Cross Timbers Hiking Trail

OMG. Kicked my butt. I only just worked up to walking 5 miles at the highschool track. There is no way that between Juniper and Cedar Bayou is only 2.3 miles. This map doesn't take into account the switch backs and the twists and elevation changes. If I had a real GPS I'd tag it next time. I think my phone and the Samsung Health app quit register steps after I put it in my bag. It showed we went 9,283 steps, 4.37 miles roughly... Think that's accurate? And by the way the trail was all clear but 2 places near golden road. We had to walk around one at the edge of the mud and the second we did have to hit the woods. Otherwise it was a good hike.

This trail is a mess right now. We went from Juniper Point about 5.3 miles west and then back. Took almost 6 hours to do the 10.6 miles. There were at least 5 spots where the trail was several feet underwater, which lead to tons of bushwhacking through thick poison oak and thorny vines. I would imagine it will be several weeks (Mother Nature permitting) before the trial is fully passable.

I've been wanting to do this trail for a while and finally got to it. The plan was to hike the full length of the trail, camp at Juniper Point then hike back to the truck the next day. We started at the Rock Creek Rd trailhead and had to do quite a bit of bushwacking around multiple sections of flooded out trail. We eventually got to a flooded out point about 4 miles in, where the vegetation was so thick that we got stopped and decided to turn back. The grasslands area was brightly colored with wildflowers but very overgrown from being lightly trafficked (I assume due to the flooding). The lady at the marina told us that some people had been putting their packs in black trash bags and swimming across the flooded trail areas. Not exactly our cup of tea though. The area is beautiful and was so well marked that you could still tell where the trail was, even though it was underwater. We're looking forward to coming back when the lake level comes down.

I forgot how brutal this trail is but it can't be beaten for getting out into nature. Hiked from the Juniper Point West trail head to Cedar Bayou and back. One day I'll set aside enough time to do the whole trail.

living right around the corner from this place I love it. one of the best spots I've found since moving here from Virginia. there are a few places that you could get turned around but if you always stay right, you will be fine.

Hikes this today with my hiking buddy. Very good trail...nicely marked...good mix of easy and moderate bits. Out and back in about 6 hours...covered more than 13 miles total...am awesome way to spend my birthday

Great trail, scenic views and plenty of camp sites.

I really like this trail and my dog loved it! The only disappointment is the trash that’s around along the lake area. Next time I’m bringing a bag and pick some up.

Had a blast! Took the fiance out on our first backpacking trip. I'm not sure that the mileage on the trail is correct. If I had to guess it starts at Cedar Bayou, when reading route names and distance, which adds some length. The route from Juniper Point is a lot of vertical incline/decline, but the route is pretty level from there. Loved it, but we struggled a bit. We found several camping sites along the lake shore, and stopped a bit short of the loop. We had a great time camping on a small peninsula about halfway.

The whole cross Timbers Trail is actually much longer than what is shown on this path. The eastern terminus is the park at Juniper Point off 377, but the western terminus is located on the east side of Rock Creek Camp Road (appr. N33° 51.894' W96° 53.911'). The trail from the western end is marked well in most areas, but not so well in some so I had to backtrack multiple times to find it again, but it's better than it was last year. Not submitting a path because of the backtracks. I'll submit one when I get it right. There's also a loop called Lost Loop that circles the peninsula north of where the tree was reported down on 5/20 that adds several miles to the trail if you happen to take it. Very scenic "wet weather creeks" if you get there after a rain. Water from the lake is not ideal, but will work in a pinch

Great trail. My first trip here. I hiked from trail head at juniper to five mile camp and stayed the night. I will be back . Trail was marked good only got a little turned around once. Highly recommend, the elevation was nice compared to mostly flat trails in dfw.

I love this trail but if you drink the water from the lake you’re crazy this water is brackish IE salt water your filter will not take it out don’t drink the water from the lake. This lake is used to supply water to the Dallas metroplex but they mix it half-and-half with Sweetwater to cut down on the salt content. Carry your water and you can resupply water at any of the resorts along the trail.

My friend and I, both 60 year old women, just hiked from Juniper Point to Rock Creek on Monday and Tuesday, Oct 29 and 30, 2018, spending Monday night in a campsite just before the east Lost Loop entrance. We had to bushwhack around or walk through water, sometimes chest high, over 15 times. We lost count. We had to walk around a rattlesnake fairly close to Rock Creek. The trail was mostly well marked. There a few places we had to figure out. I wish all the camp sites had signs and were on a map. I wish there were mile markers occasionally. It was tough but we enjoyed it. 7 hours first day and 6 hours the second day. We parked cars on both ends. We were really surprised Rock Creek was in a gated community but they gave us the code. They were friendly about it on both ends. I don't understand why All Trails calls it a 10 mile out and back. It is much longer than that. It goes all the way to Paw Paw Trailhead close to Lake Texoma Marina, west of Rock Creek Marina. I understand the section from Rock Creek Marina to Paw Paw isn't in very good condition at this time.

it was a great trail, just be advised that due to the rain certain parts of the trail may not be accessible, so you'll have to walk off the trail and through some brush

It was hot. Started at Juniper and hiked to Eagles Roost. Trail became difficult to find. Backtracked to 5 mile camp which was great for the little breeze coming off the lake. Sleeping deep in the trees would have been HOT. Pretty good for an overnight trip so close to Dallas. Watch out for snakes. Copperheads and Cottenmouths especially. There’s lots of tall grass and water-level dips where you can, and we nearly did, step on one.

I have done this trail many times over the past year. I used it December to February as a training hike for the AT. This trail should not be listed as 14.4 miles. if you begin at Juniper Point and hike to Rock Creek Resort and marina, you have about 10.1 miles. The 4 miles beyond that are basically impassable and should be deleted from the map. I reached out to the caretaker of this trail on several.occasions last year to assist him in marking the last 4 miles of the trail to no avail. He isn't willing to mark it properly and he isn't willing to do any clearing. don't waste your time and effort. Stop at Rock Creek and turn around for a 20 mile hike or have a pick up scheduled for that point.

Started off strong but hot. We knew it was going to be but I just had the backpacking bug and had to go! Trail as always is really good. I overnighted the complete trail in December 17 and was in the mid 30s. I enjoyed it a lot better than today. 96 with a heat index of 105!! I’ve never minded the taste after filtering Texoma water but it is some kind of gross this time. First time I didn’t bring drink packs to mask the taste! My fault. Our original plan was to hike to Eagles roost. At Lost Loop Junction, we found the trail signs pulled up and laying face down. The main trail then split. The bike trail went left and hiking trail went right. After 3 times of making a loop that connected the two. I pulled up the app. There is a tree down literally where the bike loop and hike loop meet that cuts off the main trail. After an hour and depleting our water we finally was back on the trail. We set up at 5 mile camp. The shoreline is sand rock boulders. Awesome to look at but a little harder to safely get to water. Just past the last camp area was a nice little sand beach. The swim was a welcome relief. There is an occasional breeze and plenty of shade. We can barely stand the taste of the filtered water so first thing in the morning we are packing back out. We left 1 bottle of Fresh Smart Water between 2 people to get us out. ***Edited*** It’s 10p.m. and still miserably hot with no breeze at all. One good note, I bought a pack of Sweetart Chewy Sours this morning. 2-3 per 1 liter of filtered water, let dissolve for 20 minutes or so made the water bearable.

I did a 10-mile hike here (5 miles of trail and then back to camp) a few years ago, and it's a beautiful, yet strenuous hike.

Great trail considering the distance from DFW. I started late and camped early at one of the sites on the eastern portion of the trail that had easy lake access, and after reading some of these reviews sounds like I was better off because of it. Definitely would recommend!

Well, I did the Lost Loop Trail.. It was a good hike, but for a newbie hiker, I didn't get much of a view of scenery because I was too busy focusing on my feet and sweating my tuchus off. It was a good hike, I am definitely still hurting two days later. Just be warned, if you're not too experienced of a hiker/backpacker, this trail just might be a new found gateway to hell.

Started at the Juniper trailhead and hiked our way to just past the lost loop camp. Lots of up and down hiking that kicked our butts but we're novices. Would hike again but for sure need to bring water flavors because that lake water isn't very tasty. The trail markers were good but id appreciate more signage because we got a bit lost on the way out.

Great trail, lots of elevation changes. Good long sections of shaded trails. Easy lake access for swimming as well.

Tough trail with a heavy pack. Awesome, diverse terrain and an hr and 20 mins from Dallas to campsite.