Horseshoe Bay's Other Fall Calendar Starts at a Pet Memorial Bridge

"My hope is that we will soon gather to bless the structure and begin the tradition of adorning its rails with the collars and tags of our loyal companions," Elsie Thurman told DailyTrib in March. "It will be a living tribute to the pets who have graced our lives."

She was talking about Berkeley's Bridge. It's a small pedestrian bridge on the Elsie Thurman Nature Walking Trail at the new Horseshoe Bay City Center. The idea goes back to October 2022, when a resident brought it to Thurman, who was mayor pro tem at the time. For a while the concept had no place to go. "At the time, the idea was perfect, but the location wasn't," Thurman said. That changed once the City Center and its walking trail were planned.

The bridge says a lot about how Horseshoe Bay's community calendar works this fall. Most published fall guides for Horseshoe Bay are really the resort's calendar, and those events fill the weekends. A second calendar runs alongside it this year, put together by donors, volunteers, nonprofits and city staff. It meets almost entirely on weekday afternoons and weeknights. Most of it is free, and much of it centers on places that didn't exist a year ago.

A building with room for a calendar

The City Center opened with a ribbon-cutting on Feb. 17, 2026. That means this is the first fall Horseshoe Bay has had it. The 16,000-square-foot building at 9101 W. FM 2147 cost $12.2 million and took four years to finish. It replaced the 1970s-era City Hall, where staff had been working out of repurposed closets, temporary buildings and shared offices, according to DailyTrib.

The new building holds the city's offices and also serves as a recreational and gathering space for residents. Its 10-acre campus includes the pet memorial bridge, two trail entrances, and a shared-use path that connects the east and west sides of the city. Former mayors are honored across the grounds: Steve Jordan Parkway, the Bob Lambert monument, the Elsie Thurman Trail, and the Cynthia Clinesmith benches outside the building.

Berkeley's Bridge itself was donated by the Matthews family. It's named after their 13-year-old comfort retriever, Berkeley, and was inspired by a similar bridge they saw in Vermont, hung with the collars and tags of pets that had died. The city has given residents permission to hang their own pets' collars and tags along the railings, and a plaque will invite visitors to do so. DailyTrib reported that the bridge marks the start of the city's growing municipal trail system.

One caveat on timing. The March report said crews expected to finish the bridge that week, weather permitting. We haven't seen a later published account confirming that it was completed or that the blessing Thurman described has taken place. Anyone planning a visit to hang a collar this fall may want to check with the city first.

Who is actually putting on this season

On the resort's calendar, the resort is the host. On the town's calendar, the hosts are a handful of local organizations, and most of them depend on donated money and volunteer time.

• HSB Park, Inc. is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit behind Horseshoe Bay Nature Park. The park credits donors and volunteers for its existence and says it's developed and maintained in partnership with the city.
• Hill Country Astronomers are bringing the telescopes and expertise to the park's November stargazing night.
• The Horseshoe Bay Memorial Association is hosting the dedication of the Memorial Park Mausoleum and Gardens of Horseshoe Bay.
• The Horseshoe Bay Fire Department is holding a push-in ceremony to welcome Engine 11 into service.
• The Horseshoe Bay Business Alliance hosts Holidaze. A 2022 DailyTrib profile described the Alliance as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organized in 2009 and incorporated in 2010.

Each of these events is small and has a single purpose, and none charges admission. Here's what each one involves.

October 21: a dedication on Mausoleum Road

The Memorial Association's ribbon-cutting runs from 4 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, on Mausoleum Road. It marks the completion and dedication of the Memorial Park Mausoleum and Gardens. The event is free, and the city's listing asks guests to RSVP to [email protected].

November 12: a dark sky over Golden Nugget

The Stargazing Party runs Thursday, Nov. 12, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Horseshoe Bay Nature Park, 1514 Golden Nugget. The city and the Nature Park are co-hosting, and admission is free. The listing calls it a family-friendly evening and suggests bringing a folding chair and a blanket or light jacket. It also notes a waxing crescent moon at about 10% visibility, so the sky should be fairly dark.

The park's visitor page lists a half-mile loop, an observation deck, a bird blind, beehives, Chimney Swift towers, nesting boxes and a wildlife watering station. It says the park is open daily from sunrise to sunset and free to visit. Trails are pedestrian-only, and dogs must stay leashed and on the trails. The page carries no update date, so treat those hours as the park's posted guidance, not a confirmed current schedule. Plenty of people know the loop in daylight. The stargazing party is a chance to see the park after dark.

November 19: Engine 11 rolls in

The fire department's ceremony runs Thursday, Nov. 19, from 1 to 1:45 p.m. at Central Fire Station, 1 Community Drive. The city's listing invites residents to help welcome Engine 11 into service, and the event is free. The listing doesn't give the truck's specifications or say how it was funded.

December 1: Holidaze and the Citizen of the Year finalists

Holidaze runs Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The city calendar lists complimentary food and beverages, door prizes, and the announcement of the 2026 Citizen of the Year finalists. The listings we reviewed don't name a venue.

In the 2022 DailyTrib account, nominations opened each August. An Alliance committee judged nominees on community involvement, contributions and personal qualities, then narrowed five candidates to three finalists. That describes how the award worked in 2022. The process may have changed since.

Both calendars, side by side

Put the two calendars together and the split is easy to see. The community events land on a Wednesday, two Thursdays and a Tuesday. Apart from the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, every resort event below lands on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Some resort events still work well for locals. The boat show brings restored wooden classics to the marina, and this year a classic car show joins it for the first time. The junior angler tournament on Oct. 17 is complimentary and offers a half-day guided fishing trip as the grand prize. Kids need to bring their own life jackets. The resort has limited poles and bait, and personal rods are welcome.

Wine, Dine & Jazz opens Friday with a five-course wine dinner and continues Saturday with chef demonstrations and a tasting stroll. The resort's Oct. 5 holiday announcement lists the Jingle Bell Express Breakfast on Nov. 29. It also lists Christmas on the Lawn on Dec. 4, a Dave Madden and McKenna Michels concert on Dec. 5, and A Charlie Brown Christmas Breakfast on Dec. 6.

What's still being built

Several of these places aren't finished yet. Fundraising continues for a second phase of the City Center trail, which would extend it around the campus into a longer loop.

On FM 2147, two roundabouts have been proposed, one at Bay West Boulevard and one at Horseshoe Bay Boulevard. They're still in planning. DailyTrib reported in March that environmental review, public input and utility layouts were expected to continue through fiscal year 2027, so nothing about them affects this fall.

At the resort, construction began in August on a $10 million racquet-sports expansion with four padel courts and a 6,690-square-foot clubhouse. The resort expects it to open by summer 2027.

Next fall's calendar will likely look different from this one. If the second trail phase gets funded, the loop at 9101 W. FM 2147 gets longer. The padel courts will have opened, and the bridge railings may hold a year's worth of collars and tags.

At McAlister Realty, we follow both sides of Horseshoe Bay's calendar. That includes the City Center trail, the Nature Park and the resort marina, and how each of them fits into daily life around Lake LBJ. If you'd like to talk about what these new civic spaces mean for your street or your plans, Tara is glad to sit down with you. Request a Market Consultation, and we'll start with the places you actually use.