Louise Hays Park — Attraction in Kerrville

Get here early enough and you can get a shaded parking spot under the bridge.

The facilities: Cool splash pad and playground for the kids (just keep them on a leash). Nice, clean restrooms with running water - no port-a-potties here folks. Picnic tables, but there aren't any grills - you'll need to bring your own.

The trails: A round trip of 8.6 miles of paved concrete, low incline trails take you from this park, down to the Schreiner Park gate (which is locked at the trail entrance) and back again. It's not a loop, it's there and back. Turning right from Louise Hayes Park takes you to Schreiner Park, but it kind of strays away from the river's edge, and although there is some shade, it's not as shady or as pretty if you turn left from Louise Hayes Park. The left hand turn takes you pretty close to the river and has some tall trees, providing plenty of shade. There are also a few off road trails that you can explore (but not many).

The river: Really easy river access from this park. Easy to get in and out of at several points. There's hardly any current, so if the breeze is blowing the wrong way, you might find yourself drifting UP river if you are tubing. On my most recent visit, I noticed there were some signs up river that said no swimming because the bacteria levels were too high. I was told this was from the ducks that are in that area. The signs aren't easy to spot, so keep an eye out before getting in the river.

I've been to this park on July 4th, and on Labor Day, and I can tell you, for a park that has river access on these summer holidays, it was surprisingly not crowded, and very low key. I like it for that reason alone!

There's an awesome free 4th of July concert they have here each year featuring Robert Earl Keen and they host other events throughout the year as well. Pro Tip - on the big events: they close the parking lots down, but you can park across the street in the mall parking lot for free. It's...

Normally a park like this would be a solid five stars, but I'm bringing it down to two stars because A) you åsshølës need to fix every füçkïñg outlet in this bïtçh aside from the ones at the family pavilion. If I want to charge my phone, I gotta sit in the pavilion, and most of the time during the day there's so many sçrëéçhïñg füçkïñg crøtçh gøblïñs running around there it isn't wørth the füçkïñg headache I get sitting there, and the park closes at 23:00 so I have an incredibly short window from the time the åsshølë parents bring their çrøtçh spåwñ home for the night and until the park closes to charge my phone in peace. The downside of parks this beautiful in general is they're magnet for sçrëåmïñg hümåñ younglings. I HĀTÉ loud manmade noises, a little peace and quiet shouldn't be too much to ask for but around this shïthølé town apparently it is. And don't even get me started on the fact that the cops in this shïtshøw town are either unwilling or unable to çråçk down on these péñçïl dïçk walking pïëçës of ëxçrëmëñt that pretend to be hümåñ driving an assortment of the most øbñøxïøüs, rëprëhéñsïbly loud sedans and pickups imaginable. I am currently operating at 1/4 or 1/2 of the sleep I should be getting because of those øvërçømpëñsåtïñg wørthlëss shrïmp dïçks alone. As a collective I give Kerville zero stars, the only redeeming businesses in town are the library, Catholic Church, and the laid back 7/11 and the Whataburger. Most but not all of yøü ïñçøñsïdërāté çüñts just...

Louise Hays Park: Where the Ducks Judge Your Life Choices

Louise Hays Park in Kerrville is basically nature’s way of saying, "Hey, relax for a minute." This place has everythin. Lush green spaces, a river that’s suspiciously clean, and ducks that stare at you like they know you forgot to bring bread.

The walking trails are perfect for a leisurely stroll or an impromptu power walk when you realize you’ve been lapped by a senior citizen twice. Kids love the playground, and parents love the fact that it’s fenced in, which is basically a legal form of babysitting.

The picnic areas are great, assuming you can snag one before the family reunion crowd takes over. And if you’re into kayaking or fishing, the Guadalupe River is right there, waiting to test your balance and your patience.

Overall, Louise Hays Park is a delightful little escape where you can enjoy nature, question your fitness level, and be silently judged by waterfowl. Highly recommend, just bring snacks for the ducks, unless you enjoy their...