Ray Roberts Lake State Park, Isle du Bois Unit: Randy Bell Scenic Trail (Blog Hike #935)

Trail: Randy Bell Scenic Trail
Hike Location: Ray Roberts Lake State Park, Isle du Bois Unit
Geographic Location: east of Sanger, TX (33.38002, -97.02876)
Length: 2.2 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: April 2023
Overview: A loop hike through the cross timbers and several pocket prairies.
Park Information: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/ray-roberts-lake
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=934252
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video:

Directions to the trailhead: North of Dallas-Fort Worth, take I-35 to FM 455 (exit 478).  Exit and go east on FM 455.  Drive FM 455 east 10.5 miles to the entrance for Ray Roberts Lake State Park's Isle du Bois Unit on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, pay the entrance fee, and drive the main park road 2.7 miles to the perpendicular parking lot for the Randy Bell Scenic Trail on the left.  If this lot is full, additional parking is less than 0.1 miles ahead at the beach area.

The hike: Standing in a narrow north-south pocket across central Texas, central Oklahoma, and southern Kansas, the cross timbers region is known for its nearly impenetrable forests with dense stunted trees and denser understory.  In 1835, Washington Irving wrote that traveling through the cross timbers was "like struggling through forests of cast iron."  The region posed a major obstacle for pioneers moving west, and hikers today who venture off trail face similar difficulties.  From a geographical perspective, the cross timbers form the boundary between the wetter deciduous forest to the east and the drier Great Plains to the west.

            Ray Roberts Lake and its namesake state park lie in the heart of Texas' portion of the cross timbers.  At 29,350 acres, this park is one of the largest and most visited state parks in Texas, and it consists of 9 units around its namesake lake.  This hike features the Isle du Bois Unit, which is this park's most popular unit, and it is the first of several hikes I did in the cross timbers during my April 2023 hiking trip to Oklahoma.

            The Isle du Bois Unit is best known for its beach and mountain bike trails, and its location less than an hour north of Dallas-Fort Worth makes it a popular destination for weekend daytrips.  The unit also features 2 developed campgrounds and a primitive campground with a total of 170 sites.  For hikers, the unit's best option is the concrete Randy Bell Scenic Trail described here.  While a short loop on concrete trail may not seem like a great hiking option, this hike offers a thorough and easy introduction to the cross timbers, and you will appreciate the concrete trail surface if it has rained recently.

Start of Randy Bell Scenic Trail

            The trail forms a true loop, so you could leave in either direction from the perpendicular trailhead parking lot.  I chose to head north across the road, thus hiking the loop clockwise.  A sign stating "Randy Bell Scenic Trail" and a yellow pole to block vehicle traffic stand here.

            The trail undulates gently as it heads east.  At 0.25 miles, you cross the access road for the park's Quail Run Campground; ignore a side trail that exits left to the campground.  Some dirt trails built by the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association (DORBA) can be seen in the nearby woods, but the Randy Bell Scenic Trail is concrete for its entire distance.

Hiking through stunted oak trees

            Just past 0.5 miles, you climb gradually toward some of the highest land on this hike.  Some of the grades are too steep to make this trail ADA-accessible.  Nevertheless, the smooth and firm concrete surface makes wheeled-access possible: I saw several people out here pushing baby strollers.  

Sunny pocket prairie

            Stunted oak trees dominate the scenery, although the oak thicket is interrupted by sunny pocket prairies.  These prairies can make for hot hiking in the summer, but these prairies are tiny compared to the Great Plains to the west.  An interpretive sign describes the controlled burns that are necessary to duplicate the effects of wildfires and prevent the surrounding forest from collapsing these pocket prairies.  Numerous benches offer the opportunity to sit, rest, and rehydrate if needed.

Crossing the main park road

            At 1.2 miles, you cross the main park road.  Two more campgrounds (Hawthorne and Deer Ridge) come in close proximity as you tread the southern half of this loop.  Some side trails tease you with possible lake views, but no clear lake views emerge.

Closing the loop

            After topping and winding down a final ridge, you close the loop, return to the trailhead parking area, and complete the hike.  While you are here, consider walking or driving the short distance down to the fishing pier, which offers fantastic views across Ray Roberts Lake.  When I came here, wind whipping across the lake formed violent waves that splashed me with cold water while I stood on the pier, which made for a chilling and thrilling end to my visit to Ray Roberts Lake.