Spring Lake Natural Area
Photos by Melinda Seib
Spring Lake consists of 252 acres of undeveloped parkland that sits just above the headwaters of the San Marcos River. About half of the property is in the Edwards Aquifer Recharge zone, and all of the property is part of the Sink Creek watershed. San Marcos Springs and Spring Lake are rare ecological jewels among Texas water resources and support five endangered species. The area was used for ranching and hunting for many years, but has recently been left largely undisturbed with the exception of some natural-surface trails. This greenspace contains the typical meadows and woodlands found in the Edwards Plateau, with a wide variety of flora and fauna, including Mexican buckeye. The geology includes the Eagle-Ford, Georgetown, Del Rio clay, and Edwards limestone layers.
Spring Lake Natural Area is one of the prettiest natural areas with majestic live oaks draped in Spanish moss, flowering Mountain Laurel (two weeks in March), flowering Kidneywood (April), and many other butterfly attractors. In the spring, the meadow along Blue Stem Trail has an assortment of wildflowers and native grasses, including the trail’s namesake Texas native grass - Blue Stem. More than six miles of trails traverse the acreage with elevation changes from the hillside down to the meadow.
The area around San Marcos Springs is thought to be one of the longest continuously occupied areas in North America due to its proximity to the Springs. In 1926, A.B. Rogers purchased land around the Springs and built the Aquarena Springs Resort. Certain hillside trails are closed from March through May for Golden Cheek Warbler nesting season, as posted at the trailheads and on signs within the natural area. Please respect this restriction--we acquired the property with this stipulation. More than half the property is open year-round.
Location
685 Lime Kiln Road, San Marcos, TX 78666
Hours of Operation: 6 AM – 11 PM
Hiking Trails
You can access the hiking trails from one of these trailheads:
685 Lime Kiln Road
1414 N LBJ Drive
215 San Marcos Springs Drive
About the Golden Cheeked Warbler
About Texas Fossils
TEKS CONNECTION
Science:
2nd Grade
2.9 Organisms and environments. The student knows that living organisms have basic needs that must be met to survive within their environment.
2.9(A) identify the basic needs of plants and animals
2.9(B) identify factors in the environment, including temperature and precipitation, that affect growth and behavior, such as migration, hibernation, and dormancy of living things
2.9(C) compare the ways living organisms depend on each other and their environments, such as through food chains
2.10 Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their environments.
2.10(A) observe, record, and compare how the physical characteristics and behaviors of animals help them meet their basic needs
3rd Grade
3.9 Organisms and environments. The student knows and can describe patterns, cycles, systems, and relationships within the environments.
3.9(A) observe and describe the physical characteristics of environments and how they support populations and communities of plants and animals within an ecosystem
3.9(B) identify and describe the flow of energy in a food chain and predict how changes in a food chain affect the ecosystem, such as the removal of frogs from a pond or bees from a field
3.10 Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms undergo similar life processes and have structures that help them survive within their environments.
3.10(A) explore how the structures and functions of plants and animals allow them to survive in a particular environment
3.10(B) investigate and compare how animals and plants undergo a series of orderly changes in their diverse life cycles such as tomato plants, frogs, and lady beetles
4th Grade
4.9 Organisms and environments. The student knows and understands that living organisms within an ecosystem interact with one another and their environment.
4.9(A) I\investigate that most producers need sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make their food, while consumers are dependent on other organisms for food
4.9(B) describes the flow of energy through food webs, beginning with the Sun, and predicts how changes in the ecosystem affect the food web
4.10 Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms undergo similar life processes and have structures and behaviors that help them survive within their environments.
4.10(A) explore how structures and functions enable organisms to survive in their environment
4.10(B) explore and describe examples of traits that are inherited from parents to offspring such as eye color and shapes of leaves and behaviors that are learned, such as reading a book and a wolf pack teaching their pups to hunt effectively
4.10(C) explore, illustrate, and compare life cycles in living organisms such as beetles, crickets, radishes, or lima beans
Social Studies:
2nd Grade
2.5 Geography. The student understands how humans use and modify the physical environment.
2.5(A) identify ways in which people have modified the physical environment, such as clearing land, building roads, using land for agriculture, and drilling for oil
2.5(B) identify the consequences of human modification of the physical environment
2.5(C) identify ways people can conserve and replenish Earth’s resources
2.16 Social Studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms.
2.16(F) create written and visual material such as stories, maps, and graphic organizers to express ideas
3rd Grade
3.3 Geography. The student understands how humans adapt to and/or modify the physical environment.
3.3(A) describes similarities and differences in the physical environment, including climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards
3.3(B) identify and compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment in which they live, such as deserts, mountains, wetlands, and plains
3.3(C) describe the effects of human processes such as building new homes, conservation, and pollution in shaping the landscape
3.15 Social Studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms.
3.15(E) create written and visual material such as stories, pictures, maps, and graphic organizers to express ideas
4th Grade
4.8 Geography. The student understands how people adapt to and modify their environment.
4.8(A) describe ways people have adapted to and modified their environment in Texas, ...
4.8(B) explain reasons why people have adapted to and modified their environment in Texas, past and present, such as the use of natural resources to meet basic needs, facilitate transportation, and enhance recreational activities
4.8(C) compares the positive and negative consequences of human modification of the environment in Texas, past and present
4.21 Social Studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms.
4.21(D) create written and visual material such as journal entries, reports, graphic organizers, outlines, and bibliographies
English Language Arts & Reading:
2nd Grade
2.7 Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.
2.7(E) interact with sources in meaningful ways, such as by illustrating or writing
2.9 Genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre‐specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.
2.9(B) explain visual patterns and structures in a variety of poems (S)
2.11 Writing process. The student uses the writing process recursively to compose multiple texts that are legible and uses appropriate conventions.
2.11(D) edit drafts using standard English conventions, including: (S)
(ii) past, present, and future verb tense ®
(iii) singular, plural, common, and proper nouns (S)
(iv) adjectives, including articles (S)
2.12 Genres. The student uses genre characteristics and craft to compose multiple texts that are meaningful.
2.12(A) compose literary texts, including personal narratives and poetry
3rd Grade
3.7 Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.
3.7(E) interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating
3.9 Genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre‐specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.
3.9(B) explain rhyme scheme, sound devices, and structural elements such as stanzas in a variety of poems (S)
3.11 Writing process. The student uses the writing process recursively to compose multiple texts that are legible and uses appropriate conventions.
3.11(D) edit drafts using standard English conventions, including: (S)
(ii) past, present, and future verb tense ®
(iii) singular, plural, common, and proper nouns (S)
(iv) adjectives, including their comparative and superlative forms (S)
3.12 Genres. The student uses genre characteristics and craft to compose multiple texts that are meaningful.
3.12(A) compose literary texts, including personal narratives and poetry, using genre characteristics and craft
4th Grade
4.7 Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.
4.7(E) interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating
4.11 Writing process. The student uses the writing process recursively to compose multiple texts that are legible and uses appropriate conventions.
4.11(D) edit drafts using standard English conventions, including: (S)
(ii) past tense of irregular verbs ®
(iii) singular, plural, common, and proper nouns (S)
(iv) adjectives, including their comparative and superlative forms (S)
4.12 Genres. The student uses genre characteristics and craft to compose multiple texts that are meaningful.
4.12(A) compose literary texts such as personal narratives and poetry using genre characteristics and craft
Source: Lead4Ward
