Totally Texas -- There’s no place like White Rock Lake

As I write this, the dogs and I have just returned from our latest visit to White Rock Lake Park in East Dallas. When I settled near the lake nearly thirty years ago, all I wanted was a location close to work and schools. Lucky me, I ended finding a home within walking distance of one of the largest and most wonderful parks in Dallas.

Bounded roughly by East Mockingbird Lane, North Buckner Boulevard, Garland Road and Santa Barbara Drive, the 1,015 acre lake is the center of a haven for walkers, bicyclists, boaters and wildlife within five miles of big city’s skyscrapers. Some of my favorite views of Dallas are views from across White Rock Lake, including the photo that illustrates this post.

I love that other big park, the Dallas Arboretum, that borders the lake’s southeast shore. But sometimes I crave a landscape less manicured than the Arboretum’s pristine plantings. And White Rock offers something the Arboretum can’t¾ plenty of room for dogs. The dog park is currently closed for renovation (anticipated to be complete in early 2015). Still, the dogs and I usually pass up the lakeshore’s nine miles of paved walking trails to let them bound (on-leash) through the wilder surroundings filled with scents only their hound dog noses can decipher.

The manmade lake was originally formed in 1911 to serve as a water supply for the city of Dallas. By the 1930’s, the area surrounding the lake began to be developed as a city park with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Since then, the lake and its surrounding park have become home to many species of wildlife, including more than 200 species of birds, native or naturalized, like the colonies of bright green monk parakeets that add an oddly subtropical air.

It also inspires fervent human devotion. For birding information, photos and an annotated map of the lake surroundings, I liked J.R. Compton’s site, www.jrcompton.com/. Or a virtual tour of the lake at Steven Butler’s “An Unofficial Guide to Scenic White Rock Lake Park,”
www.watermelon-kid.com/places/wrl/wrl.htm/.

Park entry is free. The park has been under curfew in some past years and most areas have no nighttime lighting. I have visited at night without any problems, but still prefer walking in the day, less worried about humans than of encountering the ubiquitous coyotes with my smallish dogs.

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Although this is my last time to write under the Totally Texas heading, next Monday’s Wordcraft post of readers’ favorite posts will be about another favorite site in Dallas. Starting the first full week in January 2015, the schedule for Wordcraft will move from Mondays to Tuesdays. The same week, Adventure classics will start a Friday posting schedule.

Totally Texas -- Dallas park done right

Klyde Warren Park

2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway

(between Pearl and St. Paul)

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Thanks, Dallas -- in the Klyde Warren deck, we’ve finally got a public park that works. Given Dallas’ penchant for projects that look great on paper but fail in practice, I feared the Klyde Warren would lapse into disuse after the opening celebration last fall.

I’m thrilled to report that when my family dropped by on the first day of the Dallas Museum of Art’s free admission, the park was filled with people strolling, browsing the open air reading room, taking a tai chi class. And eating. Our city gradually sheds its fear of food in public places, with food trucks at the park daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

To coax my grandsons out of the DMA at closing time, my daughter had proposed adjourning to the Klyde Warren just across the street. The playground was full of children but it didn’t feel cramped. How could it, with multilevel play structures that encouraged kids to move in all dimensions?

(As a person of, shall we say, mature years, I was relieved to find sitting space for those of us who don’t climb aerial webs. And to note that the family restrooms adjacent to the playground are now operational.)

The weather at our visit was similar to this weekend’s forecast -- sunny but still with a chill in the air. That didn’t keep the boys, and other kids as well, from splashing in the spray ground. If your children are like minded -- and whose aren’t -- consider bringing a towel and maybe a change of clothes for them.

The “ground” in the play area is foam padding and the small, climbable hills are covered in artificial turf. So no high heels allowed. But why would you want them anyway? This park is made for walking, with strolling trails and plenty of attractions to visit along its length.

If your “kids” include dogs, they’re welcome on-leash everywhere, or leash-free in the My Best Friend’s Park area. (Of course, you do the clean-up.)


The Klyde Warren is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. It’s got drinking fountains, and faucets and basins outside the family restrooms. And Wi-Fi, of course. And although more restrooms are planned when a permanent restaurant opens late this summer, there’s a restroom truck with a changing table opposite the playground. Street side parking is available, although limited. On our most recent visit, we parked in a paid lot in the Arts District. We’ve also taken the McKinney Avenue trolley, which stops next to the park.  And since you’ve got your walking shoes on, DART stops are only a few blocks away. For more information, including scheduled activities, www.klydewarrenpark.org/.

Totally Texas -- A last splash of summer

Today begins a new school year. And although my grandsons are excited to start kindergarten, we can’t help mourning the seasonal closing of many local public swimming pools. With temperatures hovering above a hundred degrees, it still feels like midsummer outside. What to do with kids who need some outdoor time but can’t feel enthusiastic about exercise? In Dallas the answer is, visit a public splash park.

Actually, they’re called spraygrounds -- those soft-surfaced playgrounds squirting water from hoops and flooring or dripping from overhead shower heads, buckets and an amazing variety of gizmos.

Kids love them. And because there’s no standing water, the spraygrounds can stay open without lifeguards on duty. A boon now that most lifeguards themselves are returning to school.

This doesn’t mean sprayground users can ignore routine safety precautions. Sprayground water in them is chlorinated but recirculated -- no safer to drink than swimming pool water, tempting though a sip from a spurting fountain may be. There may also be danger of slipping, especially at concrete edges of the spraygrounds. And adults in charge of children need to follow the usual precautions against excess sun exposure.

In Texas, we fear the sun, but this week’s Parade magazine states that 70 percent of children do not get the vitamin D they need for heart and bone health. Its suggestion -- letting them play outside for ten minutes without sunscreen. Notice, that’s ten minutes, not several hours.

Dallas’s spraygrounds will remain open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily through Labor Day, September 5. They’re located at the Campbell Green, Danieldale, Lake Highlands North, Mildred Dunn, Pemberton Hill, Ridgewood, and Umphress recreation centers. See www.dallasparks.org for addresses. And search www.parade.com “back-to-school kids’ health quiz” for information on vitamin D and other health issues for children.

(Next Monday -- I promised to write about the beautiful Fountain Place but stuff came up. It happens next week, with information on how to get there while staying cool.)