Windmill Hill Preserve

nice find in city
By CedrHillr on 10/5/2006
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 1.20 Miles Duration: 1 hour

I agree it is nice getaway in an urban area.  It does have a good nature feel, very few other hikers ever seen, but  I have been here only on weekdays and usually early afternoon.  It is quite close by to home so I rate if higher due to convenience as well as natural appeal and some solitude.  

urban trail of cedar woods and meadows
By ntwalker on 11/24/2002
Rating: N/A Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: N/A Duration: N/A
This park south of Dallas in DeSoto encloses the sides of flat topped hills. The stoney ground supports mostly dense stands of cedars and small grass meadows. A path system splits, loops around and crosses itself several times so that a park of only 75 acres contains 4-5 miles of trail (depending on source). But still it is not an utter tangle of trail bits. There are 2 parking lots but several trail heads around the perimeter. While the hills have some steep climbs and descents, it is possible to find a flatter trail up to the top from either parking lot. The trail is very well kept up by an active homeowners association and a local mountain bike club. But not many people seem to come to this peaceful trail. Noise from hwy 67 is pretty constant but not too loud and the parking lots can be easy to miss. The steep, stoney slopes are tough for cyclists. Compared to other bike trails, there are very few tire tracks in the dirt. (One corner of the park has a BMX type loop but it small and only crosses the trail right at the Wintergreen parking lot.) I have been there twice and seen only one other person in the park, and he was walking. The Dallas Nature Center has longer, quieter trails but a lot more people on them. The same for Cedar Hill State Park only a little farther for bikes and hikes. That leaves little Windmill Hill uncrowded. Stroll around the cedars, listen to the crunch of the stones under your shoes, and stop on the bridge. Spanning a deep creek, the Stevie Ray Vaughan bridge puts you in the upper part of the trees with the birds that are usually so far up in the sky.