Escarpment, Fossil Valley, Cedar Brake Loop is a 3.8 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Duncanville, Texas that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
dog friendly
kid friendly
hiking
nature trips
walking
bird watching
running
forest
lake
views
wild flowers
wildlife
rocky
Closed on Mondays! Trail steward is constantly maintaining and expanding the area. Rain makes most of the lower trails a muddy mess and can possibly close them.
great views
One of the best trails I’ve come across in the metroplex—inclines on hikes are hard to come by and this place fits the bill! It’s great cause it’s all hikers and no need to dodge mountain bikes. Trails are well maintained and marked. Definitely worth coming back! Beware that there are a lot of dog owners and some have better control of their canines than others; saw 2 fights break out where the dogs locked their bites into each other to the terror of their humans. As others have mentioned, the parking fills up on an nice day—so you may have to drive around till somebody leaves.
Well maintained natural earth and wood chip trail. Most parts of the trail are well shaded. Plenty up and down to experience elevation. It is heavily trafficked so getting there early is recommended to avoid looking for parking spot. Some benches along the trail are scribbled, a byproduct of heavy traffic.
Lots of hills, but nice. lot of traffic, but it was Saturday.
Well maintained! Great for training. Lots of inclines. There are quite alot of people that use this park, but overall very enjoyable!
This is the best local place to hike. Lots of trail options
It is beautiful,we loved it!
Well maintained set of trails. Will be back to run sometime.
Great starter trial if you want to explore taking it up as an add in or trail running!
don't miss this one. great hike.
Heavily traveled trails. Lots of people blasting music. Having said that, it’s nice hiking with elevation gains and losses throughout. It’s the hilliest part of the DFW metroplex.
Nice trails, but heavy traffic.
Very nice scenery! Kids loved it!!!
Hard, steep (had to carry bike a few times) & poisonous snake habitat.
Good trail in Dallas. Not too difficult and heavily trafficked.
I echo much of what has been said. My biggest concern was that many of the dogs I saw were overheated and not doing well. Too many people didn’t have enough water for themselves or their pets. Dogs don’t sweat under their fur so they can’t cool down like humans. If your taking your dog pay attention to their needs and be prepared to help cool them off.
I came at 6:45am on a 60 degree Saturday morning and hiked the Cattail Pond/Fossil Valley/Cedar Brake trails, & tho it was totally packed at 9am when I left, there weren't many people at all on the trails for most of my hike. Really lovely scenery and trails - nothing compared to, like, the Wichita Mountains, but for so close to Dallas it's great, I'll be back a lot. Cattail Pond is a terrific place to be just after sunrise :-)
A complex of trails that are by far the best in the DFW area, in my opinion. Not much solitude, unless you can come on a non-holiday weekday, but the nature and climbs are awesome!
Surprising ups and downs for an urban hike. Despite the amount of cars in parking lot, the trail was not crowded thanks to the numerous options!
Jan 2, 2016- this was a fun hike that had many stops along the way to catch your breath!
Probably the best trail system in DFW, definately the most natural. if only the traffic noise wasn't there to remind you where you're at. Some of the steepest hikes up and down in DFW, this trail will get you in shape fast. Very nice, it's like leaving DFW and going straight into the hill country. Some nice vistas along the way, beautiful trees.
I’ve only done the Fossil Valley portion. It’s gorgeous but has some steep ups and downs.
Moderate trail with some hills.
As described here, this is actually the combination of several trails including Cattail Pond, Fossil Valley, Cedar Brake and Possumhew. Bottom line is that this is one of the very best places to hike in DFW. Bikes aren't allowed here, so there no need to worry about being run over. You will see lots of dogs on the trail, especially the Cattail Pond section. If you bring your dog, keep them on leash. Before or after your hike (during spring or summer), check out the red plants to the right of the restrooms and you'll hopefully see some hummingbirds.
Nice trail. I would not rate this as hard though- Maybe moderate at the most. It was pretty busy but I did go on a Sunday morning. The trail was well marked and easy to follow. I’ll be going again!
A majority of this loop is in the shade and is a good mix of elevation changes. So far, this is my favorite trail in DFW.
