Summary: Willow Park is at the center of an exciting project for a new East Parker County Trail (EPCoT) system that is planned to reach from Weatherford to Aledo, and someday from Mineral Wells to Dallas.
Latest Update: Monday, 06 February, 2023
Happy Trails to you, Willow Park
Driven by the Willow Park Parks Board and led by Lea Young, City Council Place 4 and Parks Board Ex-Officio – Place 1, Willow Park is at the center of an exciting project for a new East Parker County Trail (EPCoT) system that is planned to reach from Weatherford to Aledo -- and someday from Minerals Wells to Dallas.
During the 01 August 2022 Parks Board Meeting and the 13 September 2022 Council Meeting, there was a "detailed presentation by Larry Colvin, Weatherford Mountain Biking Association President [and a designer with Baird, Hampton & Brown (BHB)] on details of Willow Park Trail System and the larger East Parker County Trail (EPCoT).
Current East Parker County Trail (EPCoT) Map Select to enlarge or visit the map in .pdf and in .jpeg.
"Larry Colvin, Weatherford Mountain Biking Club President, presented a preliminary trail plan to the Board and explained the one-year history in working with Mayor Pro Tem, Lea Young, for development of a trail system within the City of Willow Park. He also spoke of his proposal for the NCTCOG's Veloweb to realign through Willow Park instead of along the railroad in Aledo. Colvin shared his/WMBC's progress of conversations with key personnel in surrounding cities and the Parker County Judge with regard to his vision of the East Parker County Trail (EPCoT).
(Video files, audio files and additional documents and WPC research are available at the Meeting blogs above.)
• Council approves amending trail plan, The Community News, 03 February 2023
At its recent meeting on Jan. 24, the Willow Park City Council approved an amendment to the city’s 2019 parks and trails master plan.
“We had a plan in there, but it was just generic. It was just a concept,” said Toni Fisher, Willow Park Planning and Development Director. “We planned on having trails, but we weren’t sure where they were going to go.”
The council has been working with Larry Colvin, Senior Designer for Civil, Landscape, and Trails for Baird, Hampton & Brown, Inc (BHB). He is also the president of the Weatherford Mountain Bike Club (WMBC). WMBC will manage the trails and maintain, along with being involved in the designing and building.
Colvin was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Parks of Aledo Trail system and has spent many uncompensated hours for the past year and a half working with Willow Park Mayor Doyle Moss, Mayor Pro Tem Lea Young, and city staff with designing a single-track trail plan for the City of Willow Park.
BHB and the WMBC are working hand-in-hand on the project, which will be more than 25 miles when complete. This will include up to nine miles for Willow Park, which will also serve as a centerpiece between Weatherford and Aledo.
The overall trail will be a combination of single track and concrete designed for hiking/biking and walking/running. No motorized vehicles will be allowed, not even electric bikes, Fisher said.
“It’s not going to be a bunch of dirt bikes riding in front of your house,” Fisher said. “It’s green space. This is family friendly.”
Goals of the amendment include:
Identify areas on public and private lands that are suitable for trail development within the city limits and extra territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Willow Park.
Establish a framework of cooperation between the City of Willow Park, trail steward nonprofits, private property owners and land developers to create single track trails and bikeways.
Provide land developers with a concept plan for public/private trail development partnerships.
Identify bikeways within the city that connect single track trail networks with one another.
Create a forum to educate the public on the stewardship responsibilities of single track trail sustainability.
Partner with municipalities adjacent to Willow Park and the North Central Texas Council Of Governments to create a cohesive trail network in Eastern Parker County.
Along with Willow Park, nearby cities and communities such as Hudson Oaks, both Annettas, Aledo, and Weatherford will benefit, Fisher said. “Everybody can plug a piece into this and be a part,” she said, noting that when the dots are connected it will be the East Parker County Trail.
In fact, Fisher said there is a hope that someday there will be a trail that runs from Dallas to Mineral Wells that will include this trail.
“Larry dreams this stuff up in his sleep. He’s incredible,” she said.