help just in case. Entrance from Hunter road has parking and restroom area. Just a gorgeous area highly recommend you check it out!!!

Nice trails when its dry. They have pretty good maintenance on the paths. Good views and great MTB terrain. However it gets boggy and dirty when it rains a bit too much.

Wonderful nature hike with the family. Its well kept and accessable.

Great place for a family hike! Such a good place to find some peace and solace.

Beautiful spot for people who actually enjoy nature but dont want to travel to an actual expanse of wilderness. Sometimes a bit crowded with white people who get mad about everything.

So nice, so pretty and the rangers were helpful also.

Very nice hike. There are a few trails to choose from. None are difficult, some are rocky paths, some are.smooth.

I love coming here!! It’s so nice a peaceful just to walk around and enjoy nature. I highly recommend coming here if you like walking around and enjoy the nature.

Its a little plain but still cool, good spot for biking. Has a neat hidden graffiti tunnel nearby that I was pleased to visit

Awesome trail. Safe and easy for the kiddos

Great place to go for a walk ppl need to clean up after their dogs more

Nice hiking trail. Well marked trails. My only complaint is that the dog owners seem to bag the poop and then leave the bags at the side of the trail. I have no idea if they pick them up on the way out. Nevertheless it makes for a less than perfect experience.

Great getaway right in town! Surrounded by trees, butterfly, rocks, and sounds of birds, hikers, runners, bikers, and even dogs enjoy this convenient hiking location. You can do a long or short hike? Or do like my family and just hike the short way to the top of the dam and have a picnic.

Nice park. Only thing is beware of the swampy area. My friend had mosquitos all around here for the almost the whole time we where walking. She was covered in them when she stopped to sit down. It was crazy. But beautiful scenery to walk by.

Very clean, great trails. I highly suggest checking these trials for a great hike.

Great park, Dantes trail is more technical in places than rated due to erosion. Good MTB spot!

This place is gorgeous every time of year. The trails have a good variance in difficulty. My dogs love it.

BEAUTIFUL clean safe Texas Hill country trail

Amazing trails! A must stop if you want to jog or want to go mountain biking. Great scenery and lots of wildlife.

Nice place for a quick walk in the nature...

You can get a good 8 miles in starting at the Lower Purgatory trailhead and by following the Dante Trail to the Backend Loop, and then back again. The trail is not difficult for hiking, but most of the Dante Trail would be considered difficult for trail runners and even mountain biking since a lot of the areas have rock formations and tree roots staggered out at random intervals. It just seems too difficult to run on because of the spacing of the roots and the jagged rocks.Some of the trail markers are confusing or even lacking in some areas.There’s a couple of scenic overlooks on these trails but nothing to be impressed by. I hiked this trail in the winter time after a decent rain and the creek bed was filled with stagnant water. If it hadn’t been cold, I would imagine the mosquitos would be very bad, so bring repellent if you go in the warmer months.Unlike most of the Texas hill country, this park seems to be filled with deciduous trees, so most of the trails don’t have a lot of noteworthy areas for photographs.95% of the Dante Trail and Backend Loop are shaded.Plenty of parking, one porta potty, and a water fountain for peeps and dogs at the lower purgatory trail head.VERY clean, and thanks to the folks of San Marcos for not leaving your doggy poop bags on the trail. I didn’t see a SINGLE one. Yall are awesome! Thanks for letting this out of towner use your trails.There’s a decent amount of parking, but the drive into the parking lot is gravel and has a lot of potholes. Roll low and slow through this place.I’ll check it out again in the spring or during our hotter than hell summers that we get around here.

Beautiful scenery and trails!

So beautiful! Loved the trails! So peaceful!

Social distancing visit and exercise. It is beautiful!

Great natural hiking trails. Heavy fullage growth in most areas. Take a friend so as to be smart/safe. Can be secluded in sections. Enjoy!

Love this place! There is a washout(cave) to see down the trail. We have been here several times. Lots of people take their dogs and we have seen people bike here however there are parts of the trail that have lots of rocks.

I love running the trails here even if i occasionally get lost.

Awesome place! If weather permits go out and enjoy a nice hike on the 463 acre natural area. Make sure to get on top of the dam to have a great overview of what is around you.

Its a very nice escape from anything city! I love this part of Texas!

I love coming here because its so big that you can find something new every time! Great for hiking and biking. Biking trails range in difficulty. Beautiful and inspiring views that will keep you coming back.

Love the different hiking paths. We take our dog on the Dante path to wear him out and cause his name is also Dante he loves this place.

Love this park! Beautiful scenery, great technical terrain for running or hiking, nice and quiet

A little gem of a place to walk and enjoy nature.

Enjoyed a long hike with my kids. Thankful for accurate GPS, though. We almost got lost 45 min into our trek on Dante. First time here. Was bummed about all the construction but I understand its a process. We will be back! The breeze under the trees was very pleasant for this time of year.

I love purgatory but I hope when they are finished making some of the trails ADA compliant they also post a new map! Between time and trailblazing its hard to tell whats what sometimes.

Nice trail, decent room for bikes too but still have to be careful. Mostly man-made trail with tons of little cut-offs leading around the grounds.Usually see people with dogs or children in tow, easy trail for a light walk.

I love this area for hiking. So beautiful and natural. It can get pretty busy on nice evenings though.

Very beautiful and technical mountain biking and hiking trails.

This is a great park, miles of trails, well maintained. The short loop is nice for a quick walk and some fresh air, but you can spend hours waking all the trails. Most areas are easy, but it does get a little more challenging in some places.

Excellent place to hike.

This is a treasure in Central Texas. There are great trails for walking, hiking, or mountain biking. There are miles of trails and two entrances. The parking lots will fill up on a sunny spring day.

Love going to purgatory with the kids!

Its an old dried up lake that has been created into walking trails. Love the views that you will see. Take plenty of water but beware there isnt a restroom while on the trails. Only at the start.

Great place to hike, always see varied bird life, lizzards, squirrels, butterflies and a dazzling array of wild flowers. Wish the mountain bikers would slow down a bit, and dog owners would pick up after their pets!

You can come out and just chill

This is a great hike and bike but the terrain has challenges. Great views and dogs can join but need to be prepared for the tougher terrain. Only 10 min from the great Broken Road Airbnb .

Theyre doing construction, and it makes the trail a little confusing. Its well covered, and it has pretty nice scenery. The trail isnt overwhelming (when you manage to find the correct trail)

Nice trails! We did seven miles without walking on the same trail twice.

Beautiful trails. The overlook is worth the hike.

I love these trails. Its rocky, beautiful, and a great work out. My dogs love it.

Nice hiking trails, nothing really special. Great mountain biking potential.

Beautiful area. Nice well maintained walking paths. Its just difficult to find parking since its in the middle of landa park. But other than that my dog and I loved it.

Some areas are kind of rocky. Im glad I brought trekking poles. Very pretty landscape.

Love this place! There is a washout(cave) to see down the trail.

Great hiking... I took the Upper trail which is less crowded. Good leg workout, will definitely go back.

Very well kept path and combination easy/ moderate

Hands down my favorite place to hike with my kids or pets or friends. Yep hike with anyone!!

I didnt really like it. The paths arent smooth they are pretty difficult. Plus I got stuck walking the same circular path way too many times. Lol. They should have a sign telling people how to get out of the park.

Nice hike with plenty of shade. It is very rocky and uneven to the cliff we stopped at so take that into consideration (we didntgo past the cliff). Trail is pretty narrow for the most part but I didnt encounter any bikers so it wasnt a problem.

Loved it great trails not very challenging but enjoyable still

Decent size hiking and mountain biking trails, really rocky though, and no 100% bike only trails. All trails shared so the bike trails lack cool features like youd find on dedicated bike trails.

First bluebonnets of the season... Just beautiful!

No water, but still the best trail in the area

Very challenging and exciting park! Make sure you know how to get out because some of the deeper trails can cause you to keep looping around the same trail almost like youre stuck in purgatory.

Very nice hiking. It was more challenging than I expect, but good.Does anyone know what the distance is from Upper parking lot to the cave then back?

Beautiful this time of year. The park was very active with families, groups, and individuals. The flowers were blooming and the trees provided a good amount of shade.

This is a nice place in town to access a walk, run, ride trail. Its not a mega nature experience place but a nice amenity in town for getting some work out hiking walking time.

The day was very Hot! 102 !!! But the birds, nature, shadow of the trees make it more comfortable.

A bit rugged, signs are not extremely well marked. If it is your first time, be careful to stay on the right trail. If youre not sure, stay put until someone walks by, and ask them. If you take your dog, make sure you have a way to give her water and be sure of full distance before setting out. Especially in the heat, dogs cannot tolerate as much as humans can.

Much larger park than I thought. Many well maintained trails, and beautiful scenery.Best for day hiking if youve got at least 45 minutes to spend.

Lovely trails

Wonderful trail system right here in town.

Great place to mountain bike esp if u like Texas rock gardens

Great trails too hike or bike and a lot of different ones

Really nice walking trail.

Grogeous place to run the dogs, and its big!

Great for a trail run!!

Great hike. Deers all over, watch out for rattlesnakes.

Very Rocky, but beautiful and a lot of fun!

Great place to clear your mind.

Its worth stopping by and checking out...maybe not a special trip.

Always beautiful and mysterious, have visited this location many times. There are numerous trailheads around San Marcos leading into the park. There are deer, wild hogs and numerous other types of wildlife. The vegetation is verdant and wild, you can get lost in there. For a little while, at least. Walk any good amount of any time and youll find houses and streets. But the illusion of wilderness in an urban area is encompassing.

Absolutely fun

Great place for a hike with the exception of people who refuse to leash their dogs. Be aware of this considering multiple requests, we encountered several people who had no problem letting their dogs roam at large even after encountering ours that were leashed and began to bark when the offenders started towards my family. We exited the trail to allow them to pass and their dogs with hackles raised decided to investigate. One young man did not even bring a leash with him. Many others were courteous and had no problem leashing their pets. The trails have too many people on them now to invite the trouble these others are seeking.

Great place kid and dog friendly

Love this place!

I love living around this area

This is a great place to get outdoors. Theres not a lot to see on the trails, but you can spend as much time as you have walking the trails.

This is a wonderful place to get out with the family and spend some time exploring. The dam is fun to climb, too

Great shaded hike for beginners.

It was great! We took the dog and baby road on dads back! It was a lot of fun and felt good to be outside in the beautiful weather.