Find the top rated running trails in Graham, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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.
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
I've ridden this twice now in a month. Started in Weatherford and ride to the train in Mineral Wells and back (40 mile roundtrip but I would suggest it's comparable to 55 miles on road bike on highway).
There are 4 or 5 super sandy areas 10-30' long so you have to watch or you'll wreck. Very nice other than that. Nice scenery and wildlife. Take extra water as you'll need it. Garner water fountain broke as I write this. I would recommend at a minimum a hybrid or mtd. No road bikes would get far here. More downhill going towards MW and of course opposite coming back. Give it a try.
I love this trail. Sometimes start in Weatherford and travel about 3 miles and return or I start in Garner. A great way to relieve stress and get my horse some exercise.
Today I started at the Mineral Wells State Park trailhead at 9:20 AM, and rode my Aluminum hybrid to the Weatherford Trailhead then back to Mineral Wells trailhead- ending at 1:00. The temperature was 92 degrees with a light breeze or no breeze.
At first I thought this was a mountain bike only trail as the start is a winding downward (sharply) in a zigzag of loose gravel. After the short distance (about a football field) the trail leveled. Then it seemed like a very slow and gradual climb with a few level areas that lasted about fifteen miles. The terrain was as you would expect from a country trail on a former train track. There are no hills and after the fifteen miles (the highest point) the trail started a gradual downward (hardly noticeable) trend which was very welcome. The return ride was much easier as the trail was more downward (hardly noticeable). Keep in mind that this was a train track in the old days, and there are no real hills to challenge. When I arrived at the end I was unable to ride up the zigzag slope, and was forced to walk my bike up the hill.
I would recommend this trail to anyone who would like a real outdoors country challenge. The distance will wear you out if you are not used to long distance bike riding. My legs were exhausted when the ride was over.
One scene I really enjoyed was while on a level part of the trail five or more bucks (deer) with very nice racks ran along with me. They were very aware of me and eventually two cut across my path while the others remained in a parallel trot. The deer seemed to watch my every move and of course they disappeared in the blink of an eye into some woods. This little encounter gave me a much needed burst of curiosity to continue to the end of the trail in Weatherford.
There were a few people walking and a few riding. I saw about fifteen people during my entire ride. Six were on horseback, two were walking, and the rest on bikes. Given the distance if you expect to see a lot of people you can forget it (my experience). No one should try this trail without a cell phone for any emergency that might arise, and keep landmarks in mind. There are several spots that I passed that were along a road, I had cross roads, and saw houses nearby.
Overall I would give the trail a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Took trail from Weatherford and went the 6 miles and the trail was great. Wanted to go further but legs were getting tired and it was started to get windy. So turn around and return to Weatherford. Large parking lot and nice clean bathroom - us women appreciated that! Going to try and make it further next time.
I have been riding my bike on this trail for years, I would not keep comming back if I did'nt enjoy it. The only problem that I've had with the trail is there's too many horses that tear up the trail and leave their poo all over it. Most of the people that I met on this trail were very friendly exept some I met on horses. All in all I would highly recommend to all my friends.
Mineral Wells trail is a best kept secret of the area. Perfect for those that prefer quiet unspoiled terrain.
Pack a picnic and park your car at Clark Gardens (see their website). Directly across from their entrance is
a trail entrance (marked). 14 miles to Weatherford or approx 6 miles to Mineral Wells. Gradual uphill toward Weatherford but then enjoy mostly downhill returning to the Gardens when you can relax and enjoy a spectacular environment and picnic under the pavillion beside a lake. I plan to do this again with friends very soon.
I rode this trail with a friend of mine last summer. It was an adventure to say the least. Went with only one bottle of water and ran out at the 16 mile marker. We decided to turn back at that point and everything from that that point got worse. I could not find any water on the way back. I got to the point where I was looking at drinking the water from a marsh pond. But was warned not to by my frantic and worried friend. We then approached some shade of trees and I took a break. I started to fade away and black out and then came to when my friend snapped me up and kept me from drifting off. I started looking at the berries in the tree shrubs and actually attempted to eat one then quickly spit it out after it's rancid taste made my mouth even more dry. I found my emergency energy gel and ate it. It picked me up after a couple minutes and I was able to pedal back 5 more miles to the trail head where my friend had a ice chest full of drinks and refreshmants. That was the best dang drink I ever drank. The one thing I learned is to never go to any trail without plenty of water. The parks department really needs to consider putting in a water fountain at least halfway down the trail. I could have died but I cannot blame that on anyone but myself. Of course that Texas heat can also be a sunnovabiscuit during the Summer. Other than that the trail was fun.
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