Gatesville's Raby Park offers trails, pickleball, disc golf and summer pool

Raby Park and Faunt Le Roy Park are linked by trail, letting you move from courts and splash pad to riverfront shade and disc golf in one loop, with the city pool on the same campus.

Start at Raby Park for the broadest mix of activities

Raby Park was established in 1910 in memory of Dr. J.R. Raby. It is open daily from dawn to 11 p.m. unless posted otherwise, so it fits early walkers, after-school visits and evening recreation just as easily as a planned family outing.

The park has playground equipment, a basketball court, a skate park, teqball, two pickleball courts, walking trails, picnic tables, a seasonal splash pad, a municipal swimming pool and an 18-hole disc golf course.

Use the trail to connect the parks instead of doubling back

The easiest way to understand the layout is to treat Raby Park and Faunt Le Roy Park as one recreation corridor. The connecting trail between them is a rectangular loop about 0.44 miles long, rated easy, and shared with six of the disc golf holes. That makes the path useful for a quick walk, a disc golf round or a simple way to move between the parks without returning the way you came.

For a practical route, start at Raby Park if you want the splash pad, courts or pool first. Move onto the trail for a short loop, then continue toward Faunt Le Roy Park if your group wants shade, grills or a quieter riverfront stop. Because the trail is dog-friendly on leash, it also works for households that want to bring a pet along for the walk portion.

• Best starting point for water play and courts: Raby Park at 400 South 8th Street.
• Best starting point for a picnic or riverfront pause: Faunt Le Roy Park south of downtown along the Leon River.
• Best way to avoid retracing steps: use the 0.44-mile loop as the connector between the two parks.

The splash pad and pool are the summer anchors

The splash pad at Raby Park is seasonal and typically opens May 1, running from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weather permitting. It is unsupervised, which means adult supervision is required and the city’s rules are strict: no food, glass, balloons, animals, alcohol, wheeled recreation equipment, running, rough play, smoking, vaping, tobacco products or controlled substances in that area.

The Gatesville City Pool is on the same Raby Park campus at 300 S. 8th St. The pool has a one-meter diving board, six swimming lanes and three children’s slides, and it is scheduled to operate from May 23, 2026 through August 1, 2026.

Faunt Le Roy Park adds shade, riverfront space and room to linger

Faunt Le Roy Park sits south of downtown Gatesville along the Leon River and is free to enter. It has restrooms, picnic tables, barbecue grills, shaded green spaces, a playground, horseshoe pits and a volleyball court. Pets are allowed, but only on leash, which keeps it usable for walkers and picnic groups that want to stay outdoors longer.

The fee schedule sets a $25 per day charge for a long table or large barbecue area at the west end entrance at Faunt Le Roy’s Crossing and $20 per day for table five near the slides.

Disc golf and pickleball give the route a competitive edge

The Gatesville Disc Golf Course is an 18-hole public course established in 2011, with DGA Mach II baskets and a mix of concrete and dirt tee pads. Because six holes are shared with the trail connection, the course is not isolated from the rest of the park system. It is woven into the same corridor that connects the two parks, which makes the course easy to fold into a family outing even if not everyone in the group is playing.

Raby Park also gives Gatesville two pickleball courts, plus a basketball court, skate park and teqball table.

The city is treating the parks as civic infrastructure, not just open space

Gatesville Parks & Recreation's mission is to provide safe, healthy, diverse, accessible and high-quality year-round leisure experiences while preserving parks and natural resources.

Gatesville’s FY 2024 adopted budget called for a park master plan and a concept plan to redevelop Faunt Le Roy, Raby Park and the athletic field complex. A 2018 Gatesville City Council minute recorded that Faunt Le Roy Park had been significantly damaged by storms, with the park bank and road caving toward the river, and a March 2026 city manager report stated that the park was still awaiting FEMA fund approval to repair a culvert and reopen the lower portion for vehicle access to the parking lot.

What to expect if you want the whole loop in one outing

Start at Raby Park for the courts, playground and water features, walk the 0.44-mile loop into the disc golf corridor, then finish at Faunt Le Roy Park for shade, a picnic or a slower stretch by the Leon River. If you want the full summer version, add the splash pad for younger children and the pool for a longer stop on the same campus.