Cross Timbers Trail - Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge

Exploring the Cross Timbers Trail offers hikers a glimpse to an ancient Western Cross Timber forest that once extended from southern Kansas into North Central Texas. This 3.37 round-trip trail has views of the West Fork of the Trinity River, the Lotus Marsh, and 250+ year old trees. The trail is accessible to hikers from the Cross Timbers parking lot or by hiking on the Riverbottom Trail. Along the trail you’ll see tree species such as Pecan, Bur Oak, eastern Cottonwood, American Elm along the stream, and post oak and blackjack oak in the Western Cross Timbers woods.

The Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge (FWNC&R) is a 3,621-acre natural area comprised of forests, prairies, and wetlands allowing you to step back in time and experience what the Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex was like in the early 20th century. With over 20 miles of hiking trails, the park is one of the largest city-owned nature centers in the United States.

The park is located within the Cross Timbers, a complex mosaic of woodlands and grasslands that form a broad ecotone between the eastern deciduous forests and the grasslands of the southern Great Plains; covering about 26,000 square miles. East and West Cross Timbers couch the Fort Worth Prairie on the east and west.