Cedar Hill State Park
Managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
1,876 acres16.4 mi of trail
Talala TrailPlum Valley TrailDuck Pond TrailPenn Farm Trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Cedar Hill
16% of Cedar Hill’s land is conserved: 3,740 acres
3,568 acres are parks and preserves, 73 per 1,000 residents. 93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 31 miles of mapped trail cross Cedar Hill, 0.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #15 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
3,740 acres · of 35.8 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,568 ac
73 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
21 mi
4.3 mi lanes · 16 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Cedar Hill?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cedar Hill have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cedar Hill is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #15 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Hill’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (31 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land73 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,568 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home93% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 98%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Cedar Hill’s 16% is ahead of 94% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 86% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Cedar Hill State Park, with 16.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center
Nature preserve
206 acres3.4 mi of trail
West Loop TrailDogwood TrailCedar Mountain TrailCanyon Floor Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Cedar Ridge Preserve
Managed by Dallas Audubon Society (owned by Dallas County)
203 acres0.7 mi of trail
Cedar Brake Trail
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Valley Ridge Park
Park
133 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Highland Park
Park
8 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Calf Pasture Park
Park
7 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Ridge View Park
Park
10 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 20 parks & preserves
Cedar Hill State Park1,876 acres · 16.4 mi of trail · Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
DirectionsDogwood Canyon Audubon Center206 acres · 3.4 mi of trail
DirectionsCedar Ridge Preserve203 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Dallas Audubon Society (owned by Dallas County)
Valley Ridge Park133 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Longhorn Park11 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsHighland Park8 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Calf Pasture Park7 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Ridge View Park10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Windsor Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Virginia Weaver Park27 acres
Parkerville Park10 acres
DirectionsCrawford Park10 acres
DirectionsDot Thomas Park7 acres
Bradford Park7 acres
Cedar Trails Greenbelt6 acres
J W Williams Park6 acres
DirectionsRamsey Park6 acres
DirectionsPrairie View Park6 acres
Community Center Park5 acres
Liberty Park2 acres
Who protects it
3,740 conserved acres
16% of Cedar Hill’s land. Who manages Cedar Hill’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers5,760 ac
Town or city2,188 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits670 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government495 ac
County133 ac
Private owners87 ac
Joint41 ac
Recreation or Education Easement · 2,047 acRecreation Management Area · 1,953 acState Park · 1,843 acConservation Easement · 1,371 acLocal Park · 1,058 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 96 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 87 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Pool Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 1,953 | Open |
| Cedar Hill State Park State Park | Army Corps of Engineers | 1,843 | Open |
| Mt Lebanon Baptist Local Park | Town or city | 503 | Open |
| Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 282 | Open |
| Cedar Mountain Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 257 | Open |
| Valley Ridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 152 | Open |
| Lester Lorch Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 81 | Open |
| Trinity Christian School Athletic Park Local Park | Town or city | 73 | Open |
| Cedar Ridge Preserve Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 71 | Open |
| Calabria Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 48 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
28 places to go in Cedar Hill
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cedar Hill
Nature Play AreaIn Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center
DirectionsWeaver PlaygroundIn Virginia Weaver Park
DirectionsPlus 17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Cedar Hill
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Cedar Hill
Talala OverlookIn Cedar Hill State Park
DirectionsPlus 3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Cedar Hill
Primitive CampsiteIn Cedar Hill State Park · Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Cedar Hill
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
10 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.8 miUnpaved · 14.0 mi
Talala Trail2.3 mi
West Loop Trail1.4 mi
Dogwood Trail1.0 mi
Plum Valley Trail0.8 mi
Duck Pond Trail0.7 mi
Cedar Brake Trail0.6 mi
Cedar Mountain Trail0.6 mi
Penn Farm Trail0.4 mi
Canyon Floor Trail0.2 mi
David's Grove Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
21 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
16 mi
off-road bike paths
DORBA Trail ShortBike route
2.8 miCourts & fields
29Baseball
23Tennis
5Basketball
4Football
3Multi-sport
2Soccer
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 12 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Cedar Hill
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 61 | 68 | 76 | 83 | 91 | 95 | 96 | 89 | 78 | 67 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
July is the driest month (2.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Cedar Hill →
Next door
Cedar Hill and its neighbors
Cedar Hill has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Hill | 16% | 0.9 | 73 | 93% | A |
| Dallas | 9% | 0.7 | 15 | 88% | A− |
| Grand Prairie | 24% | 0.3 | 33 | 80% | A− |
| Duncanville | 4% | 0.5 | 8 | 96% | B+ |
| Midlothian | 1% | 0.1 | 7 | 49% | C− |
| DeSoto | 4% | 0.3 | 10 | 82% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cedar Hill
Where can I hike in Cedar Hill?
The longest trail networks: Cedar Hill State Park, 16.4 miles; Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center, 3.4 miles; Cedar Ridge Preserve, 0.7 miles; Valley Ridge Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cedar Hill is conserved land?
16% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Texas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Cedar Hill’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Cedar Hill State Park (on leash) and Cedar Ridge Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cedar Hill?
21 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.3 of painted or protected lanes and 16 of off-road paths. Named routes: DORBA Trail Short.
Is there public land near Cedar Hill?
19,182 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cedar Hill or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,635 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cedar Hill have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #15 of 642 in Texas. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Cedar Hill neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →