My old standby…
Quick Stats
Date: Sunday, January 6, 2019
Location: Eagle Mountain Park - NW Fort Worth, TX
Distance: 5.1 miles
Trails: Main trail, Shoreline trail, S Shoreline Trail
Miles from Home: 27
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Mid-50s
Equipment: Apple Watch, iPhone, Olympus TG-5 camera
Highlights
Beautiful day and many miles of trails
Variety in elevation - nothing like the mountains, but much better than just flat
Most of the muddy creek crossings had stones for jumping
Horses and pets are not allowed, which keeps the trails clean and less rutted
Low Points
People have created many side trails, use your head and stick to the main ones
There is some oil & gas machinery near one of the trails, it can be annoying/smelly
Very muddy but not impassible
I call this place my old standby because if everything else falls through, I can always come here! The trails have variety, the lake always provides a breeze, and the terrain is more challenge than common flat trails in the area. There are always people at the park, so be warned that if you want peace go before 8 am. Today I strolled in around 10 am, much later than normal for me, and I saw plenty more people because of it. Most people were friendly, though, and all were covered in mud. Some runners had legs caked in the gray dirt all the way up to their knees.
Many runners use this place a circuit of sorts and I passed by one guy so many times it just caused me to laugh out loud the last time. I was strolling along at a moderate pace and he was running by over and over.
This park suffers from major trail offshoots and overfull trash cans at the parking lot. Today, the cans weren’t quite as bad as normal, but the mud had people making tons of new trails. I lost count of all the offshoots, but did my best to stay on path and follow Leave No Trace guidelines. Go through, not around. Getting muddy can be half the fun of a good hike! I will always recommend this place to anyone looking around DFW metro area, and that opinion hasn’t changed today. Go check it out if you want a fun, varied hike/run/casual stroll. Be warned, it’s a little muddy today but you’ll be rewarded with trickling drainage streams bubble along the way.
Before & After
