Trailhead Address: 6119 Scyene Rd. Dallas, TX 75227
Trail Map: (Under development)
The Gateway Trail
Trail Description:
The Gateway Trail is actually a network of 3 connecting trails and two options for starting a hike, the Renda Rd. meadow trailhead or the Keaton Golf Course trailhead.
The trailhead at the Renda Rd. welcomes the hiker to a North Texas prairie meadow. Follow the trail diagonally across the meadow where it enters the forest using an abandoned utility road. After crossing a shallow ravine, the hiker can chose to follow the trail to the right and take a 1.5 mi. roundtrip hike through several red cedar groves and hillside meadows to the Scyene Overlook, a limestone escarpment ridge with wonderful views of the Great Trinity Forest to the south and east. Alternatively, you can continue straight on the utility road, crossing the RR tracks for a 1 mile hike through the bottomland forest and a grove of mature pecan trees to the Keaton Golf Course. From this point, the hiker can reverse course and return to the prairie meadow trailhead or hike across the Keaton Golf Course property to the left toward Jim Miller Rd. to the Keaton Ridge Trail. The entrance to the Keaton Ridge Trail is not well marked but can be accessed by turning right after crossing the RR bridge at the golf course entrance, walking across another meadow to the tree line and following the path up the ridge and all the way to Bruton Rd. From the trail on the Keaton Ridge, hikers can see the Dallas skyline across an expanse of the Great Trinity Forest.
A roundtrip hike from the Renda Rd. trailhead to Bruton Rd. and back is approximately 5 miles. Hikers can also use the Keaton Golf Course trailhead for shorter hikes to either the Scyene Overlook or Keaton Ridge.
Driving Directions:
From I-30 East: Take Exit #47 (2nd Ave) onto S. 2nd Ave. Go 0.3 miles to Robert B. Cullum Blvd. Turn right on Robert B. Cullum Blvd and go 1.4 miles (Fair Park will be on your left) until Robert B. Cullum Blvd. becomes Scyene Rd. Continue on Scyene Rd. for 2.0 miles until you reach Renda Rd. (If you reach Jim Miller Rd., you have gone too far.) Turn right on Renda Rd. and go approximately 100 yards to the entrance to the Gateway Trail parking lot and trailhead on the right. The parking lot entrance is at the where Renda Dr. turns sharply left and becomes Lacywood La.
From I-30 West: Take Exit #47C (1st Ave/Fair Park). Follow ramp signs toward Fair Park. onto Exposition Blvd. Go 0.1 miles on Exposition to Parry Ave. Turn right on Parry Ave. Parry Ave. becomes Robert B. Cullum Blvd. Follow Robert B. Cullum Blvd. for 1.4 miles (Fair Park will be on your left) until Robert B. Cullum Blvd becomes Scyene Rd. Continue on Scyene Rd. for 2.0 miles until you reach Renda Rd. (If you reach Jim Miller Rd., you have gone too far.) Turn right on Renda Rd. and go approximately 100 yards to the entrance to the Gateway Trail parking lot and trailhead on the right. The parking lot entrance is at the where Renda Dr. turns sharply left and becomes Lacywood La.