Canyon Park
Managed by United States Army Corps of Engineers
461 acres10.5 mi of trail
Madrone Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Canyon Lake Marina ParkingWebsite ↗
Fischer Historic District · Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Canyon Lake
Canyon Lake has 4,438 acres of parks, 131 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Canyon Lake’s land is conserved, about 13,993 acres. The biggest trail networks: Canyon Park (10.5 mi), Hidden Valley Sports Park (0.9 mi). 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #119 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
13,993 acres · of 142.7 sq mi of land
Trails
32 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,438 ac
131 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,404 ft
Startz Hill
Lakes & rivers
25
1 beach · 18 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Canyon Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Canyon Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Canyon Lake is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #119 of 642 in Texas. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Canyon Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (32 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land131 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,438 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13AParks close to home40% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 70%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 82%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Canyon Lake’s 15% is ahead of 93% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 48% of them.
Water is 9% of Canyon Lake’s area (13 of 156 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 14%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Canyon Park, with 10.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hidden Valley Sports Park
Managed by Comal County
85 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Cranes Mill Park
Managed by United States Army Corps of Engineers
228 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Potter's Creek Park
Managed by United States Army Corps of Engineers
310 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 9 parks & preserves
Canyon Park461 acres · 10.5 mi of trail · United States Army Corps of Engineers
DirectionsHidden Valley Sports Park85 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Comal County
DirectionsCranes Mill Park228 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · United States Army Corps of Engineers
Guadalupe Park17 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · United States Army Corps of Engineers
Potter's Creek Park310 acres · United States Army Corps of Engineers
Comal Park130 acres · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
DirectionsNorth Park45 acres · United States Army Corps of Engineers
DirectionsOverlook Park31 acres · United States Army Corps of Engineers
DirectionsAllen Park3 acres
Who protects it
13,993 conserved acres
15% of Canyon Lake’s land. Water is left out: Canyon Lake has 142.7 square miles of land and 13.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Canyon Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers24,512 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,097 ac
Joint1,414 ac
County194 ac
Not recorded1,414 ac
Recreation or Education Easement · 11,567 acRecreation Management Area · 11,510 acConservation Easement · 3,525 acNational Public Lands · 1,476 acPrivate Park · 1,414 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 995 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 25 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canyon Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 11,510 | Open |
| El Rancho Cima Private Park | Not recorded | 1,410 | Open |
| Canyon Park National Public Lands | Army Corps of Engineers | 457 | Open |
| Potters Creek Park National Public Lands | Army Corps of Engineers | 316 | Open |
| Jacobs Creek Park National Public Lands | Army Corps of Engineers | 248 | Open |
| Cranes Mill Park National Public Lands | Army Corps of Engineers | 233 | Open |
| Comal Park National Public Lands | Army Corps of Engineers | 150 | Open |
| Hidden Valley Sports Park Local Recreation Area | County | 84 | Open |
| James C. Curry Nature Center Local Recreation Area | County | 55 | Open |
| North Park National Public Lands | Army Corps of Engineers | 45 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
26 places to go in Canyon Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Canyon Lake
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Canyon Lake
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Canyon Lake
Canyon Lake MarinaIn Canyon Park
DirectionsNorth Cranes Mill-Mystic Shores Boat Ramp
DirectionsRamp #2
DirectionsRamp #5
DirectionsRamp #7
DirectionsPlus 13 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Canyon Lake
Startz Hill1,404 ft elevation
DirectionsBaldy Mountain1,132 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Canyon Lake
Camp Fimfo Texas Hill Country
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 25 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.5 miUnpaved · 9.6 mi
Madrone Trail7.5 mi
Serenity0.4 mi
Swing Horse Circle0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Canyon LakereservoirKrause LakereservoirLake PetitreservoirBear CreekCherry CreekCordova HollowDevils HollowDry Bear CreekDry Comal CreekDutch BranchGuadalupe RiverHeiser HollowJacobs CreekJentsch CreekLittle Bear CreekMountain CreekPoint CreekPotter CreekPuter CreekRebecca CreekSchultz CreekSorrel CreekSuche CreekTom CreekWest Fork Dry Comal Creek
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
20Tennis
11Soccer
9Baseball
7Pickleball
6Basketball
4Football
3Softball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Canyon Lake
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 62 | 67 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 92 | 95 | 96 | 90 | 82 | 71 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Canyon Lake →
Next door
Canyon Lake and its neighbors
Canyon Lake has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canyon Lake | 15% | 0.2 | 131 | 40% | B+ |
| Spring Branch | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Canyon Lake
Where can I hike in Canyon Lake?
The longest trail networks: Canyon Park, 10.5 miles; Hidden Valley Sports Park, 0.9 miles; Cranes Mill Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Canyon Lake is conserved land?
15% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Texas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Canyon Lake’s trails?
Canyon Park and Hidden Valley Sports Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Canyon Lake?
12,776 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Canyon Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,719 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Canyon Lake have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #119 of 642 in Texas. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Canyon Lake neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →