Dallas Parks and Trails: The Best Walks, Rides and Nature Paths in the City

Dallas is flatter than many visitors expect, which makes it a good city for long walks and easy bike rides. The Dallas Park and Recreation Department sorts its trails into three kinds: linear trails that link neighborhoods, loop trails inside large parks and natural-surface nature trails. Here are the highlights of each, all from the city’s own descriptions.

Loop trails: White Rock Lake and more

Dallas Parks calls the 9.4-mile White Rock Lake Park Loop Trail the city’s most popular trail. It follows the lake’s shoreline and links historic features of the park, including several built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The lake itself, about five miles northeast of downtown, is owned by the city and surrounded by White Rock Lake Park, according to the Handbook of Texas.

Loop trail	Length	Where
White Rock Lake Park Loop	9.4 miles	Northeast Dallas, around the lake
Bachman Lake Park Loop	3.5 miles	Northwest Dallas, along Bachman Lake
Kiest Park Loop	2.8 miles	Oak Cliff, inside 264-acre Kiest Park
Crawford Memorial Park Loop	2 miles	Southeast Dallas
Glendale Park Loop	1.5 miles	Southern Dallas, along Five Mile Creek

Linear trails that cross the city

Linear trails connect parks, schools, neighborhoods, job centers and transit. The best known is the Katy Trail, 3.5 miles between Uptown and Oaklawn, which Dallas Parks describes as a 26-acre linear park from just north of the American Airlines Center to Central Expressway. Friends of the Katy Trail say it was built on an abandoned railroad line and costs more than $1.5 million a year to maintain.

• AT&T and Trinity Forest Trails: 8.1 miles past ponds, large trees and a bridge over the Trinity River.
• Northaven Trail: 8.5 miles in north central Dallas, with a pedestrian bridge over US 75.
• Preston Ridge Trail: 6.3 miles in far north Dallas, linking Fretz, Salado and Campbell Green parks.
• Coombs Creek Trail: 4 miles in North Oak Cliff, connecting to the Trinity Skyline Trail.
• Cottonwood Creek Trail: 3.75 miles in northeast Dallas, linking Preston Ridge and White Rock Creek.

Nature trails

For dirt underfoot and birdsong, head to the nature trails. Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve in southwest Dallas covers 633 acres of escarpment and forest, with eight trails totaling about 6 miles, and the city calls it ideal for birding. The 1.6-mile Texas Buckeye Nature Trail runs through the Great Trinity Forest. The Woods at Valley View Park, with East Woods opened in 2023 and West Woods in 2026, add mulched paths that connect to the White Rock Creek Trail.

Trail etiquette

• Keep right except when passing, and pass on the left with a clear call such as “passing on your left.”
• Cyclists ride at a safe speed and slow down or form a single line when the trail is busy.
• Walkers stay no more than two abreast.
• Keep dogs leashed and pick up after them.
• Teach children to share the trail and stay out of the path of cyclists.

If something goes wrong

The City of Dallas has a trail marker system to help first responders find people in an emergency. Note the nearest marker as you go, so you can give it to a 911 operator if needed.

Downtown parks and dog parks

Downtown has added six parks since 2009: Main Street Garden, Belo Garden, Klyde Warren Park, Pacific Plaza, West End Square and Carpenter Park. Across the city, Dallas Parks runs eleven off-leash dog parks with water bowls, shade and benches, and a Dog Park Hotline and Rain Out Line at 214-614-6711 tells you whether they are open after storms.

Trails in southern and northern Dallas

Southern Dallas has a growing network. The Cedar Crest, Honey Springs and John C. Phelps trails add five miles following an Oncor transmission corridor, and the 2.7-mile Runyon Creek Trail runs from Glendale Park to the University of North Texas at Dallas campus and its DART station. In the northwest, the L.B. Houston Nature Trails sit in greenbelts along the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. Mountain bikers will find nearly five miles of natural-surface loops maintained by the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association, which Dallas Parks describes as an off-road experience in the middle of the city.

When you plan a longer ride, look at how the trails join. The Cottonwood Creek Trail links the Preston Ridge Trail to the White Rock Creek Greenbelt Trail, and the Ridgewood Trail connects to the SoPac Trail, so you can string several routes together into one longer outing.

For a family day outdoors, see Dallas with Kids: Museums, the Zoo, Gardens and Parks Families Love. For trips beyond the city limits, including state parks with lakes and dinosaur tracks, see Weekend Day Trips from Dallas: State Parks, Dinosaur Tracks, Mammoths and the Stockyards.