Take a spring amble on the newly restored Ned and Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail. A highlight of early spring is the blooming season for Texas buckeyes (Aesculus glabra var. arguta) with their conical clusters of fragrant yellow-ivory flowers. The slight understory tree with a slender trunk and branches is a sub-species of the more famous Ohio buckeye, being more compact with greater heat tolerance, though it often sheds leaves in summer.
These hikes will fill, so reserve soon here.
March 16 Sat: 10 am to noon — rescheduled to March 23 due to rain
March 17 Sun: 2 to 4 pm — rescheduled to March 24 due to rain
March 19 Tue — Spring Equinox: 4 to 6 pm
<> leader: Amy Martin – A lighthearted hike to experience the buckeye blooms and do a little dance around Ned, the 100+ year-old bur oak at trail’s end.
March 23 Sat: 10 am to noon
<> leader: Richard Grayson – Gain crucial insight into the Trinity River and its plight.
March 23 Sat: 2 to 4 pm
<> Private hike for Bonton families led by kids from T.R. Hoover Community Development Center.
March 24 Sun: 2 to 4 pm
<> leaders: Michael McKee with Eileen Fritz McKee and Kristi Kerr Leonard – Great Trinity Forest trail restoration and tales of Fritz family nature excursions.
March 30 Sat: 10 am to noon
<> leader: Bob Richie – Learn about edible and medicinal plants found in the Great Trinity Forest.
March 31 Sun: 2 to 4 pm
<> leaders: Marion Lineberry of the Texas Historic Tree Coalition with Kristi Kerr Leonard – Insight on go-back forests like the Bonton Woods, plus trail history and naturalist knowledge.
April 6 Sat: 10 am to noon
<> leader: Amy Martin – The legacy of Ned and Genie Fritz, and Trinity River history and ecology.
April 7 Sun: 2 to 4 pm
<> leaders: Shelby Smith and Caleb Hinojos of North Texas Master Naturalists – The ecology and cultural history of the Bonton Woods.
SPECIAL HIKE: April 13 Sat: 10 am to 2 pm
<> leader: Steve Smith of Trinity Coalition – For hearty hikers only. A apx. 5-mile trail-in-the-making, taking the in-progress Trinity-White Rock Trail to the river-creek confluence, and then onto the in-progress Bois d’Arc Trail to the Bonton Pond and levee.
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Hike tips:
~ The 2.4-mile roundtrip walk is often muddy.
~ Sturdy hiking boots or well-fitting galoshes are strongly recommended.
~ Hiking sticks are very helpful. Bug spray is essential.
~ Bring a change of shoes for the ride home.
~ A large towel can help prevent mud from your pants legs from dirtying the car seats.
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Naturalists and native plant fans brought this grove next to the Trinity River to the attention of eminent environmentalist Ned Fritz in the 1980s. He knew of this part of the Great Trinity Forest as he was identifying natural areas slated for destruction by a planned Trinity barge canal, but not the buckeye grove. It was during the process of fighting the canal, the name Great Trinity Forest (GTF) arose.
Fritz realized that places of extraordinary beauty within the GTF might stir people to protect it. To that end, he led very popular and famously muddy annual walks to see the blooms. Over time, a series of soft-surface trails were created. After Ned aged out, Jim Flood took over the walks until Covid. In 2019, the trails were officially named the Ned and Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail.
For more on Ned and Genie, check out Ned in a Nutshell.
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In cooperation with North Texas Master Naturalists and Ned Fritz Legacy. Trail restoration support provided by Trinity Coalition.
Photo of Eileen Fritz McKee, daughter of Ned and Genie, by Jennifer Weisensel from Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth (Timber Press).
