Hiking Marion Sansom Park in Fort Worth, Texas

Apr 30

One of my goals for 2018 is to get outside and explore more. I want to find more skate spots, I want to adventure in places most people don't get to see (tunnels, abandoned buildings, etc.) and most of all, I want to discover new hiking trails.

This past weekend my girlfriend and I had planned to go to the Fort Worth Zoo, but quickly decided against it once we got there and saw a cluster of kids and the absence of parking spots. We decided to find custard, coffee, and eventually a hiking trail. Little did we know that this path would be one of the best trails we've walked in the DFW area. Let's talk about the Marion Sansom Park trail.

On Google, I saw a small waterfall so I suppose that was the original draw to this particular trail? Either way, it turned out there was a lot more to see. The beginning of the trail head we chose looked like the remnants of a tiny, dilapidated castle wall. On the side of the trails, we were welcomed by cacti littered about.

We continued down the rocky path. Tiff and I both wore thin soled shoes which in retrospect was probably a poor decision as we felt every stone and uneven piece of Earth below us. There was such a variety of nature to see, from lizards that jumped out to scare Tiff to mushrooms hugging fallen branches and total green tree coverage. It almost felt like we had traveled to a far off land.

After almost complete tree coverage, the trail opened itself up to sunlight and a collection of wild succulents. The constant change in forest settings made this adventure more uique than a lot of other trails in the DFW area.

Onward we went. After a few near misses with wasps, lizards, and mountain bikers, we came to a cliff and his tree friend. The scene was a rare site to see in North Texas. Tiff took this opportunity to take it all in via a very buddist-esque pose.

We back tracked a bit and found a trail that led downward toward a waterfall we could hear in the distance. The path down was very rocky and slippery, but presented us with an opportunity to find some really interesting rocks and possible fossils.

After proudly looking like children sifting through rocks, we made it to the bottom of the hill and found the waterfall! There were so many things to see. I loved how the waterfall fell into a quarry type area with another stream flowing into it from the other side of the body of water. We resolved to walking.

We resolved to walking alongside the entering stream. The trail made us walk close to high plants and a still-ish part of the stream where I expected to find a Cottonmouth snake of some sort, but luckily we avoided any sightings. We half-circled to find a faster area of the water. It was really quite beautiful.

We ventured away from the water for a short time and found a large opening where water used to pool. The emptiness of it and exposed tree roots set kind of a cool scene. May come back to this area to film a short skit or horror. I didn't take a picture of this area for some reason. I guess I was stuck taking it all in.

We decided it was getting dark and that we needed to head back to the car. The path back was a lot faster of a trip, but was all incline. Before heading up, I snapped one last stream picture.

All in all this was one of the funnest and most beautiful trails I've been on in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It was a good workout and worth every minute of exploration. I highly recommend this trail to anyone who wants to feel like they've left the city without actually having to.

For more info on Marion Sansom Park near Fort Worth, Texas, visit the FWMBA website