Story:
This exciting trail winds through a mature bottomland hardwood forest with examples of large American Elms, Pecans, Green Ashes, Bur Oaks, and Shumard Oaks. The trail begins in the bottomland forest, and then loops through both wetlands and ponds, and finally takes you along the Elm Fork if the Trinity River. Spurs will take you to the low and high blinds where you can observe waterfowl and many other species of birds.
Trail Loop Distance:
2.1 miles
Altitude:
455 feet to 545 feet
Difficulty rating:
Easy walk with boardwalks and footbridges in the wetlands areas.
There are Wild Turkeys, White Tailed Deer, Bob Cats, Texas Spiny Lizards, Southern Flying Squirrels, raccoons, and armidillos.
Trees along the trail include Ash, Bur Oak, American Elm, Cedar Elm, Cottonwood, Oaks, Bois d Arc (aka - Osage Orange or Horse Apple), Pecan, and Sugar Hackberry.
About half way along the trail, you will see the Bittern Marsh where you will find a boardwalk to a low and high blind. You will see nesting boxes for the Prothonatary Warbler (aka Swamp Canaries). You wil also see the Great Blue Heron, Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Ducks, Turns, King Fisher, American Bittern, Virginia Rail, and a wide variety of other waterfowl.
A new boardwalk is under construction just past the high blind as you return to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. This boardwalk will allow you to walk above the wetlands and ponds. This is where you will find beaver activity and water loving birds that don't like large open ponds.
Don’t miss the beaver dams and the other signs of the wildlife that make their home in this part of LLELA.
This exciting trail winds through a mature bottomland hardwood forest with examples of large American Elms, Pecans, Green Ashes, Bur Oaks, and Shumard Oaks. The trail begins in the bottomland forest, and then loops through both wetlands and ponds, and finally takes you along the Elm Fork if the Trinity River. Spurs will take you to the low and high blinds where you can observe waterfowl and many other species of birds.
Trail Loop Distance:
2.1 miles
Altitude:
455 feet to 545 feet
Difficulty rating:
Easy walk with boardwalks and footbridges in the wetlands areas.
There are Wild Turkeys, White Tailed Deer, Bob Cats, Texas Spiny Lizards, Southern Flying Squirrels, raccoons, and armidillos.
Trees along the trail include Ash, Bur Oak, American Elm, Cedar Elm, Cottonwood, Oaks, Bois d Arc (aka - Osage Orange or Horse Apple), Pecan, and Sugar Hackberry.
About half way along the trail, you will see the Bittern Marsh where you will find a boardwalk to a low and high blind. You will see nesting boxes for the Prothonatary Warbler (aka Swamp Canaries). You wil also see the Great Blue Heron, Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Ducks, Turns, King Fisher, American Bittern, Virginia Rail, and a wide variety of other waterfowl.
A new boardwalk is under construction just past the high blind as you return to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. This boardwalk will allow you to walk above the wetlands and ponds. This is where you will find beaver activity and water loving birds that don't like large open ponds.
Don’t miss the beaver dams and the other signs of the wildlife that make their home in this part of LLELA.
Tips:
All of the trails and attractions at LLELA are contained in self-guided tours available for download on EveryTrail.com.
They include:
Beaver Pond Kayak Water Trail
Cicada Trail
Cottonwood Trail
Bittern Marsh Trail
Pioneer House Tour
Redbud Trail
You can take this trip on the trail with you! Go to EveryTrail for information on how to download the free app to your iPhone or Android phone. Once you have downloaded the EveryTrail app, you can download the tours and walk the trail with your phone as your guide.
Park at the Dam outlet parking lot. The Bittern Marsh Trail head is a short walk through the gate and past the Lake Lewisville Dam outlet. The outlet provides water for the Elm Fork River.
You will often see Kayaks on the river preparing for a trip down the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. You will also find a wide variety of migrating water birds feeding on fish in this area including ducks and pelicans. Over 270 species of birds have been recorded in the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area’s forests, prairies, and marshes.
All of the trails and attractions at LLELA are contained in self-guided tours available for download on EveryTrail.com.
They include:
Beaver Pond Kayak Water Trail
Cicada Trail
Cottonwood Trail
Bittern Marsh Trail
Pioneer House Tour
Redbud Trail
You can take this trip on the trail with you! Go to EveryTrail for information on how to download the free app to your iPhone or Android phone. Once you have downloaded the EveryTrail app, you can download the tours and walk the trail with your phone as your guide.
Park at the Dam outlet parking lot. The Bittern Marsh Trail head is a short walk through the gate and past the Lake Lewisville Dam outlet. The outlet provides water for the Elm Fork River.
You will often see Kayaks on the river preparing for a trip down the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. You will also find a wide variety of migrating water birds feeding on fish in this area including ducks and pelicans. Over 270 species of birds have been recorded in the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area’s forests, prairies, and marshes.
Tags:
LLELA, Lake Lewisville Environmental Learning Area, nature walk, birding, Elm Fork of Trinity River, family, interpretive signs, educational, Master Naturalist, Trails of Denton County
LLELA, Lake Lewisville Environmental Learning Area, nature walk, birding, Elm Fork of Trinity River, family, interpretive signs, educational, Master Naturalist, Trails of Denton County
Comments (2)
Very disappointing. The trail is not marked at all (trail or trail head). It looks like someone rode an ATV a few months ago to beat down the grass, but other than that, there is no sign that you are actually on a trail.
Eventually, the ATV tracks faded out and not wishing to press our luck, we turned around and headed back to the car.
Also, probably worth mentioning that admission to the LLELA area is $5/person.
by Biggernoise on Jul 06, 2012
Eventually, the ATV tracks faded out and not wishing to press our luck, we turned around and headed back to the car.
Also, probably worth mentioning that admission to the LLELA area is $5/person.
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