A new park is planned along the steep cliffs known as the “Escarpment Zone” in far southwest Dallas. “The Big Cedar Wilderness Area” south of I-20 off Mountain Creek Parkway is already used by mountain bikes. Portions are owned by a church. Ken Kalthoff reports.
A big new Dallas Park is planned along the steep cliffs known as the Escarpment Zone in far Southwest Dallas.
The Big Cedar Wilderness area is south of I-20 off Eagle Ford Road near Mountain Creek Parkway.
Portions of the 282-acre site are privately owned. The Mountain Creek Church owns adjacent property.
The Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association (DORBA) has maintained trails through the site for decades in cooperation with the church.
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“Big Cedar is such a unique topography here, we love it. Mountain bikers love it. Hikers love it,” said DORBA VP of Operations Ed Brownstein.
The nonprofit Trust for Public Land (TPL) has been negotiating a transfer to make the trails a permanent City of Dallas Park.
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“When a property is privately owned, it’s up to the landowner what happens to it and there’s no saying what could be down the line 5 or 10 or 20 years. So by transferring it to the city, by conveying it to the city and turning it into a formal public park, that will protect this property for public use, in perpetuity,” TPL Texas State Director Robert Kent said.
The Mountain Creek Church has made its portion of the elevated property open to the public for years. The church Prayer Mountain observation deck offers a remarkable view of Joe Pool Lake and the surrounding area.
The plan to be presented to the Dallas City Council Quality of Life Committee Tuesday calls for church parking to be shared with the new park.
Portions of the land that are privately owned would be transferred to the city of Dallas.
“We’ve been exploring this opportunity. We’ve been working with them for a number of months now. We’re hopeful that everything is going to work out for this contribution to move forward,” Kent said.
DORBA agrees to continue maintaining the trails if the land becomes a city park.
“DORBA is a nonprofit. No one has ever taken pay from DORBA. It’s all volunteers,” Brownstein said.
The city council briefing document said nature education programs could expand and there could be links established to the city of Dallas parks in the area.
“That’s pretty special when the city gets to work with a property that has a volunteer commitment,” Kent said.
In the North Texas region that is filling up fast with buildings, the park dedication would preserve open space in the rocky escarpment zone, where building development is also limited. DORBA also maintains trails at 25 other Dallas area locations.
