Shoal Creek could be such a gem
Just a rant, but the Shoal Creek trail really is a nice little urban creek with trees and regular water. But, oof, it isn't a great place.
It's filled with trash. Just all the time. Trash runoff from the city, and trash from the unhinged folk that live there. I used to carry a trash grabby thing with me and go out and pick up trash at local parks, but I won't spend time here. Don't want to get merked.
The unhinged folk that live there are dangerous. Straight up. Yes, government/society has failed them at large, but empathy for them as individuals ends at the line of violence. I've had multiple encounters myself with violent intoxicated people. As an example, I had an elderly dog that could no longer walk, whom I would push on the trail in a little buggy so she could get some mental stimulation. I had to fight off (verbal only; no contact) a dude from stealing the buggy.
For a while a couple months ago, the portion of the trail under the bridge near La Zona Rosa was just a straight up open air drug market. Not hidden, not subtle. If you have made the mistake of wandering to San Marcos and Caeser Chavez, you know what I am talking about. It was like this for weeks, a magnetic for the most dangerous people. You know that Royal Blue nearby? People are being arrested there multiple times a week for violent encounters. I feel so bad for the employees, because they put up with a lot.
Sorry. Just being an old man here. It's such a sad missed opportunity.