Joshua Springs Park

Joshua Springs Park and Preserve is just off of I-10 halfway between Boerne and Comfort. This lightly used Hill Country park is well crafted and offers an abundance of activities in its 400+ acres. I was not able to get a firm grasp on how many miles of trails there are, maybe 8+? But there is a lot to explore here.

The first thing that caught my eye was an area set aside for model aircraft flight. I ran over there first to check it out. I saw four planes in action and an actual paved runway for them. The runway was actually quite impressive: big enough for an Alaska bush plane to land and take off.

Joshua Springs Park Model Aircraft — **Model Aircraft Flight Area**

Next I noticed the disc golf course. It is a nine-hole course that starts and ends close to the main parking lot. This was fun to run around, although all the signs about venomous snakes in the area made be a bit nervous. I have only seen two rattlesnakes in my five years of trail running in Texas, and I’d like to keep that number low.

Back by the parking lot is a playground for kids and some decent restrooms. Now on to the lake. Joshua Springs has been dammed with a set of berms to form a main lake and a few minor ponds surrounding it. The main lake is stocked for fishing, and has ADA access on a paved trail and a couple of nice platforms to fish from. The lake was peaceful and I could see just hanging out there for an afternoon, maybe kayaking a bit or just fishing. No swimming though – it is a small lake and they want to keep it fish-able. I have seen pictures of a waterfall leading into the lake, but it has been a dry year, so no waterfall this trip.

Joshua Springs Park Trails

There are three sets of interwoven trails here. The first is the paved section that is an easy walk or bike. The main loop is 1.25 miles and then there is another 2/3 mile paved trail (can be steep!) up to the Ring Mountain event center.

The second set of trails is flat packed dirt and does a figure eight around the main parking area. These trails are well marked. It looks to be about a mile of trails, with some pavement linking a few different sections. This is a nice easy walk and has some interpretive signs and wildlife viewing blinds with benches along the way. There are also a couple of Swift towers for the birds.

The third set of trails is mountain bike or hiking accessible. I ran about 4 miles of pavement and then the South Bank Loop and Joshua Creek Loop, and I was only on about half the trails at the park. The trails are an easy run, with only a bit of elevation. There are a few markers here and there, but overall you just need to explore a bit. With Ring Mountain visible from most of the park, it is fairly easy to keep your bearings.