[flipover]

They are working on 4 dams on the Trinity river west of downtown Fort Worth. They are designed for play :lol: . Scott Shipley came in to oversee the project. We are hoping for 4-5 months of park and play in the spring and early summer. When it rains there are a few streams you can run, class 2/3 :?: . A dam release near DFW airport has a little park and play area in the spring, if there is rain. (about like Salida wave at 3/400cfs) Over all not a lot of good kayaking in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. A little better is in the Austin area, 3-4 hours south of Fort Worth. Southeastern OK/AR is better, but 5-6 hour drive, again when it rains and some dam release, if you can catch it. Try this wed site "www.luv2paddle.com" any other questions, just ask, hope this helps, but stay in CO. if you want to paddle.

 

[gh]

Have you ever actually been in the Trinity? It's pretty skanky. I would think about that before you get in there.

 

[cosurfgod]

Flipover,
thanks for responding to my request. I was born and raised in Fort Worth and had no idea there was any paddleing. I have lived in Durango for 8 years now so I don't think I will be making the trek to FW for any paddleing. I would have to agree with gh, the Trinity always looked really polluted but I have never been in the water. Are the fetures on the Trinity designed for kayak play? Are there any kayakers in the DFW area they would be creating this for? Can you buy whitewater gear in the DFW? I will have to bring my boat home sometime to check out the features on the Trinity. Again, thanks for the response.

 

[gh]

I thought the Trinity was were you put "bodies", not live people.

 

[flipover]

The fork of the Trinity where the play area is being built is not one of the "polluted" areas of the river. This fork comes into town from the southwest as the river goes on east it does becomes very polluted. there are a lot of kayakers in the DFW area. Some of us are not very good. There are two WW shops in the DFW area, I get my gear in CO.

 

[Dirty Al]

I live in OK, but I am going to be in the DFW area for Thanksgiving to visit my Brother, is it worth it to bring my boats down and is there anyone who might want to hit water with me. Thank a lot.
--Al 8)

 

[gh]

Cool, I worked off Industrial Blvd at one time just west of downtown Dallas, yes its a bad area and yes it was a bad job and I was thinking about the portion of the trinity that runs next to that and that was pretty ugly. Glad to know there are some decent sections for you. Only seems logical that you guys could work something out, lots of water in Dallas.

 

[mango_yaks]

Don't Go

I just moved up here after three awful paddling years in Dallas. Here's the headlines:

* 10+ hours of driving for 4 hours of good paddling (Arkansas is where the good stuff is)
* Storm runnoff that makes Confluence seem like natural spring water
* If you have a regular work schedule, pray for enough rain in the right watersheds on the right days; basically pray that the planets align
* Playing in holes in White Rock Creek (Dallas) while avoiding debris such as lawn chairs, beach balls, globes, buckets, etc. (actuall kind of fun)

I paddled more in two months here this summer than 2 years in Dallas. Don't go if you love paddling.

 

[flipover]

Dirty Al
I would leave the boats in OK. and plan on playing Racquetball in FTW this trip

 

[Dirty Al]

Thanks for the info, I figured it couldn't be that great there.
--Al

 

[boulderite]

I have paddled and played on the creek that @635 and just west of
75 ,very muddy and the play hole is still shallow at flood

My EPIC surfing was at Texarkana (SP?) dam at the base of the release gates. it is posted keepout , but how can you when the waves are 12'0
glass and foam piles.

 

[dHobyak]

Texas

I'm glad you think Fort Worth has good paddleing. It should keep you busy enough to stay in Texas.

 

[mvhyde]

Pics of the Trinity River Drops

I have pictures I took recently of the drops on the Clear Fork of the Trinity in Fort Worth. They were taken in the day. I had been down the night before with a small generator and two portable halogen lights and paddled it when it was running at 1,500 cfs. The night time play session was definitely much more fun, especially the second drop which had a nice retentive hole. The first drop had a great surf wave dead center with foam pile/holes left and right. The bottom is about 7 feet deep, so it's pretty nice and easy on the skull, but extremely pushy in the center if you would come off the wave.

Email for the pics.....

Spikeman

 

[surfpiper]

After living in Dallas for two years, I can say without a doubt that there is NO elevation drop on any of the rivers that I've seen.. The whole state is flat as pancake. Personally, I wouldn't waste my time even thinking about paddling in Texas. The rivers are polluted, and way skanky, especially the Trinity. In fact, it's more like a stream with garbage along the shores for hundreds of miles. The people in Texas could give two shits about the ecology or cleaning up the mess they've left behind. Pathetic.

 

[mvhyde]

yupyupyup

Texas is pretty weird at that. I just moved to Durango from Arlington. # yrs down there was enough for me. You could make a fortune in just collecting beer cans for scrap aluminum. They're everywhere, the lakes, the rivers, the highways, parks, etc.

A lot of the paddlers I know down there swear by White Rock Creek (gag) not even with a tetnus shot before and after would I get into that creek. It's nasty. The Clear Frok of the Trinity is a lot better. Still lots of trash shows up after a storm, but the overall water quality is ok (albeit marginally) I took a field test kit down there and tested the water, no heavy metals and fertilizers present in excessive quantities. the Ph was actually well within normal ranges.

All in all.... it beats a blank for texas paddlers ... but it sure is good to be back home in colorado...

Spikeman