Chisholm Trail Park

Dedication

1998

Size

84.2 acres

Additional amenities

Benches
Bike Rack
Drinking Fountain
Electrical Boxes
Grills
Observation Deck
Park Lighting
Parking Lot
Shelter
Skate Park
Soccer Field
Stand Alone Swing
Water Feature

Fun Facts & History

City of Fort Worth’s Chisholm Trail Community Park, formerly Southwest Community Park, is located in southwest Fort Worth. Chisholm Trail Park highlights the Fort Worth Prairie ecosystem, which is couched between the Eastern & Western Cross Timbers on either side and runs north to the Red River and south to the Brazos River. This prairie system is unique in that it sits atop bench topography with underlying Cretaceous limestone. Seeps create micro-habitats that provide for hydrologic functions that are not well explored in North Texas. The Fort Worth Prairie is home to many endemic species such as pale leaf yucca (Yucca pallida) & Engelmann's sage (Salvia engelmannii).

Bond funds approved in 2014 were in part designated for Chisholm Trail Park development. Park staff developed a plan to site active use development (soccer field, playground, skatepark) adjacent to the community center; while leaving the passive areas of the park for prairie appreciation, fishing, hiking, and wildlife viewing. In 2021 an expansion to the skatepark was completed. Chisholm Trail is a registered “Native Texas Prairie” by the Native Prairies Association of Texas and is only mowed once a year, except for the area adjacent to trails and the community center.

Art + Knowledge are public art sculptures installed at Chisholm Trail Community Park in 2021. The Public Arts Council of Fort Worth & Tarrant County commissioned San Antonio artist Jill Bedgood to develop, design and fabricate art focusing on the natural prairie environment. Guided by ecological input from the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge, "Flora & Fauna" – a metaphor for the dependency of the community and ecosystems – overlooks the prairie, located in the northwest area of the park near the entrance from the neighborhood. "Pond", referencing the importance of water to sustain life and as a gathering communal space, focuses attention on the pond in the northwest section of the park. The metal frame of Flora & Fauna is informed by the concept of duality and dependence of plant and animal life for existence, as well as the Argiope spider’s web; for example, the relationship of monarch butterflies and milkweed. The Earth in Pond is centrally located to communicate the hub of water - food for fish, mammals and birds, with its unique ecosystem within the park; the discs bubble out from the water in a concentric design. The unique watercolor-ink drawings are reproduced on steel porcelain enamel. A third sculpture, "Prairie", is in process and will be located on the south end of the prairie.

View numerous animal, plant and insect species observed at Chisholm Trail Park and make some of your own observations through iNaturalist. See link under the "Related information" Section.

Reserve this park on ActiveNet