Rowlett Creek Preserve

Trail Steward
Jack Sparkes

Assistant Trail Stewards
Wayne Zabcik and David Connell

Nearest City
Garland

Nearest Hospital
Baylor Garland Medical Center– 2300 Maries Curie Blvd, Garland TX 75042 Phone 972.487.5000    Located approximately 2.6 miles west of RCP trail head at intersection of Shiloh Rd and Walnut St

Trail Head Location
2525 Castle Rd, Garland TX 75040 - This is off of Centerville Rd [east side], 0.5 mile north of SH66 and 0.5 mile south of Firewheel Pkwy

Directions
Coming from LBJ Fwy [I-635] exit at Centerville Rd and proceed NE and N about 4 miles.  RCP trail head will be approximately 0.5 miles north of SH66 [aka Lakeview Pkwy] turn right into parking lot at Castle Rd.  Coming from President George Bush Turnpike [aka SH190 toll road] proceed E and SE to its current end [just past SH78] at Firewheel Town Center turn SSE onto Firewheel Pkwy and go about 2.5 miles, at Centerville Rd turn south [right] the trail head and parking lot will be approximately 0.5 miles on the left. There is a kiosk/bulletin board at the trailhead.

Trail Type
Single Track – Stacked Loop System

Distance
15.6 miles

Land Manager
City of Garland Parks And Recreation Department [aka PARD]

Hours
6AM – 12 Midnight

Description
Rowlett Creek Preserve trail is located in the city of Garland’s public multi-use park at the intersection of Castle and Centerville Roads.  The trail is currently over 15 miles long and since it is built on a staked loop system a trail user can choose various loop combinations to obtain distances that vary from 1 to 15 miles.  The trail is currently comprised of 14 connected loops; those numbered 1, and 7 through 14 are north of the parking lot and those numbered 2 through 6 are on the south side.  These loops are numbered in the manner in which they were built so for those first time riders, the layout may not seem to be intuitive thus it’s a good idea to either follow someone that knows the trail system or bring along a copy of the trail map.  The direction of travel for all loops is CLOCKWISE.  About half of the trail mileage is in the trees with some areas that are tight and twisty.  The rest is out in open with some fast, straight field sections.  Most of the trail is flat with only a few relatively short climbs.  There are a number of areas of the trail that come close to an edge mainly along one of the three creeks that pass through the RCP greenbelt.  In general as the Loop ID number increases so does the skill level required to negotiate it.  The trail maps are marked in ski area fashion with green, blue and black skill levels [i.e. easier, more difficult, and most difficult respectively].  This is a multi-use trail so please be considerate of all other trail users.

Posted Park Use Rules
• PARK USE HOURS – 6:00am UNTIL MIDNIGHT
• VEHICLES RESTRICTED TO DESIGNATED PARKING LOTS & PARK ROADS
• NO OVERNIGHT CAMPING
• NO LITTERING
• POSSESSION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN OPEN CONTAINER IS PROHIBITED IN CITY PARKS
• NO LOITERING
• NO DESTRUCTION OF PLANTS OR PROPERTY
• NO GOLFING

Facilities
• Gazebo and 2 Picnic areas with 1 Charcoal Grill
• 2 Potable Water Faucet Bibs
• Paved Parking Lot with 130 spaces
• Covered Porta-potty
• Gas/Food within 0.5 mile

Trail Maps
The RCP trail maps [GPS track overlaid on aerial photo and NTS sketch] can be found at the following link:  http://www.dorba.org/forum/trails-trail-work-issues-and-ideas/10944

Trail History
The Rowlett Creek Preserve trail was created as a result of Earl Hammond [RCP’s first TS] obtaining permission for his proposal to build a mountain bike trail system of up to five [5] miles in length from the city of Garland’s Parks And Recreation Department in 1994.  The first 1.5 miles of trail [loop 1] was opened in June of 1995 on National Trail Day.  Within less than two years Loops 1 through 7, a total of 10 miles, were constructed.  Since then It has increased to over 15 miles for Loops 1 through 14, with additional loops planned for the future.  In 1912 theEast Texas Traction Company started a rail line to run between Garland and Greenville. In 1917 the project was stopped and the rails and equipment salvaged.  The rail line was to go through the middle of the RCP greenbelt area back then and evidence of this old construction project can still be seenon Loops 7 [the ridge in volcano drop area] and 1A [wooden pilings just before the whoop-te-do].

Trail News
Until further notice Loops 5 & 6 below the railroad tracks are closed due to the DART Blue Line construction which started in November 2009.  For more information about the light rail expansion project between the cities of Garland and Rowlett, please see the following postings: http://www.dorba.org/node/3573and http://www.dorba.org/forum/trails-trail-work-issues-and-ideas/4709.  Thus the bottom of Loops 5 & 6 are out of play and will be for up to 18 months.  December 2012 is the official opening date of the new light rail line; however, based on comments from the construction project manager we should be able to access the  trail below the railroad tracks before the forecasted opening date.

Location