I've ridden this trail in both directions, first from Mineral Wells, then from Weatherford. Coming from Mineral Wells there is more of a uphill grade. There are several stops of interest that are good for a rest along the trail. My family and I frequently ride shorter distances on the trail, mostly from the Weatherford trailhead. I highly reccomend visiting the Mineral Wells rail trial.

The large volcanic rock needs to be removed and replaced with something more user friendly for riding on horse or bike.

Very well maintained and a fun ride!! Can be done on a mountain, gravel or a hybrid with fatter tires. Crushed gravel with only a few places that are really loose.HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

It is well-maintained, well-marked, and not too busy. The last part is a bit tricky to get to the Lost Creek Park picnic and swimming area (take the road to the left from the end of the trail). Not a ton of trees but they are growing back and in a few year should begin to give decent shade.

It was an absolutely beautiful day. Especially with the excitement of being able to explore a new trail. I've been in DFW since 1985 and had no idea this was even here. Plus, to add the "icing" to the "cake", I just bought a new gravel bike. I've been riding it along the Trinity River trail system and while that is fun, it can be dangerous as more people, their strollers, dogs, and Pokemon users (head down and NOT paying attention) are using it.
Enter MWST. This was the most fun I've had in a really long time. Having a nice new ride didn't hurt either. I was treated to 2 snakes, 1 rabbit, a bobcat, 2 farm cats, cattle, horses with people trying to control them, more butterflies than I could count and 2 very eccentric owners of a coffee shop in Mineral Wells. That being said, if you ride the entire 20 miles from Weatherford to MW, you MUST visit the You Maka Me Hot Coffee shop in downtown. It is directly next to the old Baker Hotel. You can sip a much needed coffee and chill out for a bit. This coffee shop is pretty special. They roast their own coffee there and ship it out all over the country. It is truly a small gem in the midst of an otherwise pretty depressing town.
Back to the trail. There is a section from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial into the MW trailhead that uses broken up bricks for the trail. This is a terrible section and is the only part worth avoiding. My butt wishes it had been avoided. I blazed through it and if I hadn't really wanted to visit the coffee shop, I would have turned around. I noticed that certain companies sponsor small sections of the trail. Chicken Express sponsors the section in front of their restaurant. I wondered if Acme Brick sponsored the heavily bricked section. We may never know.
The elevation is mostly flat, but keep in mind if you do the entire 40 miles, you will notice that going back seems to be more climbing. For reference, I started at Weatherford Cartwright park. I was all excited hitting 18-20MPH having a blast, until the return trip. Most avid cyclists won't have an issue. This was the farthest I'd ridden in one day, so it was quite a workout. I will definitely be riding this again. It was not very busy at all. I cannot believe with the gravel grinding crowd out there, that this place wasn't swamped with cyclists.
Thanks again and I hope this helps encourage someone to get out there and RIDE. Enjoy this country while we still can!

Rode the trail this last weekend. Part of the trail from Lake Mineral Wells State Park to Mineral Wells is closed due to flood damage. It's not well marked from the park to Mineral Wells just three orange barrels across part of the trail. No signage saying why the barrels are there. At FM1195 the gate on trail towards the park is closed and locked and it has a sign stating that this section of the trail is closed due to flood damage. Would have been nice if someone from the park when I checked in might mentioned that.

The section from 1195 to Rock Creek mine is very rocky, not the crushed limestone of the rest of the trail, but larger rocks and broken bricks making for a very bumpy ride.

Very pretty. Not much safe parking for truck, trailer, and horses. You need a horse with shoes for beginning, the old rock from railway is what you are riding on. It was very pretty once we got away from where the train track used to be. Really nice for being so close to town. There was enough trail to wander for a couple of hours.

We rode about 8 miles of this trail from weatherford and loved it. However be very careful several spots have washed out and trees have fallen on it. I gave it a 3 star mainly for maintenance.

Took this route mid January found it to be well presented and maintained with very good facilities at the mid way point. Will do this route again in 2016 during the summer. There are lots of parking at both ends of the trail I visited the Vietnam war veterans museum just alongside the trail about 2 miles from Mineral Well's There are a wide selection of motels at either end of the trail with the usual fast food restaurants and pharmacy as well