The Buckeye Trail

LOCATION   • TRAIL MAP   • GALLERY    • EVENTS

The Trail and Neighborhood

In his journey through Texas in 1856, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted admired the “luxuriant confusion” of the interlaced branches and vines from the immense trees of the Trinity River bottomlands.  It has been left to us, the neighbors, hikers, politicians, conservationists, and advocates, to reconcile the complexity and conflict embedded in this ecosystem.

A group of aspiring Master Naturalists undertook this challenge through an assigned project to increase the engagement of the South Dallas Ideal+Bonton neighborhood with the adjoining Ned and Genie Fritz Buckeye Trail.

We didn’t embark on this assignment alone.  We stood on the shoulders of those who blazed the trails of bottomland forest preservation and neighborhood revival.  Like any good naturalist, we share our historical and botanical insights into this “luxuriant confusion'” and the Indigenous peoples who first occupied it.  But best of all, we share the insights, in their own powerful voices, from generations of Ideal residents from whom we learned the most important lessons:  the power of community and the simple everyday pleasures of nature around us.

An Invitation

After grappling with the urban ecosystem of Bexar Street and the Buckeye Trail, we invite you to immerse yourself in nature’s simple pleasures; listen to the “cheer, cheer, cheer” of the cardinals and the chorus of other trills, twitters, chirps, and hoots as you bathe in the forest; be present, breathe deeply, with heart open; heal your relationship with the earth; advocate for environmental justice; heed the wisdom of weathered naturalists; acknowledge the Indigenous peoples who lived in our region; celebrate community; and savor the memories of our elders.   

 

 

 

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Trinity River Audubon Center || Sunday Morning Bird Walk (AT) Sunday, December 28, 2025  ||  9am  – 10am   CT For more info & to register:...
December 30, 2025    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
LLELA || First Day Nature Hike at Thrive (AT) Thursday, January 1, 2026  ||  10am  – 11:30am    CT Description:  Kick off the New Year with...
John Bunker Sands Wetland Center || 1st Saturday Walk & Talk Bird Tour (AT) Saturday, January 3, 2026  ||  7:30am – 11:30am   CT Description:  Join...
January 3, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
January 6, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
January 7, 2026    
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Western Heights Cemetery Volunteer Day 1617 Fort Worth Ave. Dallas, TX 75208 Contact lead: Van Johnson, vanindallas2@aol.com Every Weds, 9am  - 12pm, earlier during summer...
NTMN January Chapter Meeting: Raptors -  Amazing Birds of Prey
Raptors: Amazing Birds of Prey and the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center We’re excited to welcome Laura Johnson, Executive Director of Blackland Prairie Raptor Center, as our...
LLELA || 2nd Saturday Bird Walk (AT) Saturday, January 10, 2026  ||  7:30am  – 9:30am   CT Description:  Birders of all skill levels are welcome to...
Heard Museum || 2nd Saturday Bird Walk (AT) Saturday, January 10, 2026 ||  8am – 9:30am CT Description: 2nd Saturday Bird Walks are intended to...
Trinity River Audubon Center || Second Saturday Guided Hike (AT) Saturday, January 10, 2026  ||  8:30am  – 10am   CT For more info & to register:...
January 10, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
January 10, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest “2 nd Saturday” workdays Sept. 2025/ May 2026 Sept. 13, 2025, 9-11am: -- 1770 Holford Road (the center section...
January 13, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
January 14, 2026    
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Western Heights Cemetery Volunteer Day 1617 Fort Worth Ave. Dallas, TX 75208 Contact lead: Van Johnson, vanindallas2@aol.com Every Weds, 9am  - 12pm, earlier during summer...
Heard Museum || 3rd Thursday Bird Walk (AT) Thursday, January 15, 2026 ||  8am – 9:30am CT Description: 3rd Thursday Bird Walks in the Heard...
Trinity River Audubon Center || Morning Bird Walk (AT) Saturday, January 17, 2025  ||  7:30am  – 9am   CT For more info & to register: https://trinityriver.audubon.org/events/morning-bird-walk-31...
January 17, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
January 18, 2026    
9:00 am - 10:30 am
LLELA || Nature Walk  at Thrive (AT) Sunday, January 18, 2026  ||  9am  – 10:30am    CT Description:  Sights of plants and wildlife, smells of fresh...
January 20, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
January 21, 2026    
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Western Heights Cemetery Volunteer Day 1617 Fort Worth Ave. Dallas, TX 75208 Contact lead: Van Johnson, vanindallas2@aol.com Every Weds, 9am  - 12pm, earlier during summer...
January 24, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
January 27, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
January 28, 2026    
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Western Heights Cemetery Volunteer Day 1617 Fort Worth Ave. Dallas, TX 75208 Contact lead: Van Johnson, vanindallas2@aol.com Every Weds, 9am  - 12pm, earlier during summer...
January 31, 2026    
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Name: Friends of Oak Cliff Workday Date & Time: Every Tuesday and Saturday 9-11am Location: One of the three parks in Oak Cliff: Kidd Springs,...
Events on December 28, 2025
Events on December 30, 2025
Events on January 1, 2026
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18 Jan
Events on January 20, 2026
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Events on January 28, 2026
Events on January 31, 2026