Trophy Club Park

Review: Another beautiful spot on Lake Grapevine, Trophy Club Park has a lot of things to do for nature lovers. Multiple trails take you through both forest and lakeside, and along a rather beautiful creek. There’s also an ATV trail system here too, which isn’t very common. There is an admission charge to enter, so make sure to bring cash or a credit card to enter.

Distance: 4 miles of paved trail

Area of Town: On the shores of Lake Grapevine, in Trophy Club

Facilities: There are bathrooms just beyond the entrance, and an area with picnic tables nearby as well.

Suitable for: Hiking, Equestrian, Mountain Bike

Type of Trail: Natural Trails

Shade: Lots of trees here, although some trails are fully exposed to the sun

Where to Park:  Once you pay and enter the park, there are parking spots at the trailheads and ATV Park. Trail access, from the map below, appears to show access points at the park’s boundaries, which may not require a fee to enter.

Official Site: Trophy Club Park Official Site

Nearby Trails: Knob Hills, Bob Jones Nature Center

Trophy Club Park turned out to be one of those places that surprised me. It’s a beautiful spot with so much to explore, from wooded trails to open views of the lake. I’ll admit, finding my way around wasn’t always easy, and I left knowing there was plenty I didn’t have time to see. But honestly, that just makes me want to go back and experience more of what this park has to offer.

This wasn’t my first time to visit, and I had navigation issues then as well. In fact we wound up on a paved trail that took us into a neighborhood, and then just left to grab tacos as we were frustrated. This time out I had much better luck, so hopefully this review helps you be more successful. I still had some issues that I’ll talk about later,

Located on the shores of Lake Grapevine, Trophy Club Park has lots of trails, lake views and even ATV trails for DFW nature lovers to enjoy. There is an admission cost to enter, make sure to bring cash and / or a credit card. Prices to enter are found here.

The first time we tried to explore Trophy Club Park, we drove in looking for a trailhead. I believe we entered and then headed north towards the ATV / disc golf area, missed the trail head entirely, and wound up on that paved trail to a housing area. We did find what may have been a trail, it was overgrown, and we finally just gave up and left.

This time, i parked at the restrooms immediately after the entrance. Looked like from the map that I could pick up the Adventure Trail and Great Blue Heron Crossing trails, so I set out on what I thought was the trail. It was not. Luckily, i had Outdoor Explorer installed on my phone, and that was SO useful. Seeing that I was actually on the Old Road Trail, i turned back and went just to the right of the picnic areas, and then was on the right track.

Before i talk about the trails, let me just reinforce that Outdoor Explorer really helped me get around. The trail markers in the park use letters vs trail names, and honestly it was a bit confusing at parts. I talk more about the app here, but this was another occasion when this app ensured I had a good experience on the trail.

Adventure Loop

This was the first trail I came upon, so I set off down this loop trail. The trail was nicely maintained, and was definitely more of an educational trail. Multiple signs dotted the trail, identifying the plants and wildlife that live in the park. This is a simple trail, only half a mile long, making it ideal for small kids or anyone with mobility issues. The trail is a bit of a figure 8, with two loops that touch each other.

There were some other interesting features in the Adventure Loop. I came upon a seating area in the woods, which turned out to be an Eagle Scout project installation. It looked like an ideal spot for local naturalists and educators to hold educational events! The trail also had multiple bird houses and a bat box, although there were no signs of any bats during that morning (all asleep, if there were any residents!). This was the first time I spotted the creek, and there was a bench placed to enjoy the overlook. That creek was really beautiful, but I’d find even better views later on via the Great Blue Heron and Hawkeye trails.

Great Blue Heron Trail

At 2.8 miles long one way, the Great Blue Heron Trail is more of a commitment. This trail leads you through the forest and eventually approaches the waterline for Lake Grapevine. There are a few ponds along the trail, but the most notable feature is when the trail approaches and follows the creek. While the creek is deep and still in some parts, there are multiple crossings here that are rocky and pretty. There are a few spots where you can get down the shoreline to the water’s edge and get some nice photos. I saw egrets and ducks cooling off in the water, and a fisherman trying his luck in some of the deeper parts of the creek.

Hawkeye Trail does intersect the Great Blue Heron Trail at two crossings (Camper Crossing and Hawkeye Crossing). You can also hit up the Skyline Trail, Sunrise Bay Trail, or the Whitetail Trail. The Great Blue Heron Trail will eventually dead-end at the White Chapel Trailhead. I would assume you could park there and enter the park from that side as well, but I never made it that far.

I enjoyed exploring this area, especially the creek views, but there were also some pocket prairies along the way. While I was there, Snow on the Prairie was blooming in a few of the prairies, as well as beautiful purple Leavenworth’s Eryngo. I also ran into a deer and her offspring, watching me warily from under the canopy.

When I reached the intersection with the Sunrise Bay Trail, I took that and headed along the shoreline.

Sunrise Bay Trail

This was my favorite part of the hike, and the most frustrating as well. The Sunrise Bay Trail is a .6-mile trail that cuts north, providing great views of the lake. The trees were left behind, replaced with scrubby plants and grasses, and some shrubs and other mid-sized plants. This spot was fully exposed to the sun, so no shade here!

While I’d seen a lot of wildlife elsewhere in the park, there was so much going on along this trail. Hummingbirds, dragonflies, wasps, grasshoppers, and more were everywhere. Fall flowers were out, and the local wildlife was here for it. Some portions of the trail were overgrown, not that it was hard to follow, but I was walking through some tall plant areas. I forgot to bring bug spray and was in shorts, but I plowed on, deciding it was worth the risk.

My original plan was to go to the end of the trail, then take the Old Road Trail back to my Jeep. The map looked like the two connected, I assume via a bridge across the water? Zoom in on the map, there is no connection. It’s a dead end. Luckily, I had been conserving my water, but I had not planned on a 3-mile return trip along the route I had already come down.

Luckily, I had Outdoor Explorer, so I realized I could shave off some distance if I took the Hawkeye Trail back to Camper Crossing, and then skip a bit of the Great Blue Heron Trail.

Hawkeye Trail

I actually was glad that I had to take the Hawkeye Trail, as it offered some different views. The trail was very sunny, but wandered through a prairie with tall grasses and other plants. I took the longer route (red, not the white shortcut on the map), which meandered next to the creek for some ways. I came upon a bench, which made a great spot to stop for lunch, before I headed over to Camper Crossing.

This again is where Outdoor Explorer came in handy. The shores of the creek are very steep here, so you need to find the right spot to get down to the creek waterline in a safe manner. The spot to go down, I would have missed it had I not been looking at my position on the map, using the app. Once I got down to the creek side, I had to jump across the rocks to get to the other side. I could see after heavy rains, this being rather difficult. Also, I had to go down the creek for a ways to find a good spot with enough rocks to get all the way over. The water isn’t deep here though, so if you have a misstep, you’ll likely only get wet feet. I also kept an eye out for snakes, which I’d advise you to do as well if you come this way!

Once I got back to the Great Blue Heron Trail, I headed back to where I’d parked, next to the bathrooms.

Rest of the Park

Given all the backtracking I did, I didn’t have time to explore the other side of the park.

The northern side of the park has the ATV section, which really is something you don’t see in many parks around here. There is also a disc golf area, and a Lakeview Trail that covers the outer perimeter of that section of the park. The map says it’s .8 miles long, but that must be a misprint. If I can get a better milage figure, i’ll update here.

If you want to take the Lakeview Trail, there is a trailhead just north of the restrooms, and then from the map it appears that it dead-ends into the Old Town Road, which you can walk back up to the restroom.

If I go back to Trophy Club Park again, I’ll revise this review with a better review of the rest of the park.

Summary

So all in all, I recommend visiting Trophy Club Park. I barely encountered anyone else while out there, and the only sounds I heard were from airplanes coming to and from nearby DFW Airport. The creekside views were idyllic, and I spotted quite a bit of wildlife. I can imagine how bustling it must be during the spring!

Navigating the park isn’t hard, but I definitely had a few issues on my end. I do highly recommend using Outdoor Explorer while visiting here to make sure you take the right turns or find the right spot for the trailheads! While this park is one of the few in the area that has an entrance fee, it’s worth the price of admission!