# Sante Fe trial is open- Dallas



## Dave Hickey

*Sante Fe trail is open- Dallas*

I just rode the Sante Fe trail from White Rock to downtown.... I give it 5 stars.....

I rode the partially completed trail last year and wasn't impressed....now that it is complete, it's great.........It makes the trip between downtown and WRL very easy....

When you leave the southern end of WRL, you actually head east over Garland Rd but the trip loops around and heads west toward Dallas.....

I must not be the only one that likes it... The Katy trail had virtually no cyclist but the Sante Fe was filled with people riding......It's a great addition to the DFW area trail system


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## cmg

what's the total distance of this trail? Sante Fe trail from White Rock.


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## Dave Hickey

cmg said:


> what's the total distance of this trail? Sante Fe trail from White Rock.



I didn't measure it but it's around 5-6 miles... The trail starts just east of Deep Ellum so it's a couple of miles from Downtown,.. It's an easy ride down Main Street in Deep Ellum to connect to the trail...


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## culdeus

I doubt this one gets hit with lots of walkers due to the neighborhood it goes through. It will probably look a lot like the white rock trail north of white rock, but perhaps without the horse poop.


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## xrayjay

where exactly does it connect to WRL?


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## Dave Hickey

xrayjay said:


> where exactly does it connect to WRL?


Just west of the 7-11 on the south side of the lake. You'll see a bridge going over the road


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## xrayjay

Thanks. I live ride by WRL but rarely ride around it since most of my riding is on dirt. I do have a road bike on my radar for right after Xmas so anything I can do to lengthen that trail is golden to me. (which explains my mtb pedals on a road bike thread you answered on a different forum).


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## pedalruns

culdeus said:


> I doubt this one gets hit with lots of walkers due to the neighborhood it goes through. It will probably look a lot like the white rock trail north of white rock, but perhaps without the horse poop.



I think I will take the horse poop.... Today I rode the Sante Fe Trial down and found a couple of sections of broken glass all over the trial... and the graffite is starting to return. Other than that it is a great trial.


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## Tex Pet

I rode it from WRL to trails end. I was confused on how to cross the streets with no stop/go lights. Was traffic supposed to yield? They were NOT & it was getting dark. I was afraid I might get hit (rush hour). At trails end I didn't know where I was so I headed west I think and got directions to the Dart light rail Baylor station. I would like to ride this trail often and connect to the TRE downtown (Union Station) or Victory Station (american airlines). What's the best route from trails end to either Union or Victory?


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## David Loving

My brother, nephew and I rode to the lake from alpha road, and around WRL thanksgiving and all were amazed at the improvements


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## Creakyknees

Tex Pet said:


> I rode it from WRL to trails end. I was confused on how to cross the streets with no stop/go lights. Was traffic supposed to yield? They were NOT & it was getting dark. I was afraid I might get hit (rush hour).


yep... this is one of the main problems with this type of trail. 




Tex Pet said:


> I would like to ride this trail often and connect to the TRE downtown (Union Station) or Victory Station (american airlines). What's the best route from trails end to either Union or Victory?


I'd recommend just hopping over to Main/Canton and riding as a vehicle from there. Once you're on the streets / downtown, take the lane and be assertive; I've never had a problem since the traffic is slower.


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## Creakyknees

it has come to my attention that this new trail might be suitable enabler for a bicycle pub crawl.


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## Dave Hickey

Creakyknees said:


> it has come to my attention that this new trail might be suitable enabler for a bicycle pub crawl.



why yes.....,yes it does.......


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## innergel

I rode the Santa Fe Trail a few weeks back. I also give it a hearty :thumbsup: 

I'm in for the pub crawl. 


And I'm also thinking that I want to ride the full trail length, from Deep Ellum all the way north to the end of the Preston Ridge Trail up in Richardson-ville. Most likely this will be my New Years Day ride if anyone wants to tag along.


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## xrayjay

Finally picked up my road bike and rode the Sante Fe trail when I was circling WRL. Pretty cool ride, get to go through some neighborhoods I don't see a lot. The stop signs do get annoying after awhile, but it would be cool to ride from downtown, around the lake up to Hillcrest and then do the trail along meandering way to the George Bush Tollway.


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## innergel

xrayjay said:


> Finally picked up my road bike and rode the Sante Fe trail when I was circling WRL. Pretty cool ride, get to go through some neighborhoods I don't see a lot. The stop signs do get annoying after awhile, but it would be cool to ride from downtown, around the lake up to Hillcrest and then do the trail along meandering way to the George Bush Tollway.


I did basically that exact ride New Years Day. It's a fun ride if you are looking for an easy day and to see parts of the city you don't usually get to see. There are a few spots where you have to search for the trail connections, but they aren't too hard to find if you know the general vicinity of where to look. 

I'd suggest taking the Cottonwood Trail instead of the Hillcrest section to get to the Preston Ridge Trail. That's a bit more scenic and less on-street riding.


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## xrayjay

Thanks, I'll check out the Cottonwood Trail. Looks like I can catch it off the WR trail more or less.


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## innergel

xrayjay said:


> Thanks, I'll check out the Cottonwood Trail. Looks like I can catch it off the WR trail more or less.



Sort of. You have to take an offshoot and wind your way around a bit to get to the Cottonwood Trail. Google up the Willie B Johnson Rec Center and the trial is right there. You'll have to wind around a bit to get from the WRT to the Cottonwood, but it's worth the ride. 

I'll try and knock up a Google Map to show the route I use between the two sections. It took me a few tries to find it, but was worth the effort.


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## Creakyknees

xrayjay said:


> Thanks, I'll check out the Cottonwood Trail. Looks like I can catch it off the WR trail more or less.


Yep I pedal that way frequently. When traveling North on the WRT from Greenville, you'll pass under Royal Ln overpass (after the golf course/ soccer fields). There's a spur trail to the right that goes up into that new neighborhood with all the cool architecture. You could take that, follow the street (Vanguard), left on Stults, left at the stoplight (Forest), right at the next light (Schroder), up the hill to Willowdell (left) then hit the Cottonwood.

Or, pass by the Vanguard spur, hop the grassy knoll into the back of the next office complex, follow that street (Forest Central) up to Forest, right turn then left onto Schroeder. 

I like the first way better, it's a bit longer and hillier but more protected from traffic.


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## xrayjay

Found it on my way to work last week ( I work on Forest right by Med City). Didn't get a chance to check it out, I wanted to get in a mountain bike ride on Saturday before the rain and snow closed the trails for the next two weeks. I'll check it out this week though. I have a few days off.


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## -dustin

Is there an updated map with these newer trails?


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## innergel

-dustin said:


> Is there an updated map with these newer trails?



It's a bit dated, but start here:
http://www.bikingindallas.com/the-dallas-bike-trail-network/


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## Dave Hickey

I rode the Sante Fe again on Saturday.. No issues other than broken glass


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## camping biker

Check out the Harry moss Park trail, right off of WRL. DORBA | Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association

It's only a couple miles long but fun, and near a beer store so you can get some after the ride. 

The Santa Fe Trail is nothing exciting to me, but it adds some miles and goes downtown. 



xrayjay said:


> Thanks. I live ride by WRL but rarely ride around it since most of my riding is on dirt. I do have a road bike on my radar for right after Xmas so anything I can do to lengthen that trail is golden to me. (which explains my mtb pedals on a road bike thread you answered on a different forum).


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## innergel

camping biker said:


> Check out the Harry moss Park trail, right off of WRL. DORBA | Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association
> 
> It's only a couple miles long but fun, and near a beer store so you can get some after the ride.
> 
> The Santa Fe Trail is nothing exciting to me, but it adds some miles and goes downtown.


I agree about the Santa Fe Trail being not too exciting but it's a great connector to downtown from WRL. 

Great note about the Moss Park Trails too. I'm going to take my son out there tomorrow if it's not too wet. The trailhead is an easy ride from the house.


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## xrayjay

Don't ride mid afternoon when the Jr High and High School get out. I got screamed at, smarted off to, almost knocked over and watched a bunch of kids smoking pot the other day. My last ride on that trail during school days after 2 and before 4pm. 

Just Saying.


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## camping biker

Thanks for the tip. Its hard to "not get political" about that, but yeah, the kids might not respect bicyclists. 
The younger kids (usually on bikes) on the weekends, seem to be pretty friendly. Some like to race me or talk about bikes. They seem really fascinated by my motorized bike.


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## Creakyknees

I wasn't aware of the Moss trails. I notice they are on the OTHER side of White Rock Creek from the WRT bike patch... sooo... to get there from the path, you have to ride on Greenville Ave a bit. 

Also, there are some unofficial trails accessible from the WRT path, in the Harry Moss area - when you are riding the path South from Greenville Ave and see the Harry Moss Natural Area sign on your left, you can duck into the woods there. 

And there are some more bandit trails near the Lake, at Norbuck Park. From the new MUT bridge at the North end of the Lake, take E. Lawther to Buckner, go under, straight into the parking lot, head into the woods.


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## camping biker

That's interesting, Creakyknees. Are the "bandit trails" made by dirtbikes or 4x4? How long are they (couple minutes of riding, like to patch streets together, or are they like mtn bike trails) ? If you had to go through an iron gate to a trail that starts out on gravel, those are "hiking trails" and a few nimby hikers will get mad if you bike in there. I've tried biking there and they don't really go anywhere. 

Here is the DORBA trail page for Harry Moss Park. It's a couple miles long and growing (lot of volunteer and club work this year). It can be ridden on almost anything, even seen a Unicycle rider do it. It gets exponentially harder the faster you go, though, because it is a narrow trail among trees, tightly wound through a small woods behind the soccer field. The BMX style dirt jumps at the end were fun. 

Harry Moss Park - Dallas | DORBA includes maps and Google coordinates.


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## camping biker

Practicing at what? If you mean practicing at knocking over bicyclists, you've got another thing comin! 



jazzalbart said:


> It’s a great news that Sante Fe trail is open in Dallas. Now there is going to be huge rush on the weekend. This is going to be a best practicing activity for kids and school students.


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## blueapplepaste

The trail has been open? Not sure what jazzalbart means.

As I live in downtown, I use the Santa Fe to get to WRL. The trail itself is nice, has a lot of street crossings, but no biggie. The first part of the ride from Deep Ellum about halfway is often annoying. Always stray dogs running around and lots of kids on their bikes who have absolutely no respect for trail courtesy. Second half of the trail to WRL is very enjoyable though.


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## StuLax18

Creakyknees said:


> I wasn't aware of the Moss trails. I notice they are on the OTHER side of White Rock Creek from the WRT bike patch... sooo... to get there from the path, you have to ride on Greenville Ave a bit.
> 
> Also, there are some unofficial trails accessible from the WRT path, in the Harry Moss area - when you are riding the path South from Greenville Ave and see the Harry Moss Natural Area sign on your left, you can duck into the woods there.
> 
> And there are some more bandit trails near the Lake, at Norbuck Park. From the new MUT bridge at the North end of the Lake, take E. Lawther to Buckner, go under, straight into the parking lot, head into the woods.


This is actually the first I've heard anyone mention of Norbuck before. I know the trails from running XC in high school. I ride there every now and then but have never seen another MTBer. It gets really creepy during weekdays though. Like I saw a guy walking towards the woods as I pulled up and about 5 minutes later when I started riding I saw him slip into the edge of the trees just as I passed.

I wanted to build some jumps or something out there but never really got around to it and it's probably too late for me any way. I kinda gave up MTBing around here, that's why I got the road bike.


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