Gateway Park

Dedication

1979

Size

791.5 acres

Additional amenities

Backstop
Benches
Bleachers
Bridges
Dog Park
Drinking Fountains
Electrical Boxes
Grills
Multi-use/Purpose Slab
Observation Deck
Parking Lighting
Parking Lot
Pet Station
Playground
Restrooms
Shelters
Soccer Fields
Softball/Baseball Field
Stand Alone Swing
Tables
Trailheads

Fun facts

Gateway Park is Fort Worth’s only metropolitan park, clocking in at just under 800 acres. It is larger than more than thirty Texas State Parks. It is over two miles long and spans parts of two ZIP codes.

Gateway Park was created when the Fort Worth city council approved the setting aside of 160 acres for the park in 1979. Most of the acreage had previously been part of the Riverside Wastewater Treatment Plant. Over the following years, several foundations contributed substantial additional acreage and the City bought additional tracts as they became available. The removal of eleven billboards along I-30 was also negotiated, which today allow us to enjoy the beauty of the park from the freeway. Because of these purchases and land donations, and through a park easement arrangement with Tarrant Regional Water District, the park has now grown to 791 acres. From its very beginning, Gateway Park was envisioned to be a regional draw. It was also envisioned to be left in a mostly natural state, with bike and hiking trails, picnic areas, and sports fields. Annually, Gateway Park receives 600,000 visits from across the county and beyond. Gateway Park opened to the public in May 1986, with one of its early events being the hosting of an overnight camp for a wagon train that was part of the Texas Sesquicentennial celebration. The wagon train had spent six months travelling the state, starting in Sulphur Springs and ending in Fort Worth. 137 wagons, 620 horses, and their handlers entered the park off Beach Street and spent the night. Governor Mark White spoke to the group at a cowboy breakfast the next morning.

In 2003, Gateway Park became part of the Trinity River Vision master plan, expanding the park’s boundary westward to Riverside Drive. Among other things, that partnership is intended to eventually result in the reforestation of the ecosystem with some 80,000 riparian trees. In 2009-2010, the park benefited from the volunteer labor of the Fort Worth Mountain Bike Association as members created a 5.5-mile extension to existing mountain bike trails at the park. There is a similar arrangement with a volunteer disc golf group. These improvements have been accomplished at no cost to taxpayers while still preserving beautiful stands of native trees and grasses.

History

Gateway Park is a large, 791.5-acre park located on the city’s east side immediately north of Interstate 30 and east of Beach Street. Heavily wooded and located along a bend of the Trinity River, part of the site was first used as the location of the Riverside Sewage Treatment Plant. Little thought had been given to the development of the area as a park due to its malodorous use and the long-held dream that someday the Trinity River would be channelized for barges. In the a study created for Streams and Valleys by Lawrence Halprin and Associates in 1970, Halprin envisioned a much smaller park near the old turnpike that would include a sandy beach and a restaurant. It was in this study that the name “Gateway Park” was first used. In 1978, the city council approved a plan to preserve a greenbelt along the Trinity River. Local officials hoped that the state legislature could be convinced to designate Gateway Park as a state park but this did not happen. In the early 1980s, Myrick, Newman, Dahlberg and Associates of Dallas created a development plan for the park. The first phase of development included the creation of an entry drive from Beach Street. Other improvements completed by 1986 included six lighted softball fields, an octagon concessions building, and a parking lot. The second development phase included an entrance off First Street to match the North Beach Street entrance, a paved road, three picnic shelters, and approximately 25 picnic tables. In 1990, Gateway was the venue for a major softball tournament that attracted teams from throughout the Southwest, South, and Midwest. In 1991, canoe launches, a playground, three soccer fields, two miles of hiking trails and a playground were dedicated.

In 2002, City Council adopted an updated Gateway Park Master Plan as an amendment to the Fort Worth Park, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan. One of the goals of the plan is to expand the park. To that end, an effort has been made to acquire additional land. In 2006, vacant commercial property along Beach Street was acquired. The acquisition met a portion of the requirement of a $2,000,000 regional grant awarded to the city from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. An addition of 3.685 acres on East First Street was acquired in 2007. The Amon G. Carter Foundation donated 99.696 acres along east First Street for an addition to the park in 2009. This land had formerly been part of a landfill that closed in 1993 and had long been identified as a future addition to the park.

Today, the park has numerous recreational facilities including baseball, softball, and soccer fields, shelters, grill, miles of trails, and Fort Woof, the city’s first off-leash dog park. Soccer fields were renovated in 2005. In 2009-2010, the park benefited from the volunteer labor of the Fort Worth Mountain Bike Association as members created a 5 ½-mile extension to existing mountain bike trails at the park. All of these improvements have been accomplished while still preserving beautiful and dense stands of native trees and grasses.

Gateway Park’s, Fort Woof Dog Park

Fort Woof has the distinction of being the city’s first off leash dog park. Located within Gateway Park, the park opened to canines and their owners on April 3, 2004. The creation of the park occurred with the generous support of the Fort Worth Dog Park Association. Members of the group gathered signatures on a petition, lobbied council members and pledged to raise money for the park’s maintenance. Fort Woof covers five fenced-acres near Gateway Park’s softball fields. Slightly more than one acre is devoted to dogs weighing less than 40 pounds with the remainder of the acreage devoted to larger dogs.

Notice

TRINITY TRAIL CLOSURE AT GATEWAY PARK- A portion of the Trinity Trail system in Gateway Park is closed due to frequent flooding, resulting in erosion of the Trinity River banks. For your safety, please avoid this portion of the trail.

Gateway Trail Closure - Aug 2022.jpg

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

Reserve this park on ActiveNet