My favorite walking trails in Dallas
Walking and running have been a passion of mine for a long time. I ran track and field in high school. I helped start the women's team at my college alma mater, Fresno State University. A few years after college, once I had moved to the windy and often cold High Desert portion of southern California I quit pursuing running. But then I got back into it about 10 years ago. And while I have somewhat pursued running since then, I find myself more often pursuing walking.
I usually just walk around my own neigbhorhood here in Richardson, Texas. My apartment here was built in 1968, and I believe most of the homes in the neighborhood are even a bit older. They're all made of brick and have held their age well. It's a joy to walk around this neighborhood.
But since I go with my husband to work - which can be just about anywhere within 30 to 40 miles of here (occasionally farther) - I also walk in the neighborhood of whatever estate sale he happens to be setting up or working the sale at. Today, he's only three miles away, but that is the northeast edge of Dallas. It's also near a walking/bicycle trail I had never heard of, the White Rock Creek Trail.
I will start out by saying that all cities in the DFW area have numerous creeks with water running in them year round. It's likely that the city in which they are located will set up parks and trails on the banks of some of these creeks. But the biggest city in DFW, (Dallas of course) seems especially committed to trails.
Dallas has over 160 miles of trails and the city has won design awards for them from whomever in Texas hands those out. I could tell you in California that would usually be California Park and Recreation Society, but here I'm not sure. What's more, the entire park system has earned national recognition so presumably the trails may have won national awards.
But, I digress. The point is some of these trails are really great. The one I discovered today would be in my top 3 of all the trails I have walked in Dallas these last nine months. That's not as many trails as I had thought I would, but it's still enough that Top 3 are great. So, let me tell you about all three of my favorites
1. White Rock Lake Trail - From what I've read on other Dallasite's blogs, White Rock Lake is a popular place whether you want to walk, run, ride a bike or just sit by the shore and commune with nature. It is a 9.4 mile loop trail around White Rock Lake. I've personally walked for under a mile near Dalgreen Drive and West Lawther Drive. In that particular area, you're surrounded on the east by miles of lake water, and on the west by some of Dallas' most spectacular mansions.
Some geography: White Rock Lake is near the eastern edge of the city, in what to me is also the central part of the city. (If you're talking to someone who has lived here longer, or who doesn't actually live in a suburb north of the city, they may say this area is northeast Dallas.) The northern portion of Texas Highway 12 - which forms a complete loop within the city - is its northern border, and is also the nearest major steet on its eastern side. Garland Road is its southern border, and Abrams Road is the closest major street to the west. But, on the east and west sides, East Lawther and West Lawther are even closer than Abrams or Highway 12, as these roads were built to almost hug the shores of the lake.
This is one of at least five large artificial lakes Dallas uses to help maintain its public water system. But since it built this one in 1910 by damming White Rock Creek, the lake is so surrounded by green space it looks natural. Unlike most of the other large lakes that help Dallas, White Rock Lake is completely within its city limits. The Dallas Arboretum and a few other attractions, as well as some of Dallas' trendiest neighborhoods, are on or near its east side. It's no wonder this is a favorite of many in and around Dallas.
2. White Rock Creek Trail - Even though I just discovered it today, this 9.2 mile-long trail is the second-favorite of all the trails I've explored in Dallas. When I visited the White Rock Lake Trail probably six or seven months ago, I didn't notice the wide creek at its north end, even though we drove right over it on the way back home. Today, in an area considerbly further north I did.
I was walking in a nice suburb of what the Dallas locals would call "Far North Dallas." As I approached Hillcrest Road near Alpha Road, I I saw other walkers on a trail to the west of me. I decided to explore this trail.
I'm glad I did. I enjoyed a creek that is as wide as the Santa Ana River, which was my favorite place to walk when I lived in southern California. The views were almost as spectacular as those along my beloved Santa Ana. But with Jurupa Hills rising up from the river along my old homestretch, those views are hard to beat.
White Rock Trail begins just south of Spring Valley Road at Hillcrest Park. A few blocks from there, Spring Valley Road is the northern border between Dallas and my hometown of Richardson. However, the area due north of this trail continues to be in Dallas for another three miles. White Rock Creek extends, without trail access, for about 20 miles past Hillcrest Park into the city of Frisco.
I jumped on the trail at Alpha Road and continued south to Valley View Park. From there I walked back up to Hillcrest Park. Hillcrest and Valley View are the two northernmost of at least five parks connected by this trail. The southernmost end is just north of White Rock Lake, so the two trails connect down there.
3. Northaven Trail - Northaven Trail doesn't have the same spectacular views as White Rock Lake and White Rock Creek trails. I like it because of it's practicality. It is 7.8 miles long, extending through Dallas near Northaven Drive. It starts in the west somewhat east of Interstate 35 and ends at U.S. Highway 75. Dallas' parks and trails website shows future plans to in the future extend it slightly further east to connect it with the White Rock Creek Trail, just as that trail merges with another known as the Cottonwood Creek Trail.
If I am walking suburban streets anywhere between Forest Lane and Royal Lane in northern (but below Interstate 635) Dallas, chances are I will come across this trail. And if I do cross onto Northhaven Trail, it gives me a respite for as long as I need from having to worry if streets will dead end, or if I will find myself on streets with no sidewalks and flower beds or drainage ditches where there should be sidewalks. Yes, I know I moved last year from a town that didn't have that many sidewalks. But that town also wasn't as densely populated, so most of the sidewalk-less streets didn't have as many cars.
I don't have any walking partners, other than (occasionally) Don. Because he's not walking as much as he did in California, he takes walks of no more than two miles, and at a slower pace than I would by myself. All of Don's walks so far have been on the streets near us, and on the one trail we've discovered so far in Richardson. (Although we do know there are more.) But with or without others, I do enjoy a good walk.
Remembering when Don and I (and probably friend Lydia Ocaso) went to this pristine area of the Santa Ana River in 2020. It's only a little wider than the creeks here in Texas.
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