City of Fort Worth Parks and Recreation Department Joins the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Paddling Trail System

ent--article_ _media__contact">Media Contact: Katy Schaffer, 512-389-8046, katy.schaffer@tpwd.texas.gov; Shelly Plante, 512-389-4500, shelly.plante@tpwd.texas.gov

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FORT WORTH – On Nov. 1, the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge (FWNC&R) hosted a community paddle event to officially open the 70th trail in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Texas Paddling Trail system.

TPW Commissioner Ralph Duggins, Vice-Chair of the TPW Commission, and Raphael Brock, lead fisheries biologist at the TPWD Lake Worth Fish Hatchery, represented TPWD at the brief onsite inauguration.

The trail, known as the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge Paddling Trail, traces a 6-7 mile loop, depending on water levels, along the West Fork of the Trinity River northwest of the Fort Worth city center. Paddlers can float the trail in about two to three hours. The trail has two access points within the FWNC&R, one at Big River and another at Greer Island.

This riparian corridor of the Trinity River supports a great diversity of plant and animal life along the river and beyond the banks. Along the trail, paddlers can expect to see several species of fish and birds, as well as deer, beavers, turtles, snakes, raccoons and even alligators.

Besides providing access to the river, the FWNC&R also has a 20-mile natural surface trail system, a visitor’s center with static and live animal exhibits, a small bison herd and a prairie dog town.  A team of education naturalists provides a variety of classes and walks weekly, as well as guided canoe and kayak trips along the new paddling trail.

Visit www.fwnaturecenter.org for a complete calendar of events. For more information about the trail, call the center at 817-392-7410.