Bob Jones Nature Center & Preserve
Trails: Bluebird & Walnut Grove National Recreation Trails
Last hiked February 27, 2022
Trail Type: Hiking & Equestrian
Distance We Hiked: 7.19 miles
Amount of Time it Took Us: 2 hrs. 38 min.
Our Elevation Gain: 139 ft.
Park Rating: easy
Mike & Elaine’s Rating: easy
Our Notes:
The Bob Jones Nature Center & Preserve is part of the Cross Timbers ecosystem, surrounded by more than 700 acres of Cross Timbers habitat with more than 20 miles of hiking trails. There are several trailheads where you can begin your hike, but we chose to start at the Preserve, which had ample parking and several interesting things to see. There is a port-o-let located in this area.
Our hike began on the Bluebird Trail, a nice little nature trail that includes signage along the way giving information about the trees, wildlife, aquatic activity, and more that is in this area. It is a flat trail and well maintained, just a very easy loop trail that is probably about a mile around. We only went about halfway on this trail before we reached and hopped on the Walnut Grove Trail, which is an out-and-back trail that is well marked with a sign that points toward Lake Grapevine. We finished the other half of the Bluebird Trail after we returned from Walnut Grove.
When you reach the Walnut Grove Trailhead, you have several options for directions you can take. We chose to head toward the lake, then left on the map, which mostly followed the Lake Grapevine shoreline. The terrain is very interesting on parts of this trail. We noticed that in some places, the dirt was a deep orange rust color – quite beautiful. But then the dirt would change to sand in parts, then to just a compact brown soil. The shore was constantly on our right as we traveled onward, and you’ll see lots of driftwood all over the place, some of it quite large. We sat on one for our lunch, and it was the perfect place to perch and look at the lake. We also ran into a swing hanging from a tree, which was unexpected and fun to take a spin on for a few minutes! We went out about three miles before we turned around to head back. We did see a few horses on the trail, which are allowed, and a couple of bikers, which supposedly are not allowed.
We enjoyed this hike for something different, as it closely hugged the shoreline of the lake for the most part, so you are not hiking through a forest for much of it until you get closer to the Preserve, where you do make your way through some cottonwood trees. Next time we visit, we plan to take the opposite direction on the map, to the right, which doesn’t follow the shoreline but seems to keep more to the forest. At any rate, there are many miles to see in this area, so a return visit is definitely in order!
Links to Trail Below:
https://www.experiencesouthlaketexas.com/428/Bob-Jones-Nature-Center-and-Preserve
https://www.experiencesouthlaketexas.com/596/Bob-Jones-Nature-Center-Trail-Map