Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

located in

Mineral Wells Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto and Parker Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 16,788 at the 2010 census (14,644 in Palo Pinto and 2144 in Parker). The city is named for mineral wells in the area, which were highly pop ...

, Parker County, Texas. It includes

Lake Mineral Wells Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway is a state park located in Mineral Wells, Parker County, Texas. It includes Lake Mineral Wells, and is the only state park in Texas which protects part of the Western Cross Timbers and Mineral Wells T ...

, and is the only state park in Texas which protects part of the Western Cross Timbers and Mineral Wells Trailway. Also within the park is Penitentiary Hollow, a somewhat unusual geological feature which resembles a small

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

. It is a popular site for

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

, though the only type of climbing allowed is top-rope. The park also features over of hiking trails, of which are open to bicycles and horses. Campsites can be found by the small lake, and up on the higher areas of the park, as well.

History

The Lake Mineral Wells Trailway follows the route of the former Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern Railway that closed entirely in 1992. The railroad was opened in 1891. Some of the line was abandoned in sections, and the rest was subsequently merged into the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

in 1988. The following year, the line changed ownership again to the town of Mineral Wells, who purchased the line from MP and operated it as the Mineral Wells and Eastern until 1992 when the remainder of the line was abandoned. It was subsequently converted to a trailway. Part of the park currently pass through the testing range of the former Fort Wolters Military Reservation. Fort Wolters

Area Attractions

Close by attractions include: *

Fort Richardson State Park and Historic Site & Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Possum Kingdom State Park Possum Kingdom State Park is a state park in Palo Pinto County, Texas, USA, that was built in the 1940s by Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2888 and opened to the public in 1950. It covers approximately , and lies in the Palo Pinto Mountains ...

Cleburne State Park Cleburne State Park is a Texas state park in Johnson County, Texas operated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park includes the , spring-fed Cedar Lake that was created by construction of an earthen dam by the Civilian Conservati ...

*Clark Gardens

References

Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway
from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website. December 10, 2005.

External links

*
Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway
* from the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

website. December 10, 2005. State parks of Texas Protected areas of Parker County, Texas Protected areas established in 1981 1981 establishments in Texas {{Texas-protected-area-stub