Export to Trail Guide
Create Guidebook 
Download GPX 
Print Friendly MapOverview
The scenic Campion Trail offers an eclectic mixture of natural and urban views as it travels through the Dallas suburb of Irving. Currently, the trail consists of separate north and south sections that together total more than 17 miles of wide, flat, and paved pathway. Future plans call for connecting the two segments as part of a 22-mile greenbelt along tributaries of the Trinity River.
About the Route
The longer northern section of the Campion Trail follows the Elm Fork of the Trinity River and is an important recreational and commuting route. The trail leaves off from the Valley Ranch community at Sam Houston Trail Park. From there, it travels south to Las Colinas, Irving's central business district.
The southern section follows the West Fork of the Trinity River. It leaves off from Trinity View Park, where you'll find drinking fountains, restrooms, picnic shelters, grills, and athletic fields. Additional amenities can be found along the way at Twin Wells Park and Mountain Creek Preserve. This section connects to Grand Prairie’s Lone Star Trail. The two trails are part of a larger regional effort to join trail systems across Irving, Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Arlington, and Dallas.
The Campion Trail runs between E Belt Line Rd. (Valley Ranch) and W Hunter Ferrell Rd. (Grand Prairie).
Parking is available at:
Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
There are a lot of people on the trail, and many people are walking their dogs. The path is really great.
If you are a clipped-in cyclist, the path can be dangerous because young children play on the path. Because of the winding and trees, it's hard to see people standing to talk or children lying down on it.
Generally, the parents who take their children to the path or picnic don't pay attention to cyclists or runners. Very young children are on the path with no adult supervision, or they step in front of bikes to be funny.
The leashed dogs generally lunge at runners and cyclists.
If the path is quiet, it's a great place. The public roads around this are dangerous for cyclists. Texas is generally a very dangerous place to cycle on public roads. I'm not sure how to change this.
Be safe!
It is seldom crowded. Lots of scenery and views of the Trinity river.
Compared to one of the White Rock trails I normally take, it’s no nicer. Why I really rated this trail so low was the gawd-awful sewage smell coming from the West Fork Trinity River, especially as you approach the Cricket field. Looked at the map and discovered a water treatment plant nearby that spills into the river. Last quarter of the trail was a pseudo hike & bike trail along a busy road. I turned around and decided I’d had enough. Old Iron Bridge a marker was interesting, though.
Is a good option to ride/run 18 miles straight with no vehicle crossings. But some big portions of the path are uncovered and in summer it must feel unbearable. All of the trail is paved, so heat is strong, be prepared with plenty of fluids.
Beautifully maintained. Not as crowded as White Rock Lake. Lots of wildlife and several places to pull off and get close to the Trinity River.
My primary trail is to date the White Rock Creek and Lake trails which can add up to 17 plus miles especially if you add the Katy Trail leg. Wonderful to find another 13 miles plus trail with multiple trailheads to challenge or limit my ride depending on time or energy level. Well maintained, multiple scenic views, elevations! Walkers, runners, bikers, picnic, and sport teams along the way on this day. Room for all!
Nice long mostly flat trail. Shaded areas and not as crowded as most! One issue was the flooding on the day I rode that cut off the crossing so I was not able to ride the trail all the way out to NW Hwy! Hopefully it gets drained soon so I’m able to do a full ride next time
The Good:
Good Paved Roads, Good Combination of Parks in area, Good mixture of curve and straight ways, Good patches of wooded areas
The Excitement:
There is a finished bridge crossing over to the Dallas side of the Trinity Levee, just not opened yet and no paved trails
The Bad:
Occasionally you will smell the Landfill near the trail, Kamikaze Grasshoppers like to hop when you are riding, please wear Eye protection
Snake crossing path
As I used to live right off of Lake Carolyn , this used to be my go to running, cycling and rollerblading trail. I have since moved yet I still return every so often. It is a great, wide paved trail but it’s not super crowded. Currently it is closed due to flooding of the Trinity and none of the access points are open at least in the Irving area
It's nice to find a wide trail, well paved, concrete, mostly uncovered so hot in the summer. No great elevation changes so many cycle clubs on the route. There's an equestrian trail that parallels part of it near Spring Trail Park that makes for a nice mountain bike or running path. Passes through some nice suburban parks and wooded areas. Parking mid trail at the police station at the Spring Trail Park.
Great scenery, Nice wide lanes and Plenty of shade throughout the entire length.
BUT...
I probably ate at least 5 of whatever flies out near that water, A few flew in my eye and then there are all the bugs plastered all over my body stuck to the sweat. And when bugs hit you at 15mph... it hurts!
I say all that to say: BE PREPARED! Wear a mask and eye protection if you're going to be training. If you're out for a casual stroll... I think you'll be just fine.
The trail is still closed (and partly under water) at Bird’s Fort Trail Park. It’s under maintenance at California Crossing Park. Such a bummer, too, because there aren’t a lot of sidewalks around here!
The parks and the trails have been closed for some serious maintenance.
My husband and I love this trail, today I had a scare while walking the trail. We came face to face with 3 lynx or maybe Bobcats. Very amazing sight to see but we where startled. They climbed up the tree and we could hear them fighting. Just be aware at all times and enjoy the beauty of this trail.
I heard about this trail and went to ride this week. Very nice trail, the designers added unique features to personalize the trail with tree trunk carvings, very nice landscapes, pretty cool bridges, fences were nice, and just a great experience. Trail markers and maps are very helpful. Kudos to the city of Irving for the investment and maintenance, we will return regularly.
Great trail. A bit of construction at the moment. Also, when riding directly under the big power lines, I kept getting static shocks when i touched metal on my bike. Luckily that segment is short.
The north part of the trail is very nice and of course nicer than the South end. However, the South end isn't as bad as described here. There is some construction occurring and yes, you do pass by a wastewater treatment plant. However, the smell is not as bad once you get east of the plant. On other words, if you park at the South it will stink in the parking lot on some days but as soon as you get a quarter mile east of there the smell is gone. It's not as charming but still a fine trail that is wide and flat.
The big letdown for me is finding that the North and South trails do not connect. And it's not a short and easy jaunt to try and make work either. It's an industrial area with a lot of construction going on so if you bike through the surface streets it isn't a pleasant ride. It's where the Loop 12, Highway 183, Highway 144 roads all merge.
I hope that the plan is to connect the two sections so one can enjoy a nice long ride!
Sidenote: Where the South trail goes on to connect to Lone Star is frequently flooded but still worth the ride!
The North end of the trail in Irving is now repaired from flood damage, The South trail extends to Verizon theater and the race track. Look at Google maps with the bike trail overlay. It is pretty accurate. The only issue on the South trail is that there are broken sewage mains that make for a disgusting couple of miles.
Unless you like running/biking directly under power lines, and past major highways, industrial truck yards, and the occasional horse, find another trail. The southern section is close to the Grand Prairie landfill so on a windy day you can't even get out of your car, the smell is awful.
I rode this trail recently and I loved it, the water has cleared up and there are no snakes(at least none that I saw). The off-road trails are still closed but the paved trail is open and very smooth for the most part; you might to be a little careful when it goes through the trees since there are a lot of twigs/acorns lying around. Other than it is fantastic!
Alot of the parts of the park has been shut down due to flooding so biking isn't as enjoyable as could of been. Also I see snakes every single day I go out to ride. Several times I have nearly hit the snakes and it is not enjoyable riding the bike trying to watch out for snakes when every fallen branch looks like it could of been one. I decided to head out to a different trail until the park gets up and running again. Used to be much more active as well.
As of 2/27/16, the southern most parking lots were closed, but I couldn't tell if the same parts of that trail were closed as well. I did notice lots of areas of the trail were flooded, especially by the police station and south of there from the rain we got earlier in the week.
The north trail (California Crossing to Valley Ranch) is all open. They said there was some construction going on around the underpass at Northwest highway though.
I was wondering if anyone has had the chance to ride the trail yet? I know it was recently under water, I would like to know if it's all clear now.
Trail is great everyone is polite on the trail and share it with courtesy both pedestrians and cyclist.
Wondering if the excess water has drained from the trail and how the trail is now...? Are the grassy areas mowed or cut back yet? Afraid of a surprisingly amount of critters that may be lurking around. Guess I'll find out soon.
I've been running this trail for several years.
It is very wide so there is plenty of space for both pedestrians and cyclists. One end of the trail starts at the intersection of Riverside and Las Colinas Blvd, there is a parking lot there too. I used to use that lot but 2 times already I've seen people's cars broken into, even in broad daylight, so I would not recommend parking there. I would park off riverside at the police station (only an idiot would try to break into a car at a police station).
The Trail is about 6 miles long from this end to the tip of the loop right before you can cross a bridge into valley ranch. That is what I like about it.. if you want to go for a really long run you can just cross the bridge and run on the existing trails through valley ranch, which are right next to a canal, which is nice.
There are usually a lot of both cyclists and pedestrians but everyone is courteous. The trail is also mostly flat and wide everywhere so that is a plus.
I've seen all kinds of wildlife... rabbits, skunks, coyotes, etc.
Just keep in mind that if it rains a lot the low lying drainage area just sound of the police station will be flood and impassible.
Oh yea, there are 3 water fountains along the trail, pretty evenly spread out too, which is good. and Port-a-potties evenly spread out as well, which is good.
Overall, a great trail.
I have ridden these trails for two years and have enjoyed them very much. There are some small hills but none that I have gotten off my bike to go up. There is only one street that you have to cross. You will go under all the rest of them. There is some off road trails but I have never taken them. There are several picnic areas and rest rooms. (port-a-pots) Last week I did get two flats, my first flats on my bike. One on the front and the other on the rear. (Lucky me)
Love this trail and have been there several times since recently discovering it. Not only does it have a "safe" feeling to it but it has small challenges throughout - mild hills. This is my latest favorite trail!! :)
I know the total of both trails is seven miles... How much is each trail?
I just moved here from IL and i was very happy to see such a well maintained WIDE trail. I"m used to either crushed gravel or dirt paths in IL. So this is a welcome find in my area. I rode almost the entire trail and found it very easy to ride, with lots of shaded areas and benches to rest on. I did not try out the porta potties but there were quite a few if i needed them.
there were lots of turns off for scenic views of the river or lakes. there are no amenities on the trail and i had a few people ask me if there was a store nearby. lots of joggers and a few other cyclists during lunch on a weekday. i can only imagine it would be very busy on the weekends
I just like to say that it was only a few months ago that I began to ride and I must say I'm sorry to myself that it took me so long to do this,yet Now that I'm out here it is great the Campion Trails are just what I needed. the paved trail are really clean and the Flat surface is so easy to move around on.I like the Ideal of having the chance to see the river as I ride and it's really nice that I don't have to just keep riding in the Sun the whole time being that part of the trails are in the shade. Thanks to all who have help put this together and Thanks to all the Nice people that i have got to know so far out on this lovely trail.
I liked this trail a lot. It is easy to get to and has numerous parking locations along it. The map doesn't show any restrooms, but there are Port-A-Potties available. It is almost exactly half in the shade and half in full sun. The trail is relatively flat and paved. It is wide, so there's lots of room for everyone. It goes along a lake, a river, and a canal, so there is always something interesting to look at. I needed a little more time on the bike, so I took some of the cut-offs into Valley Ranch and Las Colinas and rode on nice, mostly empty streets to add on some miles.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails conservancy
(a non-profit) and we need your support!
