San Angelo grew up on the North Concho, and the river corridor has long been the coolest, greenest strip of a dry town. By the early 2000s its trail system was falling into disrepair. In 2004 residents approved a sales tax that raised $15 million for riverfront work alone, and with private grants the city rebuilt the banks into a four-mile River Walk running through and beside downtown, linking neighborhoods, parks and schools. The American Planning Association later named it one of its Great Places in America. The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts worked with the city on the public art that lines it.
The trails are paved and lit at night, with benches and water features along the way, and the Celebration Bridge carries walkers between the north and south banks. Spanish Park, also called Sunken Garden Park, has beds of native plants and wildflowers and the city's largest outdoor sculpture gallery. The Bosque has picnic areas, mini golf and paddle boats; Kids Kingdom is a lit playground. The Bill Aylor Sr. Memorial River Stage, a three-acre amphitheater, has hosted concerts from Willie Nelson to B.B. King.
The river itself is open to anglers along the whole walk. It holds bass, catfish, carp and bluegill, and it is stocked with rainbow trout during the year; the downtown association counts San Angelo as one of only nine Texas cities with a community fishing area. A nine-hole course at Santa Fe Park sits beside the walk.
The closest stops worth working into your route
Roadside plaques and monuments within a short detour