Sunset Hills Neighborhood Park

Dedication

1960

Size

7.54 acres

Additional amenities

Backstop
Basketball court
Bench
Bleachers
Grill
Playground area
Shelter
Softball/baseball field
Stand-alone swing
Table
Trash receptacle

Fun facts

Sunset Hills Park, acquired in 1960, is located in the Handley area of east Fort Worth.

History

Sunset Hills Park was acquired in 1960 and contains approximately 7.54 acres. Among the improvements it has received over the years are playground renovations from Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funds in 2006 and upgrades to practice fields in 2006-07 through the Small Capital Projects Crew Work Plan. Amenities include a backstop and softball/baseball field, basketball court, bench, bleachers, grill, playground, a shelter, stand alone swing, table and trash receptacle.^{^[1]}

[1] Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 17, 1960, FWSTCC, AR406-7-59-39; City of Fort Worth, Mayor & Council Communication, C-21398, April 11, 2006, and G-15548, Dec. 19, 2006.

Recreation

This is a neighborhood park with a 0.15 mile paved trail, a playground, basketball court and shaded picnic area.

Geology

The park is solely in the Woodbine Formation, which was formed during the Late Cretaceous 95 million years ago in non-marine brackish water, and marine beds of sand, clay, sandstone, and shale measuring up to 600 feet thick. It is composed largely of Paleozoic sediment eroded from the Ouachita Mountains in southern Oklahoma and Arkansas and then deposited in ancient near-shore environments.

The Woodbine Formation contains fossils such as ammonites, gastropods, pelecypods, brachiopods, and foraminifers. Most interestingly, one of the best examples of marine megafauna fossils in Texas is found in the Woodbine Formation in Arlington at the Arlington Archosaur Site. Theropod dinosaurs, duck-billed dinosaurs, croc-relatives, turtles, amphibians, snakes, mammals, bony fish, sharks, rays, invertebrates, and plant fossils have been found there. The catalogued fossils now reside at the Perot Museum of Natural History in Dallas.

Soils

The soils of the park are equally split between Rader Series and Crosstell Series. The Rader soils consist of very deep, moderately well-drained soils formed in clay and loam alluvium derived from sandstone and shale. These soils can be found on ancient stream terraces on inland dissected coastal plains. The Crosstell Series soils are derived from clay and were formed on backslopes of ridges on hills.

Ecology

The park is bisected by a small unnamed remnant of a stream that flows into Cottonwood Creek; which then flows into the West Fork of the Trinity River. Most of the park is maintained for passive recreational use. The stream holds a few ecological surprises in the form of invertebrates including several species of dragonflies and damselflies.

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

Reserve this park on ActiveNet