3 Trinity River Audubon Center
Opened in 2008, this Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified education center and the surrounding nature preserve are popular with schoolchildren and birders drawn by informative programs and abundant wildlife. This trail takes in an expansive view of the Trinity River then heads through a prairie and adjacent woodland before circling back to the education center.
Distance: 1.0 mile out and back
Approximate hiking time: 30 minutes
Trail surface: Boardwalk and packed dirt
Best season: Late Mar through May; Oct and Nov
Other trail users: Very popular with birders, school field trips, and scout groups
Canine compatibility: No dogs permitted
Fees and permits: Admission fee; no charge for children 2 and under
Schedule: Center open Tues through Sat 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Sun 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; closed Mon
Maps: TOPO! Texas CD; maps available at education center
Trail contacts: Trinity River Audubon Center; (214) 398-TRAC (8722); www.tx.audubon.org
Special considerations: The third Thursday of each month is Free Thursday, with free admission and extended operating hours (9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.).
Collecting plants is prohibited, as is attempting to touch, feed, or help any wildlife encountered in the preserve.
Finding the trailhead: Take I-45 south from downtown Dallas to Loop 12. Go east on Loop 12 for approximately 2 miles. Look for the entrance sign on the right side of the highway at 6500 South Loop 12. GPS: N32 38.283' / W96 57.549'
The Hike
A large informative map detailing the various trails in the preserve is adjacent to the entrance of the education center. For this trail, combine the 0.3-mile Trinity River Trail with the 0.65-mile Forest Trail. You can easily add on the interconnecting 0.4-mile Overlook Trail, hiking up a small hill to take in a blufftop view from the preserve’s tallest point, and the 0.9-mile Wetland Trail and 0.5 mile Prairie Trail, which together wind through several ponds frequented by a variety of ducks and egrets.
Enter the education center, where you’ll pass an information desk and classrooms plus a large open lecture room, and exit through the glass doors in the rear. The trailhead begins on the boardwalk over the appropriately named Trailhead Pond, the junction for several trails. Veer right onto the Trinity River Trail, heading away from the pond and into the open prairie. At 0.15 mile the trail splits. Bear left into the forest and wind under the dense overstory of ancient oaks to a rustic wooden fence, where you can take in the view of a bend in the Trinity River. Turn around and head back to the spot where the trail splits. This time go straight onto the Forest Trail. You’ll pass three large ponds in an open prairie where birders like to look for birds resting on tree limbs above the grasses.
The trail continues toward a wooded area and loops around two smaller ponds. Snakes sometimes rest on and alongside the trails, so keep an eye on the trail even as you look up to spot birds. Don’t wander off the well-marked trail—poison ivy grows rampantly in these woods. The Forest Trail loops around back to the junction with the Trinity River Trail, so simply wind your way back to Trailhead Pond.
If time permits, head over to the lookout platform across from the center and check out some of the other trails. Otherwise, head back through the center and exit to the parking lot. On the south side of the building, a large bank of solar cells helps power the preserve’s utilities and educational markers explain various ways to minimize human impact on the earth’s resources.
Miles and Directions
0.0Start at the boardwalk over Trailhead Pond. Bear right at the junction onto the Trinity River Trail, heading toward the prairie.
0.15Veer left when the trail splits, and head into the forest.
0.3The trail dead-ends at Trinity River. Turn around and head back toward the education center.
0.5At the trail junction go straight onto the Forest Trail, passing three ponds on the left.
0.7Enter the forest and loop around counterclockwise back to the three ponds.
0.8Bear left at the trail junction and head back to Trailhead Pond and the education center.
1.0Arrive back at the trailhead.