Hiking?

So I'm new to Texas but I'm a hiker/mountainbiker at heart... I think I've figured out the biking more or less but am yet to find a challenging hike. Any suggestions on a cool spot within an hour of Dallas?

I'm an avid hiker...haven't found anything close to what I'm used to BUT Cedar Ridge Preserve in South Dallas is pretty cool.

Most challeging might be using the stairs at the Galleria, or crossing any interstate and avoiding the traffic. Won't find anything like Big Bend or Palo Duro around here.

Park near Grapevine Lake is very good for mountain biking . . . Murrell Park.

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-best-mou...s-6074200.html

A few others but I would definitely recommend Murrell . . .

I'm an avid hiker...haven't found anything close to what I'm used to BUT Cedar Ridge Preserve in South Dallas is pretty cool. Originally Posted by misspriss

I was looking at this one online, looks like it has a little bit of elevation change which is awesome! How long do you normally hit it for?

Park near Grapevine Lake is very good for mountain biking . . . Murrell Park.

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-best-mou...s-6074200.html

A few others but I would definitely recommend Murrell . . . Originally Posted by MooneyFlyer

Northshore right? Love it! Best trail I've ridden in Dallas so far!

Yes, it does have an elevation change and some hike worthy terrain. The area isn't very large...I'm usually out there 1.5/2 hours but I hike leisurely with 2 dogs. It's pretty nice considering where we are.

The National Grasslands up near Decatur was nice several years ago but don't know about now. A couple of hours east near Texarkana had some trails that I used to take my scouts to for several days at a time. I miss those treks and wish I could get out again. Worked part of the PC trail years ago and Philmont was a lot of fun.

Nice! Any recommendations for places for an overnight backpacking trip locally?

Local - Cedar Ridge Preserve has the best elevation change, but is a short hike.

Best close overnight: Beavers Bend State Park, Broken Bow, OK. About a 3.5 hour drive, but worth. Skyline Trail rings the western side of the park. Heavily wooded trail with siginifcant elevation change and many trail side camping opportunities. Total trail length is about 10-11 miles, but we've found creative ways to stretch that closer to 20. I use this area to train for hiking the Rockies in northeast NM. Trail grades are similar to mountain hiking, they just change from up to down more frequently.

Isle du Bois State Park at Ray Roberts lake north of Denton and Eisenhower State Park at Texoma both have lots of hiking trails. If you need to get away for the day, both of those parks are nice but I don't know how challenging you would consider them to be.

Also, google "Cross Timbers trail". I've never hiked it myself but I have friends that have. It's an overnight hike near Texoma and they liked it.

Eisenhower State Park and the Cross Timbers Trail are both pretty hikes. Eisenhower has campsites that are easy to reach from the trail (they are also drive in accessible). Neither of these hikes is particularly challenging from an elevation change perspective, but they do offer a nice outdoor experience.

You're in Tejas! Ain't nothing with "elevation" . . . well, except Rick Perry's hair.

But that's a whole other topic . . .

Flyer