River Legacy Park in Arlington Texas

RIVER LEGACY PARK

Arlington, Texas

The term "Urban Jungle" usually is not meant literally. However, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex of Texas may be one of the world's actual Urban Jungles. In early 2004 zoo crowds were chased and injured by a Gorilla escapee from the Dallas Zoo. This was shortly followed by deadly Cobras terrorizing an area of northwest Dallas. And then came reports of Cougar/Mountain Lion/Black Panther/Bobcat sightings in River Legacy Park, located just a couple miles north of Six Flags and the edifice formally known as the Ballpark in Arlington. River Legacy Park is near the geographic center of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. It is a multi-use park; part nature preserve, part playfield, part picnic place, part wedding pavilion, part jogging, walking, biking and blading park, with miles of trails, both paved and unpaved. And mountain bike trails.

The following is a photo trip into the heart of the Dallas/Fort Worth Jungle where you will enter a virtual Oz-like Enchanted Forest. But you need not worry about Lions, Tigers or Bears. At River Legacy you need worry about Bobcats, Turtles and Snakes. And maybe a Black Panther or two. And wild Armadillos.

Click here for a Map & Directions to River Legacy Park

Eyes on Texas has captured one of the River Legacy Bobcats.
Click here if you want to rush ahead to see the Bobcat

click a thumbnail to view a photo

The Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk cancer awareness event took place over the October 27-29, 2006 weekend, headquartered at River Legacy Park. A huge event covering the entire main playfields with a blue sea of tents housing the thousands of walkers. It was an impressive sight. Here we are looking through the trees at just one small section of the sea of tents.

Apparently when oil is involved it is okay for motorized vehicles to run roughshod on the River Legacy Trails. But, bike riders face fines if they are caught on the non-bike trails...

Above and below,
wires crossing the mountain bike trail.

On Saturday, October 28, 2006, in the middle of the 3-Day Walk event, something very interesting and dangerous occurred. A danger in total contradiction to one of the points made by a River Legacy Park official in an email to Eyes on Texas received July 13, 2005. You can read the email in its entirety at the bottom of this page. In the email, among several points, most of which according to our own experience were erroneous or exaggerations, the park official made the following statement.

"We have had serious problems with BMX bikers doing damage to areas of the park and the park perimeter, destroying flora and fauna and introducing jump elements into the environment. Signs are posted throughout the park prohibiting motorized vehicles on the trails."

We won't comment on the fact that BMX bikes are not motorized, but are bikes used, mostly by kids, to do stunts. We have seen no damage done in the park by such bikes. However, we have seen damage done, with the park's full blessing, to the trails. In October of 2006 cables were laid throughout the mountain bike trail section of the park. These cables are part of an elaborate testing system trying to locate Barnett Shale for possible natural gas extraction. Now, these cables, by themselves may present no danger to mountain bike riders. However, at approximately 1 pm on October 28 we were riding the mountain bike trail when something totally unexpected and unwarranted and dangerous happened. We were going fast to get up a small hill when we heard a motor noise and then slammed on the brakes as an ATV came around the corner and down the hill aiming directly at us, the ATV going the wrong way on the one-way trail and narrowing missing a head on collision. The person driving the ATV was working on the gas testing equipment. On our second time around we came up behind the ATV and snapped a photo of it beside the mountain bike trail. On our third time around the trail we heard the ATV again and slowed down anticipating another close encounter. But this time the driver was off the trail, stuck trying to blaze his own damaging trail of broken bushes through the supposedly heavily protected flora. We stopped pedaling. He asked if we'd help left his vehicle out of its stuck position. We said no and continued on our way.

I had the same experience on the same day but I didn't hear the guy coming. I was going fast and came around a bend and there he was. He was not going slow. I have to think the park people were not aware this was happening. If they were allowing this, well, something needs to be done to fix it immediately. This disconnect between the posted warning signs and this guy speeding in the wrong direction around the only off pavement bike trail annoyed me greatly. I quit the trail after the incident as I did not want to risk an accident.

Dave P.
Arlington, Texas

Click here for a Map & Directions to River Legacy Park

We have one more item of River Legacy hypocrisy we'd like to point out before we get to the photos of flora and fauna. The park has gone to great lengths of what seems to be pretty much a disinformation campaign regarding the supposed vandalism done by kids building trails. A second email from a River Legacy Official actually claimed kids had cut down dozens of trees and had hauled in a refrigerator to make a bike jump, presenting the great danger of freon pollution to the already polluted Trinity River. In all our years of enjoying this beautiful park we have never seen any evidence of damage done by kids. We have seen kids having fun on a small BMX area that has been in the park as long as we have. Park employees have done their best to destroy this BMX area, rather than embrace it as a wholesome activity for the kids. Now, in all the years we have enjoyed the River Legacy Trails we have seen the pile of litter you see in the photo on the left, a mess of tires and rusted sheet metal. Someone recently used some of the tires to line this part of the trail. Soon we expect to read in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram another editorial lamenting the trail vandalism and that the park has discovered that those evil kids are damaging the pristine mountain bike trail oil fields by dragging in old tires for their relentless trail damaging schemes.

A new bridge has been built across the Trinity River to give access to miles of new trails and a wildlife area. And the Enchanted Forest of Dallas/Fort Worth.

Looking down on the Trinity River from the Golden Gate-like colored new bridge.

This may be one of the most attractive bridges in North Texas.

AS OF JANUARY 1, 2008 DURANGO TEXAS IS BLOGGING

Click here for a Map & Directions to River Legacy Park

A short distance from the above bridge we come upon a family of young Armadillos, oblivious to humans, busy eating bugs with their anteater-like snouts.

Here we see the above Armadillo's 4 siblings digging for ants at the side of the trail. It is not known if any other states have a state mammal. But in Texas the Armadillo is the State Mammal of Texas. The Armadillo may also be the State Roadkill of Texas, too, but that may not be an official designation.

Following the yellow-striped road (trail) it looks like flat West Texas. You'd never guess you are in the heart of one of America's most populated metropolitan areas.

It is early May, wildflower season. The new River Legacy Trinity Trails follow the river on the right, with a series of lakes on the left.

As we near the entry to the Enchanted Forest we see a lone old sentinel guarding the trail, surrounded by wildflowers.

Another view.

Long dead, gnarled, vine-covered trees appear menacing as we enter the Enchanted Forest.

There have been many reports of Bobcat sightings in River Legacy Park. And a couple Cougar/Black Panther sightings. We came upon a group who believed they saw the Black Panther. They described it as a Black Mountain Lion. A mother with baby was so panicked she armed herself with a stick. Others minimized the danger. However, there is a rather long record of Mountain Lion/Cougar attacks in North America. There is also much documentation claiming that Black Panthers do not exist. However, Black Panthers have a long history in Texas as evidenced by this interesting account.

Click here for a Map & Directions to River Legacy Park

May 25, 2004 Bobcat photos...biking into the part of the trail described above as the Enchanted Forest, Eyes on Texas captured a River Legacy Bobcat. We were able to take 7 digital photos before the Bobcat disappeared into the jungle. The Bobcat was a very cooperative model. At first it stared. And then walked towards us for just a couple feet. But then personal grooming was more important, so the Bobcat ignored us and took a quick tongue bath. After that it walked slowly across the trail, glancing back a couple times and then leaping into the grass, not to be seen again.
Click to see a slideshow of our 7 River Legacy Bobcat photos.

June 1, 2004 Bobcat photos...on the morning of a day which was to end with the worst storm to hit north Texas in many years, initiating floods which continue halfway to the start of summer, with hurricane force winds causing the most massive power outage in Texas history, we came upon the same Bobcat we saw a week before. This time between milepost 3 and 4. We were on roller blades and got much closer before we stopped. And we were able to take way more photos. The Bobcat led us down the trail for about 100 feet before it leapt into the brush.
Click to see a slideshow of 11 of the 23 River Legacy Bobcat photos we were able to take during this latest sighting of the cooperative Bobcat model we have named Bertha the Bobcat.

Dave of Dallas YouTube Video of a River Legacy Bobcat

River Legacy Park has added signs along side the new section of trail, pointing out the wildlife you may see, ranging from raccoons to foxes to beavers to hawks to tarantulas and many others. There seems to be one animal missing, that being a sign for the armadillos.

The sign near the trailhead of the mountain bike trail in River Legacy Park. If you find this sign, you've found the mountain bike trail. It was on these trails that Eyes on Texas had our first encounter with a River Legacy Bobcat. Unfortunately, we did not have the camera on the bike that time. A mistake we would not make again..

Map showing directions to the River Legacy Mountain Bike Trail.

Click here for a Map & Directions to River Legacy Park

The jungle grows lush. The cacophony of birds singing becomes ever louder as we enter the Enchanted Forest of River Legacy Park.

We come upon the Hurricane Creek Bridge in the Enchanted Forest. Looking down from the bridge we see what appear to be either cougar, black panther or bobcat pawprints.

We climb down to investigate the paw prints. You can see them on the left side of the dried up creek. Tracking experts claim the paw prints look like raccoon prints.

The trail briefly leaves the heavily jungled area where we come upon this fearsome reptile. You don't want to meet up with one of these when you are swimming in a Texas lake. Ones first impression upon meeting a turtle head eye to eye when swimming is not that you are being chased by a turtle, instead it looks like a snake head is coming right at you.

The sign telling you to look for Texas Brown Tarantulas. We have not seen one of these in River Legacy Park. We have seen on in Cedar Hills State Park south of Dallas.

Back into the jungle.

Where we come upon another reptile. This time of the snake variety.

[You'll probably need to use the scroll bars to see all of the snake below]

Boyd Branch is the last bridge to cross before the end of the trail.

And here we see the end of the trail, within a short distance of Highway 360, the road that divides the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The paved trail will soon connect with Trinity Trails coming from Dallas. The completion of a few more miles of trails in the Fort Worth section of the Trinity will enable bikers, hikers, bladers and walkers to travel between Dallas and Fort Worth free of dealing with cars. The paved trail ends but there are unpaved trails that continue. A trail to the right ends in a few hundred yards. The trail to the left leads to what you will see below.

Note: Heavy Duty fencing has made it more difficult to exit the River Legacy Park paved trails onto the trails that lead to what you see in the below 3 photos. The fencing was put in place to stop motorized off road vehicles from accessing the paved trail.

	These three photos are outside River Legacy Park, although you can easily access this area from the end of the north side of the river trail. The tree you see to the right has a treehouse built in it. A multi-level treehouse that rises maybe 75 feet with an American flag waving from the top.
	Off road vehicles play in this area. Many trails leading many directions. With hills.
	Ramps built for launching off road vehicles Evel Knievel style. Bird Fort is believed to have been in this area. Bird Fort was one of the first army outposts in Tarrant County, built during the days of the early frontier.
The above photos generated the email below
From: Marilyn Power To: eyesontexas@durangotexas.com Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 2:45 PM Subject: Erroneous listing for River Legacy Parks A motorcycle rider sent us a message today asking about off road trails at River Legacy Park. We do not offer this type of experience. He was misled by photos posted on your site. We have had serious problems with BMX bikers doing damage to areas of the park and the park perimeter, destroying flora and fauna and introducing jump elements into the environment. Signs are posted throughout the park prohibiting motorized vehicles on the trails. We appreciate you featuring River Legacy Park on your site. However, please correct our listing by immediately removing all three of the photos show in the brown box at the bottom of this page and reply to confirm when this has been done. We will review the text descriptions to check for accuracy and updated facts as we are sure you wish to provide correct information to your site visitors. Thank you for your cooperation. -- Marilyn Power Executive Assistant River Legacy Foundation
Ms. Powers was told the photos would remain, that no changes would be made as there were no inaccuracies. And that from our personal observation park officials, for some unknown reason, greatly exaggerated supposed damage done by kids to the trails and parkland. We have been all over the park and have seen no kid trail making activity except for kids making a perfectly harmless BMX jump zone. Which the park should have left well enough alone, had they been thinking in a more level headed fashion. We believe the overbearing mindset exhibited by Ms. Powers, in her above email, is indicative of what may be wrong in the administration of the park regarding the criminalizing of kids doing a perfectly wholesome activity that should be applauded, not penalized. We believe many of the charges leveled by park officials have been false and as misguided as Ms. Power's above email. In Ms. Powers follow up email she made the ridiculous assertion that kids had hauled in an old refrigerator to build a jump. And that it leaked freon into the Trinity River. Do we need to point out how totally absurd this obviously bogus claim was? We do not know if Ms. Powers is still employed by the River Legacy Foundation.

Click here for a Map & Directions to River Legacy Park

The Official River Legacy Website

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