Review
The Lake Loop/ West Loop is the bread and butter of any run at Phipps Park. Designated on maps around the park as the West Loop but more commonly known as the Lake Loop, this 2.5-mile loop circumnavigates much of the park.
Following the Lake Loop is not particularly difficult. All you must do is follow the largest and most well-maintained trail throughout a large loop. This trail is well established, and is mostly immaculate. That being said, the section of the trail next to Lake Jackson is not gravel and is instead more just a line cut in the grass. Because this section is not maintained incredibly well, you may have to trek through some less-than-optimally cut grass. Other than that, the physical qualities of the Lake Loop are great.
The other notable feature of the Lake Loop is the half mile long hill at the end of it (or beginning if you run it backwards) that boasts around 140 feet of elevation. The first mile is pretty flat, so the second mile of this loop is always an easy, rolling downhill mile. Although this loop only has a hill for about 1/5th of its length, the sheer size of this hill makes it a more than adequate way of obtaining elevation on your run at the park.
The Lake Loop is more or less the baseline from which all other loops branch off. Virtually every loop on the Phipps Park side of the trails is connected to the Lake Loop in some way because of its length.
Rating: Out of 10