Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Trail parking lot, 0.5 mile on the left. The trailhead is adjacent to the parking lot, by the
information sign. GPS: N32 36.987' / W96 58.879'
The Hike
The Cedar Hill area offers a unique landscape in North Texas as the blackland prairie pushes into Dal-
las's own mini mountain range. The Cedar Mountains are a mix of Austin Chalk limestone and Eagle
Ford shale, which after millions of years of erosion, created a tight series of craggy hills and valleys
covered in upland forests of cedars and scrubby oaks and elms. For hikers that means lots of up-and-
down trails—a departure from the typically smooth or gradually rising and falling trails in the region.
The park is located on the western edge of the blackland prairie, which once covered a great swath of
the midsection of America and into Canada but has been plowed over so that only a tiny fraction re-
mains. The dense black soil turns to thick muck after a heavy rain. When it dries, it creates mounds,
which some early settlers called “hog wallow.”
In 1854 John Anderson Penn settled in the rugged Cedar Mountains, and the land here largely re-
mained in family hands until the 1980s. The 1,826 acres eventually became a state park, which offi-
cially opened in 1991. The Penn family farm has been restored, and self-guided tours are available
daily.
This trail is largely through open prairie, making it hot on a sunny day, so bring protection and
plenty of water. The trail begins from the parking lot by a large sign. At about 0.15 mile veer right and
continue through the tallgrass prairie. Cross a small bridge and bear left, going down a short hill. The
trail winds down toward the lakeshore, eventually reaching a primitive camping area and chemical toi-
let.
