Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway
This more than 3,000-acre park provides access to a 640 acre lake, rock climbing, and more than 12 miles of park trails for hiking.
Last hiked November 10-12, 2023
Our Notes:
Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway is only about 45 minutes west of DFW and very easy to access for a quick get-away. We camped in the shelter area and loved our pretty remote site at shelter 15, which was the most secluded and even required a little hike in from the parking lot. The lake is beautiful and peaceful and hiking here was wonderful.
Day 1 Hike – Blue Waterfront Trail (1.5 miles one way)
Trail Type: hiking only
Distance We Hiked: 2.0 miles
Amount of Time it Took Us: 1 hr.
Our Elevation Gain: 95 ft.
Park Rating: moderate
Mike & Elaine’s Rating: easy
Our Notes:
We arrived at the park around 2pm, and after setting up our tent and campsite and resting in our hammocks for a bit, we decided to take a short hike along the Blue Waterfront Trail, which was accessible directly behind our shelter site. It was a lovely hike on the shore of the lake, with several outcroppings of large rocks or very nice docks along the way to get access right up to and out on the lake. This really is a nice lake with excellent opportunities for boating and fishing. We hiked about a mile out and then turned around and came back so we could prepare our Dutch oven and campfire for our dinner. We highly recommend shelter site 15, as it is the farthest away from people, very secluded, and right on the lake with a short walk to some excellent views of the sunrise and sunset.
Day 2 Hike – Primitive Camping Trail, Cross Timbers Green Trail, Cross Timbers Orange Trail, Cross Timbers Maroon Trail, Cross Timbers Yellow Trail, and Cross Timbers Black Trail
Trail Type: multiuse except for Primitive Trail, which is hiking only
Distance 7.45 miles total
Our Elevation Gain: 374 ft.
Amount of Time it Took Us: 3 hrs. 9 min.
Park Rating: easy to moderate
Mike & Elaine’s Rating: easy to moderate
Our Notes:
We hit most of the park’s trails in one day, as they were all connected to each other. It was a great hiking experience! We recommend starting on the purple Primitive Camping Trail (2 miles one way) to get great views of the lake and for a little challenge on some rocky terrain early on. This trail also takes you through some of the Western Cross Timbers forest and grasslands, so there is a variety of terrain to traverse. From there we connected to a short part of the Cross Timbers Green Trail for .2 miles before accessing the Cross Timbers Orange Trail. The Orange Trail follows and crosses Rock Creek and the park boundary, eventually coming to an old paved military road that was used by troops at Fort Walters. Be on the lookout for signage that explains the history of Fort Wolters – it is quite interesting.
After crossing the military road you can take the Maroon Trail for a total of 2.2 miles if you follow it all the way through, or, like us, you can choose to take the Yellow trail to connect back to the road and back down to the Purple Primitive Trail. We followed that all the way back to the parking lot and trailhead.
This was a beautiful hike with various terrain, large trees, river crossings, and the added bonus of the fall colors coming into play. It was very quiet, and we only came across a few hikers once out past the Purple trail. We enjoyed a picnic lunch along the trail, as there were several places to stop with picnic tables provided. It was a very peaceful hike.
Day 3 Hike – Red Waterfront Trail (0.8 miles one way)
Trail Type: hiking only
Distance 2.02 miles total
Our Elevation Gain: 272 ft.
Amount of Time it Took Us: 1 hr. 20 mins.
Park Rating: moderate
Mike & Elaine’s Rating: moderate
Our Notes:
This was our final day at the park, so before heading out to any of the trails we had to eat breakfast and pack up our campsite. This completed, we got a late start to our last stop, which was to the Penitentiary Hollow Overlook and the Red Waterfront Trail. This is a popular area for great views of Lake Mineral Wells and rock climbing on some massive sandstone rock formations.
Before heading too far down the Red Trail, make sure to stop at the Penitentiary Hollow Overlook. The view there is of the entire lake – quite breathtaking. After you pass this part, the initial part of the trail leads you down stair steps into a valley below the huge sandstone rock formations. We passed this area and headed on down the trail, which led right to and followed the lake. There are beautiful views of the lake and several places to stop and take some great pictures. The 0.8 miles of trail leads to a parking area where there are some really old post oak trees. From there we turned around and headed back the other direction. When we got back to the rock climbing area we walked around a bit and enjoyed the awe of the huge steep walls of the area and cave-like structures. After that it was back up the stairs, past the Penitentiary Overlook again, and back to the parking lot.
Final Thoughts: We really like this park. It is easy to access from the DFW area, has a great shelter camping area with very nice restrooms, and interesting trails. We saw several deer while hiking and enjoyed some very nice sunrises over the lake. It is a great weekend getaway with hiking for any ability.
Links to the park and trails below:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/lake-mineral-wells
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/park_maps/pwd_mp_p4503_0103p.pdf