Take a Walk – or Ride – on the Wild Side…in Dallas

Although this is primarily a landscaping blog, every now and again I go off on a tangent, usually about something related to Dallas and the outdoors.  You may remember last October I provided an update on one of my favorite Dallas projects currently under construction, Klyde Warren Park (the name was just announced last month), which is a 5.2-acre deck park being built over Woodall Rogers Freeway that is slated for opening this fall.

Oak Cliff Preserve
This time it’s about one of Dallas’s best kept secrets which is hiding in plain sight – Oak Cliff Nature Preserve.  Ever heard of it?  Ever been there?  It’s a 121-acre oasis with over eight miles of beautiful multi-use hike and bike trails just minutes from downtown Dallas.  Go there and it will be hard to believe downtown Dallas is just over your shoulder (literally).  Located near Pierce and W. Saner (backing up to the Hampton-Illinois branch of the Dallas Public Library), it is owned and run by the Texas Land Conservancy.  One of Texas Land Conservancy’s key partnerships is with the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association (DORBA) which first approached TLC back in 2006 about creating the now established multi-use hike and bike trails on the preserve.  The preserve is mostly made up of natural woodland and prairie habitat.

Cedar Ridge Preserve
Travel just a little bit further outside of downtown (20 minutes) and you’ll discover Cedar Ridge Preserve.  At an elevation of 755 feet, it’s a slice of hill country. Cedar Ridge Preserve is a natural habitat of 600 acres featuring about nine miles of trails with native trees, grasses and wildflowers, a butterfly garden and plenty of wild mammals, birds, insects and reptiles. CRP has been managed by Audubon Dallas since April 2003 by charter from the Dallas County Park & Open Space Program and the City of Dallas.

So next time you want to reconnect with nature, remember these two preserves, just minutes from downtown Dallas.