Parks

Thorny Ridge Park

Dedication

1982

Size

3.76 acres

Additional amenities

Bench
Electrical box
Grill
Playground
Stand alone swing
Table
Trash receptacle

Fun facts

Thorny Ridge Park serves as a neighborhood playground. It received its name when a landscape architect looking over the land got a thorn in his hand.

History

This 3.76-acre park was acquired to provide parkland to underserved sections of the Western Hills development in west Fort Worth. The City Council approved its dedication for park usage on Dec. 29, 1981.^{^[1]} It was acquired with federal funding through the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. It was noted that the site had native willows, cottonwoods, honey locusts and hawthorns. Park documents indicate that the name “Thorny Ridge” was chosen because of these attributes. Another story says that it received its name when a landscape architect looking over the land got a thorn in his hand. A master plan was completed for the park in 1985. Improvements included landscaping, a picnic shelter, picnic tables and a playground with play equipment. In 2006-07, its playground received renovations performed under the Park Department’s Small Capital Projects Crew Work Plan.^{^[2]} It mostly serves as a neighborhood playground.

[1] City of Fort Worth, Mayor & Council Communication, L-7272, Dec. 29, 1981.

[2] City of Fort Worth, Mayor & Council Communication, G-15548, Dec. 19, 2006.

Recreation

The park has a 0.30 mile concrete loop trail that connects on-street parking off Dale Lane to the adjacent neighborhood. A playground, picnic tables and grill provides a place for family gatherings. Within the center of the loop trail, a large grass lawn serves as a great place to fly a kite, toss a frisbee, or play a quick game of kickball.

Geology

The park lies completely within the Duck Creek Limestone geologic formation. In Tarrant County, this formation is 100 feet thick. It was laid down through sedimentary deposition in the Early Cretaceous Period. Within this formation, marine megafossils such as Gryphaea and ammonites may be found.

Soils

The Aledo soil series consists of shallow, undulating, calcareous loamy soils found on uplands. Generally, the series runs from Ardmore, Oklahoma south to Killeen, Texas and from Denton westward to Abilene.

Ecology

Due to the urban nature of the park, the original Fort Worth Prairie vegetation is no longer present. Current species present include low-growing groundcover such as Straggler daisy (Calyptocarpus vialis) and field madder (Sherardia arvensis). Birds include generalist urban species such as American crow, European starling, and house sparrows. Several species of native trees were planted for shade in the park including live oak (Quercus virginiana), pecan (Carya illinoiensis) and cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia).

Historic commonly occurring grasses of the park would have been little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), with smaller amounts of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula). Historically, very few shrubs and trees would have been present but a woody component would have consisted of live oak (Quercus fusiformis), Texas red oak (Quercus buckleyi), elm species (Ulmus spp.), plum species (Prunus spp.), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) and bumelia (Sideroxylon lanuginosum). Most woody species would have been confined to areas along streams where soil is somewhat deeper and moister.

The larger ecology of the park sits within the Fort Worth Prairie, which I-35 follows north south from the Brazos River in Waco to the Red River at the Oklahoma border. The Fort Worth Prairie is narrow from east to west with the widest portion being only about 30 miles wide. Topography transitions from steeper ridges and summits of the Lampasas Cut Plain on the southern end to the more rolling hills of the Fort Worth Prairie to the north.

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

Reserve this park on ActiveNet