Here’s which trail segments and areas welcomed back walkers and families on Monday.
KERRVILLE, Texas — Organizers of Kerrville’s official Fourth of July event set up equipment this summer for the annual celebration at Louise Hays Park, where music, families and fireworks were set to mark the holiday.
Instead, those plans were washed away with the stages when the Guadalupe River rose to historic levels early on the morning of July 4 and anticipation turned into a fight for survival. Louise Hays, as well as other popular Kerrville parks, closed down for weeks amid an ongoing rescue and recovery effort mounted in the aftermath of one of the Texas Hill Country’s worst flooding disasters.
Now, three months later, some of the park is back open for business.
“It’s kinda the heartbeat and the connective tissue of the public,” said Jay Brimhall, director of Kerrville Parks and Recreation. “There’s a lot more to do. But we wanted to open up at least this section of the trail system.”
The return of joggers, walkers and families to the 64-acre Louise Hays Park was made possible after weeks of debris removal and cleanup by crews. Three River Trail segments and areas of the park are accessible as those efforts continue, including the trail from Birkdale Trailhead (River Hills) to the G Street Trailhead; Schreiner University Trailhead to G Street Trailhead; and G Street Trailhead to Tranquility Island (accessible only from Louise Hays Park).
Monday’s reopening came under sunny skies and calm conditions—a symbolic contrast to the stormy skies that dumped an overwhelming amount of rain in early July.
“We’ve been waiting for this day for three months,” said David Danielson, a local pastor who was among the first to return to the trails Monday. “We’re appreciative of everybody who’s done all the work that it takes to get back open this far.”
Heavy equipment is still on scene, however, and city officials are urging the public to be careful.
“We’re in a different place than we were back in July,” Brimhall said. “We’re excited to have the public back out here. We just urge caution.”
That includes obeying all signs, being mindful of temporary obstacles indicating which trails are and aren’t open yet, using only marked parking areas, and steering clear of heavy equipment and construction areas. Bikes, golf carts, utility carts and other motorized equipment is also prohibited.
“Although select areas of Louise Hays Park and the Kerrville River Trail are reopening, visitors should be aware that the park experience will not yet be the same as prior to the flooding,” Kerrville city officials said in a release. “Louise Hays Park sustained extensive damage during the July 4 flooding event, and it will require significant time, funding, and public input to restore the park to its familiar condition.”
Schreiner Park, Kerrville’s biggest, started reopening certain areas in mid-August.
Which areas are off-limits?
Among the areas of Louise Hays Park that are inaccessible is the bridge at Camp Meeting Creek crossing east of the Birkdale Trailhead, which was completely removed in the aftermath of the natural disaster. As a result, the trail segment stretching from Birkdale Trailhead to the Kerrville-Schreiner Park Trailhead will remain closed.
These other areas are off-limits for now:
- River Trail pedestrian bridge at Lemos Street Bridge and the Butt Holdsworth Memorial Library on Tranquility Island.
- Tranquility Island not accessible from Riverside Nature Center or Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library.
- All trail segments and trailhead west of Lemos Street Bridge.
- All play structures along River Trail.