Hi. There's a possibility that I might relocate to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for my job...I think Arlington is where my company has an office. I know this sounds pathetic, but being able to ride is a major factor...my wife says I have a sickness. Anyway, I'm just wondering if there is any good riding in the Arlington area. Thanks in advance for any info.

For info about the trails in the DFW area check out dorba.org. There are many trails around this area and you are also close to many private ranches that have trails that are great.

Define good. Where are you coming from? I relocated to Arlington from Anacortes, WA and while there's riding here, it's no where near as good as up there. Just rode a trail for the first time about a half hour from Arlington and it was OK. Nothing too tough, but I ran out of time and only did the first half. They say the second half gets more technical....

When are you coming, anyway? I'll be selling my house this summer since I'm moving again. :D

For a fairly flat heavily populated metropolitan area, there are alot of decent trails. Definitely check out www.dorba.org . The Trail the the other guy was describing is "Northshore" at Grapevine lake. The first half of it is OK but the second half is really good and fairly technical. There are at least 15 trails within an hour of where you are considering moving and another 8-10 within 2 hours. Local Favorites would include; Northshore, Cedar Hill, Johnson Branch, Bar-H, Cleburne State Park, Dinosaur Valley State Park, Rowlett Creek Park, and Erwin Park. Every one of these has over 10 miles of trail with the exception of Erwin (about 8.5m). Is it Moab, Durango, or Washington st.? No, we simply don't have the topography, but you won't suffer from a lack of fun trails and the Dallas Off Road Biking Association "DORBA" is one of the best mountain biking clubs in the country with over 600 members. The first NORBA race of the year is in Waco (2 hours away). Using the above list, you might want to check out the trail reviews on this site.

-Steve

This trail was my favorite, when I lived in Arlington. It was 15 minutes from home. Great Single Track, plenty of climbs on the back "Expert" section. About 11 miles if you do it all. Fun for a night ride, too. The trail is in a State Park, so you see a little wildlife. Blue Bonnets (TX state flower) are awesome in the Spring. Only saw a rattlesnake in the trail once, in several years of riding there. (I'm not kidding... :)

I moved, so now I ride Rowlett Creek a lot, and a little Grapevine Lake North Shore.

Check out dorba.org like the other folks suggested.


Good Luck.

Steve

rowlett creek is awesome, not as rocky as grapevine and much more fun.
lots of rollercoaster hills to dip through

take a day off at the Bar-H ranch about 1.25 hours from dallas

Cameron Park is some of the the best riding and about 1.5hrs south of DFW

Check out the NORBA race heading there March 11-14

I live in Arlington and it looks like we got some good post from others who live in Arlington.
If you live in south Arlington the closest trail is Cedar Hill State Park which is a fun flowing trail with good climbs but nothing really techincal There are others within :30 to an hour away that are good too such as Boulder Park, Cleburne State Park and North Shore which are more technical and offer a challange. About 1.5 hours away is Dinosaur Valley
State Park which is my favorite trail and offers a great epic ride and a lot of different terrain and options.

We need to get all the Arlington riders to hook up with us at Galyan's Sports and Outdoors shop ride on Tuesdays this spring/summer. If you are interested call the store 817-987-4800 and ask for Stan.

We need to get all the Arlington riders to hook up with us at Galyan's Sports and Outdoors shop ride on Tuesdays this spring/summer. If you are interested call the store 817-987-4800 and ask for Stan.

I'm not from Arlington, but if your gonna ride Boulder i'm in.
I love that trail, it has a little bit of everything and doesnt make my knee ache.
In fact I might be out there tomorrow afternoon if my new tires come in.

The trails in the metroplex are flat, short, and crowded. They are, however, very well maintained. I suppose they are good for a quick afterwork "training" ride (not much fun). They are also an alternative to being run over by a soccer mom with a cell phone implant in a monster truck SUV - in case you were planning to try road riding in DFW. I relocated here a year ago and other than rollers in the garage, have basically given up on cycling.

I havn't yet ridden any of the trails just outside the metroplex. The first '04 Norba race was in Waco (Cameron Park). I've also heard of a place north of Dallas where you pay $6/day (Bar -H?). So there may be some trails within day-trip distance for a nice Saturday/Sunday afternoon ride, but you'd likely have to alot 5-6 hours for a 2 hour ride.

If you go a little further out, there are some excellent trails to the north. The Ouachita National Forest is a 4 hr (depending on exact part of the Ouacita's) drive away and has many awesome trails. The prime trail there is the Womble (Mt Ida Arkansas). This one is well worth the travel time no matter where you live in the US. Lawton, OK (LETRA/Ft. Sill) is about 3-4 hours away, but I'm not sure that it is worth that long of a drive except for the 12 miles of hell race in March. Tulsa, OK (Turkey Mountain) is also about 4 hours away - again not quite the quality of the Ouachita's and probably not worth a weekend trip, but better than anything in DFW. There may be some more weekend trip places to the south and/or west and/or east. I havn't yet explored those directions.

Wow npsatehling. I have to think that its all about perspective. While I'm not personally a huge fan of a lot of the trails in the DFW, I would have to rebuff some of that. DFW does a lot with what it has to work with. While you don't have the mountains of Colorado to work with, you do have an extensive network of trails within a major metropolitan area that can be ridden year round! 17 trails are within an hour and a half of central DFW, so surely there is something you can dig. Have you ridden every trail in town, or just the typical crowded locales like RCP and Northshore? Hell, Cedar Hill is not a big fave of mine, but its at least decent length and not crowded.

Some riding suggestions for you...try Cleburne, Dino Valley, Cameron Park and Bar H. If you still think everything sucks, then give up biking. I can be at any of those locations in under and hour and a half and wouldn't trade them for anything. Are they IMBA Epic Trails like you find in real mountains? No. But they are damn good trails, especially given the limited elevation change in North Texas.

Wow npsatehling. I have to think that its all about perspective. But they are damn good trails, especially given the limited elevation change in North Texas.

Thanks for stickin up for us here R4B... hey! When are y'all coming down to Cameron next??? Its been awhile!

No worries. I just get tired of people always bagging on this place for what its not instead of what thinking about what it is. Perspective!

Good question, man. Not sure when we will be down there next. Are you gonna be in Whaco for the summer? It will probably be June before we get a chance to get down there in all honesty.

No worries. I just get tired of people always bagging on this place for what its not instead of what thinking about what it is. Perspective!

Good question, man. Not sure when we will be down there next. Are you gonna be in Whaco for the summer? It will probably be June before we get a chance to get down there in all honesty.

I am leaving after exams and will be gone most of June, but will be back before July, just in time for sweltering summer heat. ;)

Good luck with the finals. I always hung around Waco through the summer when I was there. The town has a different vibe while its that hot thats pretty cool. We had some of the best times there during the summer.

Take a short drive to Tyler State Park one weekend approximately an hour and one half from DFW. I feel like it is one of the top 5 trails in TEXAS.

rowlett creek is awesome, not as rocky as grapevine and much more fun.
lots of rollercoaster hills to dip through

man, Rockledge "Grapevine" is AWESOME. Please describe some of the attributes of this rowlett trail? I might visit? and when you say fun, do you mean "grandma rolling on her 10 speed fun? LOL>

list it out dude..

man, Rockledge "Grapevine" is AWESOME. Please describe some of the attributes of this rowlett trail? I might visit? and when you say fun, do you mean "grandma rolling on her 10 speed fun? LOL>

list it out dude..
RCP is a completely different animal than Northshore. It is a stacked loop system that can provide up to around 14 miles. It is flat and does not have the technical challenge that you get on the Lake Grapevine trails. It is a fun trail that I ride occasionaly, but if you are going to drive a long way, there are places more fun to go like Cleburne SP, Dino Valley SP or Johnsons Branch SP.

I've never tried the trails in the mid-cities, but I can tell you that South Fort Worth has many many good (some mostly unknown) trails to ride on. Chisenhall Park in Burleson has miles of great riding, from flat trails to ~100' relief hills to open areas with lots of jumps(for the bmx riding kid in you). This is about half an hour from Arlington, just off 174 (Wilshire Blvd in Burleson) behind the Wal Mart. I highly recommend this area if you have not tried it yet. :cool:

Hey man. I'm down that way at least once a week since my daughter lives in Joshua. Where exactly is that at? I know where the Wal Mart is on Wilshire. But where exactly is this park? I would love to check it out. Is it mostly just bmx type stuff, or is there true singletrack involved?

To get to Chisenhall Park, turn down the road that runs right by the wally world, and go straight at the stop sign. The riding portion is huge, all scattered behind the rec center, mostly past the trees and the creek.