Take a Hike in Ft Worth’s Marion Sansom Park

First and foremost, I just want everyone to know that I got an absurd amount of pleasure from putting the phrase “take a hike” in my title. *blissful sigh* It’s the little things in life!

I lived in Ft Worth, TX for the first 23 years of my life, and I feel like I’ve discovered more outdoor things to do there since I’ve left than when I lived there! (Granted, I had not known how much I loved hiking back then…so that probably had a lot to do with it.)

When I was visiting my family a couple of Thanksgiving’s ago, my sister took me to Marion Sansom Park, a large hiking & biking area with a lake and a waterfall, that’s smack dab in the middle of the city! I couldn’t believe this place had been lurking there all this time and I had never known about it!

Marion Sansom Park lies just 15 minutes northwest of downtown Ft. Worth, and has miles of hiking and biking.  Some of the trails lead to a lake that has a waterfall! From some of the reviews I’ve read, this is a great place to hike, mountain bike, and take your kids to enjoy a little nature without having to drive far out of the city.

One of the negative things I read about this park that I want to mention is that the trails are not marked well at all. I actually happen to agree with this assessment, but I wouldn’t let that deter you from visiting. I mean, how structured is your life if you can’t go for a hike without a trail marker?? It’s not such a big place that you’ll never be able to find your car again, and it’s not like you’re hiking off into the wilderness with the possibility of getting lost and eaten by a bear. (It’s all about perspective, really.)

As you can see, I visited this park when the fall colors were in full swing! Lemme tell ya, when you grow up around trees like this, you really take them for granted! There are things I like about living in the desert, but I will always miss the trees, grass, and lakes that I grew up with in Texas.

Directions: (From Downtown) Head north on Henderson St/Jacksboro HWY. Soon after passing the intersection at Skyline Dr, you will turn Left onto Corner Lane, and again make a left onto Robert’s Cutoff Rd. You should see a parking lot.

Restrooms: I didn’t see any restrooms, but if I’m wrong please comment me and I will correct this!

Difficulty: Easy – Moderate

Pets OK? Leashed pets are OK

Crowds: Considering the size of Ft Worth, I found that the crowds were minimal

Fees/Permits: No fees

There were many trails that led down to the lake and waterfall. As previously stated, the trails were not really marked, but you can see the lake from the parking lot, so if you have any sense of direction at all you should be able to make your way down to the lake by guesswork.  If you don’t have any sense of direction, than you’ll be doomed to wander the park aimlessly for hours, and good luck finding your car!

Who needs to go hiking in Sedona’s West Fork Oak Creek Canyon when you have these fall colors right in your back door???? (That could be a slight exaggeration…) But seriously, I loved all the red and orange colors in the trees.  We hiked this at the end of November, so for those of you interested in some good family photos with fall colors, around then would be a good time to go!

I found this hike to be extremely dog friendly. I didn’t exactly follow the rules for having my dog on a leash, but she ran wild and free without any complications!

Overall, I recommend this Park for anyone in the Metroplex.  The Park is located in one of the more questionable parts of town, but based off my experience and several reviews that I read, it’s still a nice place to take the kids to or hike on your own.

Don’t forget to leave me a comment and lemme know what you think!! Have you been here?? Are there restrooms?? Did you go down to the lake??? I wanna know!!

Until next time!