Hotel near Trinity River jogging trails in Fort Worth?

November 12, 2013 3:22 PM

We'll be staying in Fort Worth this weekend. I've read that there are some nice crushed gravel trails along the Trinity River. From my review of the trail map, it looks like the crushed gravel portion begins west of downtown, just a little north of Trinity Park. So, we'd like to choose the most convenient decent hotel to that portion of the trail. Fort Worthers, are there any decent hotels just a hop, skip, and a jump away?

I do note that Google Maps shows Residence Inn - Fort Worth Cultural District to be nearby.

As a follow up question, am I correct about the location of the trail and the jogging happiness there?

posted by starkraven to Travel & Transportation (5 answers total)

About the trails: They go all the way up and down the river. Parts of it are paved and parts of it are pretty fine gravel, and in Trinity Park itself as well as some other parts there are parallel gravel and paved trails. It's unclear from your question whether you realize that the trails go all three directions from the fork (Mile Zero), but I'd say going south or west from the fork is your best bet in terms of how nice the surroundings are. To the north/east is relatively featureless from the trail.

I live here, so I don't really know about the quality of the hotels, but I do know that the Riata has awful, expensive food.
posted by cmoj at 3:58 PM on November 12, 2013

I think it's mostly paved. I'm familiar with the east from Gateway park into downtown and it's all paved. I have an old map and it's showing gravel down past the zoo but I've never been down that far. I love the trail. It's very nice. If I were picking a an area to stay, I would probably stay in Sundance Square. There's a lot to do and you can catch the trail right behind the Radio Shack building. cmoj is correct in that you would be better off heading west or south towards Trinity Park.
posted by iscavenger at 4:49 PM on November 12, 2013

cmoj, I didn't realize that that there was a Mile Zero nor three directions.

From Mile Zero, do either of you think it'd be more fun to head five miles south and back or five miles west and back?
posted by starkraven at 5:27 PM on November 12, 2013

Hopefully someone that has spent more time on the other parts of the trail will answer. I've never been down the part of the trail that goes over to the River Bend Nature area, but that is probably where I would head. Trinity River Park is nice. I think you'll have more crowds and while nice, it is a park. There is a two-mile loop that runs through the park.

Looking at the website and a map, going west might be more scenic. Again, hopefully someone that has run that part of the trail will weigh in.
posted by iscavenger at 7:08 PM on November 12, 2013

There are actually multiple Mile Zeros, but don't worry about it. Mile Zero is just one of the mile markers there at the fork in the river.

It's nice five miles out both south and west. If you go west you'll get more nature. A good view of the river, possibly some horses grazing near the trail, and a view of the River Bend nature area, which is nice. There are trails through there too if you want.

If you go South, you'll go through Trinity Park and along an area of the river that's being developed more, which is also nice in its own way. There will also be more people to the south. People are friendly, especially in the park, so that's also a nice thing.

I've run all of it and I enjoy both. I say you can't go too wrong either way, so it depends on your preference.
posted by cmoj at 7:45 AM on November 14, 2013