by Tricia White

With cooler weather, it’s the perfect time to get back outdoors and explore. Fortunately, North Texas has an extensive hike-and-bike network that appeals to any fitness level. Best of all, you can reach many of the trails on DART.

White Rock Lake Trail is more extensive than you might think. From just east of White Rock Station, you can head south to the nine-mile loop, or shoot north to the less-traveled, forested White Rock Creek Trail, which follows the rambling creek more than seven miles to LBJ Freeway.

Bachman Park Loop Trail along Bachman Lake features a paved trail that meanders along the lake’s shore, passing geese, ducks, groves of cypress trees and such. With a length of precisely five kilometers, this is the perfect place for cyclists and runners. It’s located northeast of Bachman Station.

The Katy Trail, accessible via Victory Station, runs through the heart of the city, and to the edge of Highland Park north of Knox Street.

Irving offers another transit-to-trail connection: Campión Trail is a 6.5-mile paved path along the Elm Fork of the Trinity River from North Irving just east of Las Colinas Urban Center Station to Valley Ranch. This trail offers a bonus to mountain bike riders, as several unpaved detours lead to wilder areas off the, well, beaten path.

Cottonwood Trail extends from Spring Valley Road to Royal Lane – and it can be accessed from the southwest corner of the parking lot of Forest Lane Station. Just south of the station, the trail’s southern terminus meets with White Rock Creek Trail. It runs through mostly residential areas, and features extensive landscape and sitting areas.

Chisholm Trail in Plano is a good half-mile from Downtown Plano Station, if you take 15th Street west, just across U.S. 75, but it’s worth the trek. The trail connects a strand of city parks and extends north along the banks of Spring Creek all the way to Legacy Drive.

Find more parks and trails resources at DART.org/bike.