Good and not so much
User:
True10 - 8/1/2011
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Distance: 9.00 Miles
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Duck Pond and Talala were below average trails at best and the views were not very good. The 3 mi. DORBA trail was great and had views to match. The trail was clearly marked and fun to hike. The Overlook has a great view of Joe Pool Lake and some interesting off the path views. Need to get to the longer DORBA trails time permitting.
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D.Sirius60 - 8/8/2009
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Distance: 8.00 Miles
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The difficulty rating is inflated because it was 102 degrees the day we went, took the 8 mile loop, flat, open, the only other person there when we finished was a tri-athlete working on his trail running, best use for trails is, of course, biking; that is what it is designed for. Good for trail running also. For similiar experience without bikes go to Cedar Ridge Preserve.
Good beginners hike
User:
peternintzel - 4/4/2009
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Distance: 1.50 Miles
Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Took the Duck Pond trail. Was a wooded trail with lot's of cedar trees lining the path. Many cacti.
Duck Pond/Talala Trail
User:
ddurante - 10/18/2008
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Distance: 4.50 Miles
Duration: 1 hour, 50 minutes
We started out at Duck Pond, There was some slight elevation along the trail, which was nice but wish there was more. We found a small water fall on a creek just off the main trail, this was more enjoyable than the pond itself. We circled around to the connecting trail and crossed over to Talala. It was a busy weekend for campers, although we only encountered a few people actually on the trail. We hiked up half of Talala and then back tracked to the sceninc point overlooking the lake. We came back across S Spine Rd and hit the scenic point on the other side, then back down Duck Pond Trail and to the truck. This was an enjoyable hike and its close to the house. We plan on further exploring the lakes trails. It was approx. 78' and felt nice and cool along the trail, A perfect day for hiking.
Duck Pond Trail
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CedrHillr - 10/12/2008
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Distance: 1.00 Mile
Duration: 1 minute
I took my two little ones. They did well on this. Unfortunately one of my kids got too close to the pond, (no ducks but some minnows, frogs, and turtles), and got black mud on her shoes. Overall though this is a good little hike for little kids to enjoy the outdoors. They liked the beach/ playground area in the park and nearby we found the ducks.
Dorba Trail
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CedrHillr - 9/20/2008
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Distance: 6.00 Miles
Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
I hiked the mountain bike trail, hikers go opposite direction as entrance sign points out. Listen for Bikes coming up. I've been to the other trails in park too. Their nice but short. The trail goes right along Joe Pool Lake shore for a ways and cuts back into some woods and some small hills. There is some mountain bikers but not bad. I've gone before during the week and very few are on the trails providing some suprising solitude being so close to the metroplex. Avoid the park for hiking after it rains due to the sticky and slippery mud.
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cnatnalva - 6/8/2008
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Distance: 10.00 Miles
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Very nice hike. Most of the trails were over grown with weeds but manageable. Nice solitude, didn't see anyone else on the trails.
Good Dallas County Trail
User:
jjnipp769 - 11/15/2006
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Distance: 3.50 Miles
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A nice easy trail that offers a couple of nice overlook views. Not a trail to hike if your looking for solitude or a challenge. Great for families with young children.
Good trails close to big city
User:
NUCLEUS.ONE - 8/15/2006
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Distance: 4.50 Miles
Duration: 3 hours
Good trails that are close enough for day tripping. The outlooks on the map were either overgrown or not that good. Started on Duck Pond trail, then looped around to the connecting trail to Talala. Had to walk back to my truck along the road. There were only a few people walking their dogs on the trails as we went on a hot day. Campers were sparse as some of the sites were closed for renovations. Be sure check out the picnicking areas on the south side of the park along the lake (near the Dorba trail); it's great for wrapping up the afternoon with a great view.
Eh...
User:
MikeFornal - 5/22/2006
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Distance: 11.00 Miles
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I hiked through the Duck Pond trail, the connecting trail, and the Talala trail and back. The map said it was 5.5 miles out strung together. Didn't feel that long. The scenery is actually nicer on the road (1382) leading up to the park and on the roads in the park than in the actual trails. The maps absolutely suck as far as being able to tell which way you need to go. I made a turn on duck pond that split at the restroom out there and it apparently isn't even on the map. Ends up being about one leg wide and mostly grown in, not to mention swarming with bees(I HATE bees... and I'm pretty sure they had their nice little homes under the dirt of the trail). It ended up following to a "scenic outlook" - which was just a few pieces of wood set up like an outlook. The actual scenic part was missing. This place is good for a hike if you're a complete beginner and want something easy and don't mind not having a rewarding view anywhere.
down on the bike trail (again)
User:
ntwalker - 6/26/2005
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Distance: 3.00 Miles
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The trail has been a bit rebuilt since the heavy rains washed a lot of it out.
It is pretty nice going with some hillyness until you meet the joining trail coming in from the west. DOwn the hill gets close to the water and it is about 11 miles back to the trail head.
If you go straight it is only about 3 miles round trip but the trail has a LOT of switchbacks and finds every gully.
Lakeside hiking
User:
shoequeen69 - 4/10/2005
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Distance: 1.00 Mile
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Beautiful view of the lake. Easy, peaceful hike.
First logged hike
User:
possumpie - 6/19/2004
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Distance: 2.00 Miles
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Early in the morning, not a soul in sight. The trail (Talala) was a bit over-grown with all the recent rains we've had, but still tolerable. Couldn't see the lake, but still a nice beginner hike. The dogs loved it, too!
Easy and quiet
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DeionTuck - 4/12/2004
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Distance: 3.00 Miles
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Lots of campgrounds nearby, popular lake for fishing and boating. You are right near housing on the back side of these trails. The 2 trails we took were well marked and easy to travel. Very little elevation changes, a number of outlook points for viewing the scenery. The small pond was a source of delight to my kids for watch frogs and ducks.
new trail section
User:
ntwalker - 8/30/2003
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Distance: 7.00 Miles
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There is a new piece of trail on the bike trail. Take the trail toward the lake from the trail head (hiker direction) and continue down toward the split with a section heading east (2.5 mile loop back to the trail head along a bit of access route 5) and one south (long route). Trail map is here. The new trail splits off west toward the lake just before the trail split at access 5. It will take you down to the lake level and then back up to the original trail a little south of where you left it.
This trail is very nice but be careful. If you only wanted a hike of a little over 2.5 miles, you will have to watch carefully to take the closed (to bike traffic so step over the branches) trail back north to access 5 or continue south to access 6 to the dirt road then north to the top of the trail system (turn left to the trail head).
The new section has not yet been noted on the trail maps.
Not too bad for Dallas County
User:
woodrg0 - 4/22/2003
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Distance: 5.00 Miles
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Nice hike with some good views of the lake. Not too much real terrain, but what should I have expected from Dallas County?
The wild flowers are in
User:
ntwalker - 4/13/2003
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Distance: 6.00 Miles
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I was donw on the other trail in the park, the one used mostly by bike traffic. (None about this morning).
The east side of the trail system had most of the bluebonnets, thick enough to sleep in in great banks. On some of the side trails, you have to wade through them. The western side (lake side) has more of the yellow flowers. All gorgeous.
Good Beginner's Hike
User:
manderskat - 9/28/2002
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Distance: 4.79 Miles
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This one has two trails, the Talala and the Duck Pond. The two trails are connected by a general use hiking trail.
The hike was a fairly easy three hour hike, including a break for a light lunch. There were a couple of tough spots, mainly due to the elevation gain and soft ground. This particular Saturday was about 91 degrees, but it was not overly hot, and there were enough shady spots on the trail to keep it cool.
Despite being next to Joe Pool Lake and very close to Dallas, it was surprisingly quiet in the park. We saw only three other sets of people during our hike. At one part of the Talala trail, the trail gets close enough to the lake that we heard boats, but other than that and the occasional airplane overhead, the solitude was great. I recommend this hike as a great beginner's hike, and there is enough scenery and wildlife to keep more experienced hikers interested as well. If you wait until a little later in the fall, there should actually be enough color to really make the park attractive.
Trails closed due to rain
User:
Eveline - 10/25/1997
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Distance: 6.20 Miles
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Since we were there we walked the paved park roads. The park borders a lake and we got several good views of it.