The Outdoors in Fort Worth, Texas

The Trinity Trails run more than 100 miles along the Trinity River through Fort Worth, one of the longest urban trail systems in the country. The paved paths connect major destinations — you can ride or walk between the Stockyards, the Cultural District, and the Zoo along the river.

For cyclists, runners, and walkers, the trails are the backbone of outdoor Fort Worth, threading green space and river views through the middle of the city.

The Fort Worth Botanic Garden is Texas's oldest major botanical garden, with more than 2,500 species of plants across its grounds. Its centerpiece is the Japanese Garden — koi ponds, pagodas, and manicured landscapes that draw photographers and visitors year-round.

The garden is a peaceful counterpoint to the city's busier attractions, and it's an easy, beautiful stop in the Cultural District.

On the city's northwest side, the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge is one of the largest city-owned nature centers in the country — thousands of acres of forest, prairie, and wetland with miles of hiking trails, and a resident herd of bison that roam the prairie.

Seeing bison inside a major city's limits is a genuinely unusual thing, and the refuge gives Fort Worth a real wilderness area a short drive from downtown.

Downtown, the Fort Worth Water Gardens — a dramatic terraced water feature designed by architect Philip Johnson — is a striking urban oasis of cascading pools and quiet corners near the convention center.

Around these, Fort Worth keeps a large system of city parks and green spaces, so between the trails, the gardens, the refuge, and the parks, the city covers the outdoors as well as any in Texas.