Biking enthusiast Tom Frye of Fort Worth rides the Trinity Trail along the Clear Fork in Fort Worth. Photo by John Kent.

Aug. 5, 2022

The regional hiking and biking trail connecting Dallas and Fort Worth has a new name.

Earlier this year, the North Central Texas Council of Governments asked the public to vote on the name and logo, after whittling the choices to two.

Nearly 1,700 people participated in the final vote. DFW Discovery Trail was chosen as their favorite.

The logo features an image of Texas wildlife, which symbolizes the trail's function as a refuge for nature. The local trail name is also included, since the 60-mile trail is made up of existing city trails connected across DFW.

DFW Discovery Trail. Courtesy of NCTCOG.DFW Discovery Trail logo mock-ups. Courtesy of NCTCOG.

“The new logo will be customizable, which will allow using different colors and/or animals for different trail segments passing through each of the five cities — Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Irving, and Dallas,” said Shawn Conrad, principal transportation planner at NCTCOG, in an email. “This was a very popular feature of the name/logo pairing and we are excited to collaborate with our cities to determine their respective final designs.”

The DFW Discovery Trail is expected to have the final links completed by 2024.

When finished, the trail is envisioned by planners to serve as a regional, state and nationwide attraction as well as an environmentally friendly transportation option.

The name and logo choices were developed with the help of public input provided through a virtual open house held late last year.

DFW Discovery Trail logo. Courtesy of NCTCOG.DECADES IN THE MAKING

• According to Kevin Kokes, Sustainable Development program manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, a system of trails connecting Dallas to Fort Worth has been in the region’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan since 1996.

• NCTCOG is collaborating with five cities – Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving and Grand Prairie – and stakeholders associated with tourism, culture, nature and events as part of this effort. 

•  The Fort Worth to Dallas Regional Trail network received a boost in 2013 when the mayors of those two cities convened with the mayors of Arlington, Irving and Grand Prairie, and pledged to locate money to complete a trail system that would provide easier access to parks, nature areas, schools, jobs and neighborhoods in the five cities. By October 2018, all funding had been identified. 

• Interstate 30 between Dallas and Fort Worth is 32 miles. Because the trails meander, the trail will roughly double that route.

• The hiking-biking-running-walking path joining North Texas’ two biggest cities is part of a larger system called the Regional Veloweb, a 1,883-mile network of off- and on-street, shared-use paths designed for bicyclists, pedestrians and other non-motorized forms of transportation, with more than 5,000 additional miles planned. 

Read more about the trail's history.

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