The Lake Mineral Wells Trailway starts on Parker County ground

The old rail bed northwest of Weatherford is still doing useful work. The Lake Mineral Wells State Park Trailway starts in central Parker County, then runs 20 miles west to downtown Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County. It is a gentle route because trains needed gentle grades, so hikers, cyclists, and riders get long views without a hard climb at every bend.

The Parker end gives the county a different kind of outdoor place than Lake Weatherford or a city park. The trail is 10 feet wide, with two asphalt miles near Mineral Wells and crushed limestone along the other 18. Sixteen bridges have decks and rails, including the 500-foot span over U.S. 180 that TPWD calls the route's signature bridge. That low grade leaves room to notice creek bottoms and pasture edges instead of rushing past them.

There is rail history under the tires, too. The Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern carried more than 33,000 passengers in 1899, when Mineral Wells drew visitors for its mineral-water resort trade. The trailway opened on June 6, 1998, turning that old travel line into a slow outdoor route through the western side of Parker County.