Bar K Park
Managed by LVPOA
44 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lago Vista
23% of Lago Vista’s land is conserved: 2,161 acres
12 miles of mapped trail cross Lago Vista, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Bar K Park (0.7 mi). 31% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #136 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
2,161 acres · of 14.4 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
111 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
31%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,060 ft
Bald Mountain
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Lago Vista?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lago Vista have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lago Vista is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #136 of 642 in Texas. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lago Vista’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (111 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home31% 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 67%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 79%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Lago Vista’s 23% is ahead of 96% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 84% of them.
Water is 7% of Lago Vista’s area (1 of 16 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 22%.
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 Bar K Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,161 conserved acres
23% of Lago Vista’s land. Water is left out: Lago Vista has 14.4 square miles of land and 1.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lago Vista’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency2,100 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,100 ac
Private owners122 ac
Town or city85 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service2 ac
Recreation or Education Easement · 2,100 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 2,100 acConservation Easement · 104 acLocal Park · 104 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Travis Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2,100 | Closed |
| Park Local Park | Private owners | 51 | Open |
| Bar K Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Cody Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Green Shores Local Park | Private owners | 10 | Open |
| Hancock Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Heather Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 2 | Restricted |
Things to do
10 places to go in Lago Vista
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lago Vista
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Lago Vista
Bald Mountain1,060 ft elevation
DirectionsPost Oak Ridge
DirectionsPicnic areas in Lago Vista
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.4 mi
Sunrise Trail1.0 mi
Old Commanche Camp0.3 mi
Ruffin Cove0.1 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
16Tennis
4Tracks
4Baseball
3Pickleball
2Football
2Softball
2Beach volleyball
2Basketball
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 Lago Vista
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) | 62 | 66 | 72 | 80 | 86 | 93 | 96 | 97 | 90 | 81 | 71 | 63 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
July is the driest month (2.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lago Vista →
Next door
Lago Vista and its neighbors
Lago Vista 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lago Vista | 23% | 0.8 | 12 | 31% | B+ |
| Jonestown | 27% | 0.5 | 30 | 68% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lago Vista
Where can I hike in Lago Vista?
The longest trail networks: Bar K Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lago Vista is conserved land?
23% 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 Lago Vista’s trails?
Bar K Park and Sunset Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lago Vista?
18,779 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lago Vista or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 151 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lago Vista have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #136 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 Lago Vista 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 →