Sansom Park

Location: Sansom Park, near the Lake Worth dam off Jacksboro Hwy in northwest Fort Worth
Access: From Loop 820, head southeast on Jacksboro Hwy 0.6 miles, and turn right on Roberts Cut Off Rd and head south for 0.5 miles, going past Canoba Dr, and take a right turn on the next short street to the trailhead OR continue on to the next right turn on a dirt road to park at Stonehenge.
Maps: USGS Lake Worth quad (does not show trails); Trail map by the FWMBA
Trailheads: (Stonhenge) UTM NAD83 z14 648905e 3629680n
Trail: Built for mountain bike use, the trail is curvy and convoluted to squeeze the most mileage out of a  limited area. Signage is poor, and it’s easy to get turned around. 
Fees: None
Dogs: OK, but watch out for fast-moving bikes
Weather: Local National Weather Service forecast



November 24, 2010
The day before Thanksgiving, Mike, Mandy, Andra, Ada and I, along with our dogs, Henry and Makenzie, got a late afternoon start at Sansom Park. We parked at Stonehenge. The weather was deliciously warm: in the low 80’s with a slight breeze. We got the dogs leashed up and Ada in her backpack, and then walked over to Stonehenge, the rock skeleton of an old structure of some sort. A picnic shelter? Not sure. Anyway, it looked cool backlit by the evening clouds over Lake Worth. Moving beyond, the Lake Worth dam came into view below, with Carswell AFB on the far shore. We had the FWMBA map in hand, and connected immediately with the green trail and headed east, following green arrows intermittently painted on rocks along the trail. The route ran through a scrubby scattering of small oaks and ligustrum, with patches of open grass and cactus, all of it over caprock limestone embedded with fossilized remains of sea creatures long dead. Despite the urban setting, and the distant drone of traffic on Jacksboro Hwy, the trail was very pleasant. Occasionally we could hear bikers approach behind us, and stepped off the trail to let them pass. It is indeed a very popular biking trail.

We followed the route around the eastern edge near Nancy Lane, then continued on as it headed back west, past a nice rocky outcrop where we could inspect the western horizon that was shaping up into a fantastic sunset. On we walked, Ada talking to herself with gusto, past Stonehenge and further west. It began to grow a bit darker, and it became apparent we couldn’t complete the entire loop before dark, so we simply jumped across the vegetated “median” between the next trail, and headed back to the parking area on that route. It was fairly dim out by the time we hit the parking area, so it was probably good we jumped the track and headed back early. I’m not quite sure the map we had was completely up to date, but we made it back some way or other. 

This trail didn't offer any sort of wilderness experience, but for a route smack in the middle of the Ft Worth metro area, it was pretty darn nice. 

Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas
Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas
Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas
Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas

Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas
Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas
Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas
Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas
Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas
Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas
Sansom Park, Fort Worth, Texas

 


BACK         NEXT


Page created 12-02-10
Comments