Northwest Community Park

Dedication

2016

Size

246 acres

Additional amenities

Bench
Electrical box
Observation deck
Parking lot
Table
Trash receptacle

Fun facts

Northwest Community Park is the fifth largest park in Fort Worth. It is located in northwest Fort Worth and has two entrances off Blue Mound Road: one for the sports complex and one for the south side of the lake. The park features soccer, baseball/softball fields with lighting, bleachers, benches, picnic tables, restrooms, paved one mile loop trail, natural surface hiking trails, public art, a sign kiosk, a large lake, waterfall, fishing dock, open areas, and wildflower viewing areas. Fishing is allowed with a current fishing license. The 25 acre lake is a good for kayaking and canoeing.

Recreation

Recreational highlights of the park include an 80-foot railed ADA dock on the south end of the lake that can accommodate fishing, wildlife viewing or relaxing. There is a bump-out dock that is suitable for outdoor education. A one mile cement trail winds along the shore of the lake and up onto the prairie. There are natural surface trails that lead to a small limestone waterfall and across the dam to the sports complex. The sports complex has several baseball and softball fields. Public art is installed at two locations in the park in recognition of the pollinators and the prairie they inhabit.

History

On June 14, 2011, City Council authorized (M&C L-15210) the Parks & Community Services Department (now Park & Recreation Department) to acquire this 245.77 acre property to be dedicated as parkland. In 2015 the City received a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Urban Outdoor Recreation Grant of $1 million to further develop Northwest Community Park. 49.6 acres (including the lake) of the park are set aside to be managed in perpetuity as natural area open space as required by TPWD’s grant.

Geology

The majority of the park is comprised of Early Cretaceous Fort Worth Limestone and Duck Creek Formations. Big Fossil Creek runs through the park and derives its name from the large fossils that are found along it; including burrows and marine megafossils such as pecten, oysters, echinoids, and ammonites. About 25% of the park is comprised of Early Cretaceous mudstone and claystone from the of Pawpaw, Weno Limestone, and Denton Clay formations.

Soils

The Sanger-Purves-Slidell soils, which contain clayey upland soils, overlies the area’s geology, and includes all of the Big Fossil Creek watershed. Other soils include the Frio, Purves and Aledo-Bolar Complex. The Frio silty clay constitutes the Big Fossil Creek floodplain. While the Frio soil constitutes an alluvial deposit, the other three soils were formed in situ from the underlying bedrock.

Ecology

The park has a mix of bottomland hardwoods along the creek and edges of the lake, with upland Fort Worth Prairie species in pockets (little bluestem, big bluestem, indiangrass, eastern gamagrass, switchgrass, white rosinweed, giant blue sage, prairie verbena, pale yucca, wand milkweed, Englemann daisy, antelopehorns, foxglove, prairie acacia, Drummond’s skullcap, prairie phlox, Texas prairie parsley, mealy blue sage, inland ceanothus, Texas sage, bluejacket, Barbara’s buttons, hairy ruellia, wild bergamot). Most of the upland is degraded from past grazing. Where the sports fields are now, there was a hayfield that had some native grasses such as Florida paspalum, switchgrass, and eastern gamagrass. Along the margins of the lake are some wetland species.

The park has a good diversity of wildlife from fish and aquatic species, to mammals, neotropical migratory birds, and an abundance of insects. You can find more at the iNaturalist link under the "Related information" section.

Loughridge Lake, formerly known as Wandry Lake and sometimes referred to as Walnut Lake; is 25 acres with a dam on Big Fossil Creek. 118 acres are in floodplain (including the lake). Wetlands exist on the margins of the lake. The master plan calls for wetland restoration on the northwest margins of the lake. The creek, at 670 feet elevation, is a 3rd order perennial tributary of the West Fork of the Trinity River. Big Fossil Creek gets its name from the limestone bedrock containing a variety of fossils. This bedrock creates points of interest for visitors as waterfalls have developed, creating a deep ‘pool’ at the base.

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

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