Posted by Bob Griebel on June 20, 2000 at 03:30:41:
In response to Donna's post of 6/19, the Fort Worth Nature Center is about five miles outside I-820 on Jacksboro Highway (Hwy 199), northwest of Fort Worth. Another nearby public access which accesses the open water of Lake Worth and the end of the runway at Carswell is underneath the north end of the I-820 bridge over Lake Worth, about 2.5 miles south of the Hwy 199 exit. Either location provides nice paddling. For the following directions to both, check your road map and start from Exit 10A at I-820 and Jacksboro Highway (Hwy 199).
TO FORT WORTH NATURE CENTER PUT-IN (5.6 mi.):
From exit 10A, take Jacksboro Highway (Hwy 199) northwest. At approximately 1.7 miles,
cross Lake Worth. At 3.8 miles, exit right and take Buffalo road into Fort Worth Nature
Center. Follow Buffalo Road past buffalo herd, past turnoff to visitor center on right at
5.2 mi., past Shoreline Road on left at 5.4 mi. Continuing straight, Buffalo Road becomes
Shoreline Road and reaches a parking area and put-in on the narrow Trinity River at 5.6
mi.
Upstream (left) is a sheltered paddle on a narrow, high-banked river through a wooded area protected from wind on gusty days. The route may be blocked before you paddle the full distance of about 2.5 miles to the spillway at Eagle Mountain Lake. Giant blue herons are likely found in this stretch.
Downstream (right) the water quickly broadens. For about a mile, the main channel borders broad, shallow water strewn with wood that's likely to have ducks, white wading birds, osprey and, in winter, cormorants. For the second mile, the wind can become serious on gusty days as you pass Greer Island and the Nature Center boundary. The last mile before reaching the Highway 199 bridge passes waterfront homes. Beyond the bridge is the greater open part of Lake Worth.
TO LAKE WORTH PUBLIC ACCESS BENEATH I-820 BRIDGE (2.5 mi.):
From Exit 10A, take I-820 south. Exit at Exit 8, Navaho Trail and Cahoba Drive. Continue
south on service road another mile and cross Cahoba Drive to enter parking area beneath
bridge. Put in at little sandy stretch between bridge and dock. Paddle east to watch
F-116s at the end of Carswell's runway or paddle west to the greater part of a nice
paddling lake or even all the way north to the Nature Center beyond the Highway 199
bridge.