Review: Fort Richardson State Park has one of the more unique features found in a state park, an old pre Civil War Fort! Explore history and nature in this one of a kind location about an hour and a half from Dallas, or an hour and sixteen from Fort Worth. Aside from the Trailway, the trails here are rather short, and make sure to check the schedule for tour timeframes, when we visited on a weekday the buildings were open by tour only, and we were unable to go inside. The official site lists tour times, a fact I wish we’d known ahead of time!

Distance: There are 12 miles total, with the Trailway being the lion’s share of those miles (9 miles)

Area of Town: Jacksboro, Northwest of Fort Worth

Facilities: Standard state park amenities including a headquarters building with restrooms, additional restrooms and showers, parking, and more. There are also picnic facilities available.

Suitable for: Walking / Jogging / Biking

Type of Trail: Natural or Gravel

Shade: Depends on where you are. The Rumbling Springs and Lost Creek Nature Trail are both shaded, the Fort and much of the Trailway are fully exposed to sun.

Where to Park: There are multiple spots to park here. For our adventure we parked by the fort, and then walked back to the road to pick up the Rumbling Spring Trail.

Official Site: Fort Sam Richardson State Park

Nearby Trails: None that I’m aware of, Fort Worth Nature Center is about an hour away

Note: We didn’t pick the most ideal time to visit Fort Richardson State Park, we went on a very hot summer day, without doing our due diligence. Had we been better prepared, we would have planned our visit a lot differently, and had a better experience. So please keep that in mind. I plan to return, when I do I will update the review with more information.

Fort Richardson State Park is located in Jacksboro, northwest of Fort Worth almost on the Oklahoma border. This is a very unique state park in the area, as it is built around a historic pre Civil War fort, established in 1867. This was part of a series of forts established, as settlers moving westward pushed against Native American tribes (Kiowa and Comanche) territories. Fort Richardson was no longer needed after 1878, and the original buildings either were sold or fell into disrepair. Jacksboro citizens however fought to maintain the structures, and in the mid – 20th century were able to get the site listed on the National Register of Historic places. In 1973 the State Park was established.

More detailed historical information is available here.

When we arrived, we asked the park rangers the best way to approach exploring Fort Richardson State Park. She advised us to park at the fort, then walk back to the road to start with Rumbling Springs. The trail is well marked, it’s just to the right and across the road, if you are facing away from the fort.

Rumbling Springs Trail is not a long trail (only half a mile), but it was the pretty and worth your time to explore. The trail is rather rocky, so you may want to consider hiking sticks if you have issues with that. The trail is wooded and descends from the road. As you walk down the trail, you’ll see plenty of rock walls to your left. The cool shade from the trees was a welcome relief, given the heat of the July sun. As you walk, you’ll continue to see the rocky wall to your left, and glimpses of a waterway to your right. The water wasn’t inviting, it had a film over it.

It’s not a long hike, but as you get to the end of the trail you’ll find the Rumbling Springs. The springs are classified as a karst spring, meaning that the water is sourced from an underground cave, which emerges from the limestone rocks. The flow wasn’t very heavy on our day, but after heavy rains, the water flow is greater. Don’t drink the water, the water could have contaminants from animals, fertilizers or human activity.

Here is where it might get confusing.

Once you exit the Rumbling Springs Traill, walk back to the park road, directly in front of you. Hang a right, and walk through some camping sites. The road will dead end and loop back around, so look for camping sites 22 and 23. Between them is the entrance to the Lost Creek Nature Trail.

This trail is much more easygoing. This is not a rocky trail like Rumbling Springs, but a decently wide natural rocky trail. There are stairs in places as you ascend the hills. Again, there are rocky outcrops to your left, and views of the water in places to your right. The views of the water here were prettier than while on Rumbling Springs. We encountered more flowers and fields of cactus along this route, and had more sun as this side is less shaded. This trail is also on the short side, only half a mile, so don’t expect any major workouts here. You can take your time and enjoy the views on this side, and I did find this trail a bit more scenic. This trail will once again dead-end onto the park road. So at the end of this trail, take a right onto the park road (watching out for cars, as there are some bends in the road), and you’ll wind up back at the Fort Richardson parking area, where you started.

The word fort may have you picturing a variety of structures behind a tall broad series of wooden walls or barriers. Not this fort. The remains of Fort Richardson stand in a broad flat field, with multiple buildings scattered around to explore. There are multiple informational plaques that describe the history of the place and what these buildings were used for. Several key structures remain including the hospital, a morgue, and a few others.

As I’ve said above, make sure you visit when these buildings are open to the public. On weekends the buildings are open to the public between 10am and 4 pm, however on weekdays the buildings are only open during tours at 10 AM and 2 PM. When we arrived at 11 AM, we had missed the tour, and due to the heat, didn’t want to wait until 2 for the next one. Given that the fort is a key reason to visit the state park, don’t do what we did.

We were able to wander the area and did look into the windows for a few photos.

Fort Richardson State Park also contains a 9 mile Trailway that connects the main park with Lost Creek Reservoir. This 9 mile gravel trail follows Lost Creek, across a dam, and then terminates at North Park. I have watched Youtube videos of the trail, it appears to be an open flat trail without much cover. Obviously the standard warnings apply, to bring plenty of water and sunscreen if you do this trail. Should I come back out to this state park, I will update with more information and photos!

Fort Richardson State Park is quite different than the other state parks in the region. Most of our state parks are built along lakes with trails to explore, but this one has an actual fort to explore! I would say this is a great place to go if you are looking for something different, and want to learn about the history of the region. The trails we went on were a nice addition to the history, but not a reason to make this drive. This would also be a great spot to go to if you want to do some longer distance riding or running, via the Trailway. I hope to come back again some day and do this state park properly, and hope if you go and visit it, you’ll learn from my mistakes!