Shady Hollow West Nature Preserve
Managed by Shady Hollow Home Owners Associaton
24 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Shady Hollow
5% of Shady Hollow’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Shady Hollow, 0.6 per square mile of land. 5% of Shady Hollow’s land is conserved, about 71 acres.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #61 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
71 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
69 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.1 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Shady Hollow?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shady Hollow have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shady Hollow is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #61 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shady Hollow’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (69 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 91%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Shady Hollow’s 5% is ahead of 78% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 78% 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 Shady Hollow West Nature Preserve, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
David C. Ellis Community Center
Managed by Shady Hollow Home Owners Association
19 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Gatling Gun Park
Managed by Shady Hollow Home Owners Association
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Gatling Gun Park Path
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Southland Oaks Neighborhood Park
Managed by Austin Parks and Recreation Department
18 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Shady Hollow West Nature Preserve24 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Shady Hollow Home Owners Associaton
David C. Ellis Community Center19 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Shady Hollow Home Owners Association
Gatling Gun Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Shady Hollow Home Owners Association
Southland Oaks Neighborhood Park18 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Austin Parks and Recreation Department
Capistrano Park3 acres · Shady Hollow Home Owners Association
Who protects it
71 conserved acres
5% of Shady Hollow’s land. Who manages Shady Hollow’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city62 ac
Private owners38 ac
Joint18 ac
Conservation Easement · 70 acLocal Park · 44 acLocal Conservation Area · 2 acOther Easement · 1 acWatershed Protection Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 24 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shady Hollow West Nature Preserve Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Southland Oaks Neighborhood Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Shady Hollow Park Local Park | Private owners | 4 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Private owners | 3 | Open |
| AARAL Corp. Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 2 | Restricted |
| City of Austin Water Quality Protection Land Watershed Protection Area | Town or city | 1 | Closed |
| Bauerle Ranch Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Shady Hollow
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Shady Hollow
Capistrano Park PoolIn Capistrano Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Shady Hollow
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.8 mi
Gatling Gun Park Path0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
6Tennis
5Tracks
2Basketball
1Football
1Soccer
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 Shady Hollow
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 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 93 | 96 | 97 | 91 | 82 | 71 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Shady Hollow →
Questions about parks and trails in Shady Hollow
Where can I hike in Shady Hollow?
The longest trail networks: Shady Hollow West Nature Preserve, 0.3 miles; David C. Ellis Community Center, 0.3 miles; Gatling Gun Park, 0.3 miles; Southland Oaks Neighborhood Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shady Hollow is conserved land?
5% 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 Shady Hollow’s trails?
Shady Hollow West Nature Preserve and David C. Ellis Community Center don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Shady Hollow?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Shady Hollow?
17,363 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shady Hollow or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 73 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shady Hollow have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #61 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 Shady Hollow 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 →