Cross Timbers Hiking Trail

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

Camped at 5 mile camp site. Well maintained sites with multiple space for fire pits. Well marked trails with moderate elevations.

Started at Juniper Point and finished at Paw Paw Trailhead over the course of roughly 45.5 hours. Day 1: 3 miles, Day 2: 7 Miles: Day 3: 2 Miles.

Eastern half of the trail includes at least 2 major elevation changes per mile. Western half is much flatter, but not as scenic and lots of trash from washouts, flooding, and litter.

Camped first night just past Cedar Bayou Marina, and second night past Lakeside Park. Ton's of places to camp along the entire trail, I saw a few places that would have been great, but it was too early to stop for the day.

There are plenty of downed trees throughout and washouts on some slopes. I don't mind the downed trees, just walk around, but the washouts are tricky. You definitely need a trekking pole on the eastern half if you are carrying an overnight pack, maybe even if you aren't.

If I did this trail again, I would start at Paw Paw and get as close to Eagles Roost as I could on Day 1, then split the western half over a full Day 2 and partial Day 3. I would include Lost Loop(did not do it this time)

Despite less than stellar all around maintenance, the trail is marked rather well. Only a couple times that I could not find the next marker right away when the path became unclear, never felt lost or confused though.

My son 17 and I 45 enjoyed the change in terrain and clear markings along the way. It felt like we were traveling through different areas in one hike. We got a late start so we only made it through 12 of the 14 miles, I was pretty sore the next day with the changes in elevation on this hike.

I only did a small section from Cedar Bayou through the Lost Loop and back. It was a great trail that is different from others in the Texoma region. There is quite a bit of elevation change throughout the section I had. This is definitely different from other trails I’ve done around the area. I can’t believe I just found this trail! It’s well marked and has great views of the lake. I can’t wait to go back and backpack it.

We hiked some of this trail over two days just taking it easy and not pushing too hard. We were going to hit Eagle Rock Loop in Arkansas but had to postpone it so we came here instead. It’s our first time to hike it and we were impressed. The trail was beautiful and had several elevation changes which provided some challenge with 30lb packs. There was not another person on the trail. We did about 10 miles and spent two nights out on the trail. We went up to Eagles Roost to see it but it was too cold and windy to camp there. It got down to 16* the first night and it was 18* the second night. It never got above freezing. We were miserable the first night because of the wind aunder our hammocks. We decided to sleep in our tent the second night and were much warmer. Overall a great challenging backpacking experience not too far from DFW.

By far the best trail on Lake Texoma with beautiful views of the lake and challenging hills to climb. I hike it regularly with a 40lb pack to get ready to climb 14ers in Colorado and it does the job!

Amazing trail. Although rated moderate, this trail is much more challenging than the nearby Eisenhower State Park trail, which is also rated as moderate. We hiked this trail during the Fall, and had occasional trouble with deep leaves on some of the steeper inclines. I would suggest bringing your trekking poles if you have them. And finally, when we visited around Thanksgiving 2017, the camping area was closed. We were forced to park near the boat launch and walk a half mile to the trailhead. No big deal, since we were able to use the mapping feature in Alltrails to find the trailhead. One final word of warning: The toilets adjacent to the boat dock are really, really gross!

Great trail. Went on cool(cold) rainy day and loved it. Trail hugs against lake to the right. Can choose if you want to go 12 miles or 14 but overall, it’s a good moderate trail with manageable elevation changes. Would recommend. Tree cover would be welcomed during summer months. Will return.

Great trail for hiking or backpacking.

Three adults and a 3 year old (very slowly) completed from Juniper to Rock Creek Resort. We had planned shuttle style between Juniper and the Lake Texoma Marina trailhead. The last 2 miles (from Rock Creek Resort to the trailhead by Lake Texans Marina) looked nearly impassable so one of us hiked the final distance along the road to get the truck. The Rock Creek Resort staff said that we completed 12 miles and that very few people do the last 2 miles of the 14 mi trail and that it was poorly marked. When I took a look, I could see the first main marker but downed trees and high brush made the actual path uncertain. I'd love if someone fixed the last portion.
Also, the distances mentioned online (and even posted) seemed to conflict.

The first half was the more challenging half to complete, especially for little legs, but had lots of nice campsites if we had wanted to stop sooner. For an easier time, I would recommend starting at the Cedar Bayou Marina and hiking in to the nice nearby site- about 15 minutes. We were a little confused at the Marina (we filled up water here and used a portapotty near where the tail met the road) as to where the trail picks back up. A helpful person staying at the marina told us to turn up the road ( left towards the blue house-away from the boats and potty) and stay on that road through the Marina campground and cabins until you reach a black gate, go around the gate and the trail picks up just past two picnic tables. The second half was less well maintained, less camp sites and less markings the further you go with at least one confusing downed sign, and lots more brush, however it was much more leveled out. It was pretty challenging at times with a 3 year old, but moderate is probably a correct description for most people. Had a good time and will do it again.

really kept up. i suppose you could call it moderate but with a 30lb pack juniper point to just past the marina gave me a whoopin

Who ever maintains the trail is doing great.

Great views and the elevation changes keep it interesting. Water available if you have a filtration system. Spots for primitive camping in several locations. The last time we hiked the trail we were a bit disappointed that we weren't able to go as far as we liked due to a section of the trail being impassable. We'll come back after the storm debris is cleared up. Great trail!

I went with my 16 year old daughter for a two day hike, and we loved it. The weather was great (overcast) which made it nice, and it was just hard enough to get tired, not to be overwhelmed. We did primitive camping on the lake after starting at Cedar Bayou, and finished on the peninsula near Paw Paw Creek Rd. The trail is not marked completely in every part (and in some places is over-marked) so we ended up doing a loop once that landed us back on the trail we had already hiked. It was not bad, though, and there was a lot of beauty on the way.

I have backpacked this trail many times over the years. It's great and can be somewhat difficult. It's middle of nowhere, no cell phone signal so be prepared, something happens you're miles from vehicle.

Nice hike, great out door experience, lots of ups and downs. Several camp sites for overnight camping and fishing. Great for overnight backpackers if you don't mind an out and back.

Even in July not too bad, definitely hot but bugs were definitely bare able, needs some blow down clean up from spring storms. Cool views of lake and decent breeze.

Nice trail. Having spent most of my hiking life on secluded trails in the Rocky Mountains, it was somewhat different to be hiking past houses and marinas. Great views and plenty of wildlife!

Hiked in 2. miles from Rock Creek today. Nice trial overgrown in places due to recent heavy rains, but the mason lids were a godsend to keep you on the trial. This side was easy with little elevation.

Absolutely loved this trail. 3 days and 2 nights hiking most of the trail. Lots of elevation change and several wilderness campsites. Water is easily accessible if you have a filtration system. I can't wait to go back!

My first solo hike, and my longest. I enjoyed hammock camping very much. There's plentiful water if you bring filtration or treatment tablets. I have blisters but that's my fault for ignoring the pebble during day 1.
Got a bit close to some boar between Stairway to Heaven and the Grate Bridge. I whistled to announce my presence through that bit. Didn't want a run in with boar / wild pigs! I'll be back again soon!

Would be an excellent hike if the weather was better and we were in a little bit better shape, but can't blame that on the trail. It was in good condition however the parking for the trailhead was closed so we had to park in the grass along the road and walk down to it.

Had a great time backpacking this trail about 4 miles in from the trailhead. It definitely has some steep portions so wear good boots. Several solid options for campsites. We stayed at one overlooking a quiet cove. Would have been perfect had it not been so cloudy.

Better than wasting time watching TV! Bring plenty of water, during the summer it gets very hot and humid and you can sweat away a lot of electrolytes.

Had our first backpack/overnight camp here! Wonderful place to start! Camped by the marina on a point looking at the lake! Awesome trip! Level of difficulty is moderate for sure. Lots of ups and downs! Highly recommended. We will definitely be back!

Amazing!

It was a nice easy stroll along side the river with occasional ups and downs. Nothing steep just a couple of hills here and there. Peaceful and quiet away from city noise.

Very nice trail.
Well marked and path was pretty easy to follow. It had few challenges but we enjoyed it!
We went hiking and primitive camping and really enjoyed the camp site.