Dripping Springs Ranch Park
Park
115 acres5.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Dripping Springs
Dripping Springs has 10 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
279 acres are parks and preserves, 38 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Dripping Springs Ranch Park (5.3 mi), Charro Ranch Park (2.6 mi), Founders Memorial Park (1 mi). 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #76 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
185 acres · of 8.8 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
279 ac
38 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,332 ft
Wallace Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Dripping Springs?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dripping Springs have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dripping Springs is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #76 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dripping Springs’ overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land38 acres of park per 1,000 residents (279 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home73% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 77%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 88%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Dripping Springs’ 3% is ahead of 68% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 91% of them.
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 Dripping Springs Ranch Park, with 5.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Charro Ranch Park
Park
69 acres2.6 mi of trail
Roadrunner TrailCross Country TrailSolstice Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Founders Memorial Park
Managed by City of Dripping Springs
37 acres1 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
The Dripping Springs Sports & Recreation Park
Park
39 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
185 conserved acres
3% of Dripping Springs’ land. Who manages Dripping Springs’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city286 ac
Joint33 ac
Private owners16 ac
Not recorded33 ac
Conservation Easement · 184 acLocal Park · 162 acPrivate Park · 22 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charro Ranch Park Local Park | Town or city | 67 | Open |
| Dripping Springs Sports and Recreation Park Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Open |
| Founders Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Dripping Springs Youth Sports Assoc. Local Park | Not recorded | 19 | Open |
| Karhan Park Private Park | Not recorded | 15 | Open |
| Shane Lane Park Private Park | Private owners | 8 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Dripping Springs
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dripping Springs
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Dripping Springs
Wallace Mountain1,332 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.3 miHorses · 5.3 mi
Roadrunner Trail1.2 mi
Central Bark Path0.3 mi
Cross Country Trail0.2 mi
Solstice Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
13Soccer
11Tennis
10Baseball
4Softball
3Football
2Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Dripping Springs
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 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 61 | 65 | 72 | 79 | 85 | 91 | 94 | 95 | 89 | 80 | 70 | 62 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 95 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 95 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dripping Springs →
Next door
Dripping Springs and its neighbors
Dripping Springs 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dripping Springs | 3% | 1.2 | 38 | 73% | A− |
| Belterra | 12% | 1.7 | 2 | 44% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dripping Springs
Where can I hike in Dripping Springs?
The longest trail networks: Dripping Springs Ranch Park, 5.3 miles; Charro Ranch Park, 2.6 miles; Founders Memorial Park, 1 miles; The Dripping Springs Sports & Recreation Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dripping Springs is conserved land?
3% 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 Dripping Springs’ trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Founders Memorial Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dripping Springs?
27,442 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dripping Springs or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 306 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Dripping Springs have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #76 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 Dripping Springs 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 →