Goat Island Preserve
Goat Island is a nature preserve in far South Dallas (really, Hutchins, TX) off I-45. We learned about it after it was featured in Amy Martin’s excellent WildDFW book and visited twice last fall.
This is a dense, forested area, with lots of old, large trees and an amazing view of the Trinity River!
Logistics
It’s really easy to get here from Dallas, it’s maybe a 20 minute drive south of downtown.
The trails are surprisingly clean for urban trails. Of course they’re not pristine— we saw a few dumped tires (how do people get them out there?) and some trash that appeared to have washed up during a flood. But overall, they were nice!
There are about 12 miles of trail here maintained by DORBA (Dallas Offroad Bicycle Association.) Mountain biking trails sometimes makes hikers worried about aggressive cyclists. This should not be a concern here— over 2 visits, I didn’t see a single cyclist and honestly, can probably count on my fingers how many other humans I saw.
Which brings me to…
Safety
I realize that the chances of being accosted while hiking anywhere are very, very low. However, given the isolated nature of this area, the dude I saw hanging out in the parking lot who clearly wasn’t a hiker, and most importantly, the HOGS (more on that later!) I would not feel comfortable going here alone. I did feel fine with a small group of friends.
Is it an Island?
Sorta— there is a section that is surrounded on two sides by the Trinity River and two sides by a creek, so I think this technically counts!
The main trail is really a gravel road that travels through the preserve, but there are several smaller trails that branch off from this and onto the island itself. They were designed by a local Joe Johnson, who’s done a great job!
Welcome to the Island!
The Majestic Trinity
If you live in North Dallas, you’re probably used to kinda barely noticing the Trinity River, except when it floods. Not so down here! The preserve flanks the south side of the river, with lots of opportunities to see waterfowl and river views from the Island Trails. I was really impressed with the grand expanse of the river.
The grand Trinity River!
Are there goats?
No goats, but lots of other creatures!
This is old growth Trinity forest, so there are lots of gigantic trees— we saw giant oaks, bois d’arc, and Hercules club, which is a tree that has really earned its name.
This aggressive-looking trunk was spotted at Goat Island Nature Preserve. Aptly named a Hercules Club, this tree is also known as prickly ash or tickle-tongue, because apparently chewing the bark produces a numbing sensation (we didn't try it).
As for critters, we saw a couple of deer across the river, an armadillo scurrying about looking for bugs, and lots of birds.
And, of course, the hogs— while admiring the Trinity, we noticed a pretty large group of feral hogs across the river. Of course, we know they are invasive and a nuisance, but they were still sorta neat to see.
Then, to our dismay, they began to swim across the river! Eek-- We quickly began moving in the other direction. Fortunately, we did not cross their path!
The family of hogs was sorta cute as long as they were on the other side of the river!
Summary
If you’re looking for a remote, quiet hike through the forest close to Dallas, I’d definitely recommend this place. Just be aware, go with friends, and watch out for hogs.
