It has come to our attention that the US Army Corps of Engineers is thinking about making some changes regarding access to North Park at 3203 North Park Road. That is the park on the north side of the dam. This weekend they are taking a count of how many people visit that park. Currently, it is open for day use. We have learned that in January, they may restrict it again to only camping every day. Since the Overlook Park closes at 4:30 PM now, if you want to visit the shoreline and stay until sunset, this one of the few places you can do it if you live on the north side of the lake. It’s a great place to watch the sunset this time of year because the sun sets farther south.
North Park is very easy to get to. It is a nice park for hiking, biking, taking a stroll with kids and dogs, and even has a clean bathroom. You can hang out on the shoreline to fish or swim. There are lots of picnic tables. If you want to help us keep access to this park, go visit it today, Sunday, November 9, and add to the numbers.
On a related matter, we encourage you to complain to the US Army Corps of Engineers regional office in Fort Worth (contact info below), as well as communicating with our federal representative, Chip Roy (https://roy.house.gov), about how the Overlook Park closes at 4:30 PM, and it is now closed on weekends.
One of the big attractions of living around here is being able to go hang out at that park to watch the sunset, stroll across the dam, hike the hillside trails, and swim or fish at the shoreline. In the summer, it’s just too hot to walk the dam in the middle of the afternoon. And also, for a long time now the Corps of Engineers have had the areas below the dam closed off. On one side of the river is a very nice trail. On the other side is a place where you can go fishing near the hydroelectric power station.
Apparently, the attitude of the US Army Corps of Engineers is because some people cause problems, instead of getting the county or the state to police the situation, they just won’t allow anybody to enjoy these areas at the best times. In years past, the Texas game wardens used to patrol along the shoreline in their boats below the Overlook Park and provide some enforcement for bad behavior. Of course, there are people who leave trash, but there’s also lots of volunteers who are willing to pick up the trash that inconsiderate people leave. There’s no reason why people who live here should not be able to enjoy these locations just because some people create problems. So please consider doing what you can to encourage the powers that be to change these policies.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, 819 Taylor Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
Operations (Recreation, Natural Resources): 817-886-1530