Cotton Belt Trail (Waco)

Texas

4 Reviews

Closure Notice: The entirety of the Cotton Belt Trail is closed until summer 2024 as a result of a Highway 84 wastewater project. Please check with the city of Waco for more up-to-date information.

Waco’s Cotton Belt Trail—not to be confused with the trail of the same name in the Dallas/Fort Worth area—opened in 2013 on an abandoned St. Louis Southwestern Railway corridor. The railroad, popularly known as the Cotton Belt, linked Texas with Arkansas and Missouri and was later absorbed into the Southern Pacific system.

The wide trail connects the Harris Creek neighborhood on the west side of Waco, which features a short loop trail at the new Trail Blazer Park, with Hannah Hill Road, closer to Lake Waco. The Cotton Belt Trail runs primarily through a flat landscape of open fields dotted with trees, but the highlight is undoubtedly the winding route under Old Lorena Road leading to the stunning bridge over the Bosque River. The bridge is lit for use at night.

Parking and Trail Access

Parking for the Cotton Belt Trail can be found at Trail Blazer Park on Harris Creek Road.

Under Construction!

April 2024 hwilson3

As mentioned by a March 2024 reviewer, access to the trail from Trail Blazer Park is not possible. After driving to the other end of the trail (parking near the landfill at 31.480351887289, -97.25833084813019 ) we discovered the trail itself is torn up from Church St all the way to Trail Blazer Park. It appears there's a flood control project in work?

Also slightly disappointing the base of the trail under the concrete apparently wasn't compacted well as the surface is cracking badly in many places. This damage will need repair at some point.

It's a short ride (due to the construction) but still worth it.

Bridges through the trees

March 2024 brian_thomas

The entry from Trail Blazer Park was closed for construction (March 2024) so we started at the end near the landfill. It has easy parking, was clean and well-maintained. The elevated bridges wind through the trees - very nice. I’ll be back!

Family friendly trail

October 2020 karla.texas

I took my grandchildren to ride bicycles on the Cotton Belt Trail. It’s great! No streets to cross. Easy parking. We parked in the middle so we could go either way. Very family friendly.