Fort Worth Finds A Waterfall


   Update:  After years of delay, the Trailhead officially opened on April 22, 2017.  You are free to explore again. 



One might wonder how this waterfall could lay undiscovered for so many years, right in the middle of Fort Worth.

   The waterfall was actually part of Carswell Air Force Base until 1998. When the Base closed, the facility was divided between the new Naval Reserve Base and the city of Westworth Village. Most of the land that went to Westworth Village has been used for housing and shopping (such as new Walmart and Lowe's on Alta Mere). About one tenth of the public parcel, coincidentally the part with the waterfall. was left in its natural state.

    Even after the land became public, few people knew of the falls, mainly due to the fact that access to it was very difficult. Basically, you had to trespass on private land, or walk thru Farmer's Branch Creek to find it. One person who did find it was George Shannon, former president of the Tarrant Regional Water District. Shannon was aware of the waterfall for years and wanted to open access to the public. The Water District spent over $250,000 extending the Trinity Trail to the waterfall. Before that the TRWD spent almost ten years on an erosion control project to preserve the falls.

 

TO FIND THE WATERFALL:
     The easiest way to access the waterfall is from Pumphrey Drive off 183 (Pumphrey Drive is more commonly know as the road to the Carswell Front Gate). Turn on to Pumphrey off White Settlement Road or Alta Mere and head toward the Carswell Front Gate. The trailhead parking lot is on the right.

     At the far edge of the lot, you will see a new footbridge and the beginning of the trail. It is about a ten minute walk to the waterfall. You'll actually approach the waterfall from the top, so you pass it before you actually see it.

 Google Map to Trailhead



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