It’s time for Chisholm Trail:

Here’s what you need to know before attending

By Leesa Teale, 

LPR Publisher                             

Above, Volunteers brave the heat on Monday morning to put the rodeo ring together for this weekends events. Volunteers continued through the week to prepare Lockhart City Park to make it festival ready for one of the biggest weekends in Lockhart. Photo by Anthony Collins.     

  What began over 50 years ago as a hometown celebration inspired by the wild and raucous history of a cattle town along the historic Chisholm Trail, has evolved into the quintessential expression of everything there is to love about Lockhart, Texas. 

     Held the second full weekend in June at Lockhart City Park, CTR is the largest three-day celebration in Lockhart. This family-friendly event hosts an award-winning rodeo, live entertainment, a carnival, food and craft vendors, a grand parade, and much more. The festival promises to bring fun for all that attend but Mother Nature may have other plans. 

     The CTR festival committee is actively working on contingency plans regarding parking and transportation to and from the event as well as individual events throughout the festival. 

     According to Megan Carvajal the best place to keep up-to-date with the possible changes to this weekend’s festival is on the Lockhart Chamber of Commerce and the 2025 Chisholm Trail Roundup and Rodeo social media pages. “With the possibility of inclement weather, we will be posting updates on social media, as needed, on Facebook and Instagram,” stated Carvajal. The Lockhart Post-Register will also be posting updates, as they are received, on their website at www.post-register.com. 

    The CTR festival committee would like to remind festival-goers about a few important items to note about the upcoming festival that could impact your visit.

    On Saturday, June 14, the First Lockhart National Bank will host the Chisholm Trail Roundup Grand Parade in historic Downtown Lockhart.  Make sure you get to town early to ensure you get a good spot.  Bring your lawn chairs, picnic blankets, umbrellas, and plenty of sunscreen. 

    The parade route and lineup locations have changed for this year’s event. After extensive planning, the CTR committee has developed a plan to make the lineup much more cohesive than in years past. This year’s lineup will take place on Maple Street on the southwest part of Lockhart.     Previously the lineup locations often impacted residences by blocking driveways. This year the parade entries will enter Maple Street off City Line Road and head east to be lined-up for the parade.  Lineup begins at 8 am and judging of floats will be at 8:30 am. The parade will then begin promptly at 10 am. 

     The route of the parade has changed as well due to construction in downtown Lockhart. The parade will begin at the corner of S. Medina and W. San Antonio Streets. Then head towards downtown on San Antonio until is meets Main Street where it will turn and end at the usual end point in front of the Dr. Eugene Clark Library at the corner of W. Prairie Lea and S. Main. Also, as a reminder it is strictly prohibited for any object to be thrown from any parade entry. 

     Parking and transportation to the event. There are two options for parking at Chisholm Trail Roundup. The first option is on-site parking is available for $10 at City Park.  The second option is to take advantage of the FREE Park & Ride service from the Caldwell County Justice Center located at1703 S. Colorado Street in Lockhart. The shuttle service will run through the entirety of the event. 

     To provide a safer environment for the public, the festival committee has implemented a clear bag policy that limits the size and type of bags that may be brought into festival. It is strongly encouraged that guests not to bring any type of bag into CTR, but attendees will be able to carry certain styles in a clear bag format. There are no provisions at Chisholm Trail Roundup to check prohibited bags or items at the park. Guests carrying non-approved items will be asked to return prohibited items to their vehicles. Public safety is the top priority, and CTR guests deserve to be in a safe and secure environment. 

     Also, pre-festival wristband sales will cease at the Chamber office at noon on Wednesday, June 11,  but can still be purchased at the gates throughout the festival. Band prices are $10 for Thursday and $20 each for Friday and Saturday’s events. But to save some money you should purchase your the pre-sale bands for only $25 for all three days. 

     The Lockhart Chamber of Commerce would like to remind everyone of all the effort that goes into preparing for a festival of this size. Without the help of the countless volunteers, their institutional knowledge  of those that volunteer year after year, this festival wouldn’t be what it is today. A huge thank you goes to all those who have put in numerous hours of planning and coordinating for this event.