Texas
CONNECTING EVERYONE TO THE OUTDOORS IN 2025 AND BEYOND
Connecting Everyone in Texas to the Outdoors!
Heat from the granite rocks under your palm. A breeze rustling the trees towering overhead. Hearing laughter and conversation as kids run through the grass on a sunny day. These simple, yet profound, moments in nature are vital.
From the Panhandle to the Hill Country to the Gulf Coast, Trust for Public Land is helping Texas communities take on real challenges with practical, locally driven solutions:
• Providing more places for families to get outside and stay active.
• Improving safety, walkability, and quality of life in neighborhoods large and small.
• Conserving the land and water that make Texas a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
We know that parks and green spaces are more than just amenities—they’re smart investments in public health, property values, and community pride. But today, nearly one-third of all Texans still lack a park or trail close to home.
With your support, that’s changing. In recent years, TPL has worked alongside local leaders, school districts, and
neighbors to create new parks in rural towns and urban neighborhoods alike. We’ve restored natural creek beds that reduce flooding and increased tree canopy to provide shade in our hottest regions. We’ve opened access to thousands of acres of open space—without raising taxes or expanding bureaucracy.
This work is about delivering real results, neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city. It’s about making sure every Texan—regardless of age, income, or address—has access to the outdoors and a chance to thrive.
Thank you for being part of this effort. Together, we’re protecting the land we love, strengthening communities, and ensuring a more resilient Texas for the long haul.
With gratitude,
Molly Morgan Texas State Director
Scattering seeds at Judge Charles R. Rose Community Park. PHOTO BY SALTBOX MEDIA
Dallas: The Greener, The Greater
Imagine a Dallas where every resident—regardless of age, ability, or zip code—can venture outside and safely stroll to a high-quality park, trail, or green space to play and explore, exercise, relax and recharge, connect with neighbors, or find inspiration and solace in nature. With your help, this is the future TPL is creating.
With more than 50 years of experience connecting everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors, we at TPL know that high-quality parks and open spaces vitalize communities. This is why we are creating, protecting, and helping activate and steward safe, welcoming, and easy-to-access parks, trails, and green spaces in communities across all of Dallas.
Through Greener Dallas Greater Dallas (GDGD), we are advancing multiple projects that harness the power of nature. Working hand-in-hand with communities throughout Dallas, we are building 15 neighborhood parks, developing a 17-mile urban hike-and-bike trail connected to three new community parks, enhancing 283 acres of wilderness, and improving more than 20 miles of nature trails . By 2030, we will put close to a quarter-million Dallas residents within a 10-minute walk of a quality outdoor space, improving public health and safety, increasing civic engagement and social cohesion, and catalyzing economic growth.
Top: PHOTO BY BRIAN FERNANDO/@LIVINGLIKEBRIAN
Inset:
PHOTO BY ADRIAN CORTES/@AYE.CREATOR
Greener Dallas Greater Dallas is an ambitious city-wide endeavor made up of three multi-scale, multi-project efforts:
• Dallas Greening Initiative: Transforming city-owned vacant lots into 15 safe, vibrant neighborhood parks and green spaces over the next five years.
• Big Cedar Wilderness: Creating and improving over 20 miles of hiking, biking, and birding trails across 283 acres.
• Five Mile Creek Greenbelt: Developing a 17-mile urban hike-and-bike trail connecting two existing trails with a new trail featuring three new signature parks.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Greener Dallas Greater Dallas is a visionary initiative that will require both public and private funding to complete. Thanks to the generosity of donors, we are halfway to our $100 million goal . Your support is essential in making this vision a reality and achieving a healthy, thriving Dallas for everyone.
Dallas Greening Initiative: From
Vacant to Vibrant
The Dallas Greening Initiative (DGI) empowers us to revitalize neighborhoods through the innovative and forward-thinking adaptation of existing infrastructure—a creative, cost-effective solution to reduce the park equity gap and improve health and climate resilience across the city. In partnership with the City of Dallas and Dallas Parks and Recreation, we are transforming vacant, city-owned lots into vibrant community hubs where they are needed the most—in neighborhoods where residents lack access to a park within a 10-minute walk of home.
We are currently working with communities—residents, youth, and neighborhood leaders—in all 14 City Council districts to realize their visions for future neighborhood parks that meet their unique needs. Each DGI park will be completed within an 18-month cycle at a fraction of the cost of large community parks, and TPL is allocating 10 percent of the capital budget to neighborhood groups so they may lead ongoing stewardship.
These parks are small but mighty. Their local activation and stewardship will improve public safety. They will combat isolation, as places where neighbors meet and make conversation, bridge differences, and build connections and trust. And they will unlock local communities’ power to address challenges, enhance urban livability, and transform the Dallas landscape.
Big Cedar Wilderness: Into the Wilds of Dallas
Big Cedar Wilderness is an expansive landscape of creeks, ponds, wildflower meadows, rolling hills, and rocky cliffs along a steep escarpment in southwest Dallas. These 283 awe-inspiring acres feature over 20 miles of nature trails and stunning views of downtown Dallas. And they are filling a growing gap in access to the outdoors.
In recent years, the number of people visiting public lands in North Texas has grown as the Dallas population has grown.
But state parks and other large public wilderness areas no longer have the capacity to keep up with demand. This is why TPL seized a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transfer Big Cedar Wilderness into public ownership and make it available for outdoor exploration, invigoration, and inspiration in perpetuity.
In partnership with the City of Dallas, we have launched public engagement to develop a master plan for the property. The plan will prioritize improving access, enhancing biking and hiking trails, and stimulating the outdoor recreation economy. Once it is complete, TPL will help the City implement the plan. With the addition of these 283 protected public acres, the opportunities for North Texas residents and visitors to engage with nature expand significantly.
Top: Dallas Greening Initiative. PHOTO BY ADRIAN CORTES/@AYE.CREATOR; Bottom: Big Cedar Wilderness. PHOTO BY JASON FLOWERS
Five Mile Creek Greenbelt
Communities around Five Mile Creek are some of the most diverse but disadvantaged in Dallas, with only 54 percent of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park, trail, or green space, well below the city average of 73 percent. The area is a designated food desert—at least one-third of the population lives more than a mile from a grocery store. These inequities contribute to broader disparities in health and well-being. However, with the evolution of the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt, we are well on our way to reversing this trend.
Motivated community leaders in Oak Cliff first invited TPL to help rehabilitate one small, blighted tributary of Five Mile Creek in 2017. This invitation led to an ambitious, expansive effort to create the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt—a visionary park and trail network that includes a 17-mile urban trail and three new signature parks (South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park, which opened in 2021; Judge Charles R. Rose Community Park, which opened this summer; and Woody Branch Park, currently underway). Through TPL’s community engagement process, new hopes —and an achievable plan—emerged for the untapped possibilities along Five Mile Creek.
Today, TPL is building the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt through a steadfast partnership with grassroots groups in southern Dallas and Dallas Parks and Recreation.
WOODY BRANCH PARK: A Communal Backyard
Our largest land acquisition in the network of green spaces along Five Mile Creek, Woody Branch Park’s expansive 82 acres are poised to redefine urban green spaces in Texas . Its sheer scale—reminiscent of a state park in the heart of Dallas—will provide an unparalleled experience, allowing the community to immerse itself in the wonders of nature without venturing far from home. In addition to being open to the public for recreation and exploration in perpetuity, our stewardship plan ensures that the park’s natural beauty and ecological integrity will remain permanently safe from deforestation, providing a sanctuary for wildlife and a lush landscape for all.
Your support is vital! Make a gift and help us advance our efforts with Woody Branch Park.
It will create pathways to health, equity, and prosperity by making outdoor access more convenient and accessible. With your help, we have the momentum to turn our shared vision into a vibrant reality.
Five Mile Creek. PHOTO BY JASON FLOWERS
Judge Charles R. Rose Community Park
One of the most crucial links in the network of trails, parks, and green spaces along the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt is Judge Charles R. Rose Community Park , which just held its grand opening in the summer of 2025. The park is named in honor of long-time community leader Judge Charles R. Rose, who served for many years as a justice of the peace for the Highland Hills neighborhood. Its sprawling 40 acres are now providing visitors and neighbors—including the nearly 4,000 residents who live within a 10-minute walk of the park—with the opportunity to find joy, rejuvenation, and inspiration in the outdoors.
Our community-centric, participatory approach to its design ensured that the community’s voices are reflected throughout the park. Above all, residents expressed their desire for a safe and welcoming space to bring people together. They imagined features such as an all-abilities playground, an outdoor classroom, a picnic pavilion, scenic walking trails through preserved woodlands, spacious lawns, community-inspired art, and solar-powered lighting . This park belongs to everyone, and its ultimate design is a direct reflection of the community’s values, aspirations, and needs.
Incorporating the Judge Charles R. Rose Community Park into the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt not only enhances public access to parkland in the city—it promotes inclusivity, fostering a strong sense of
This park reflects the heart of [my father’s] work—bringing people together, advocating for dignity and opportunity, and ensuring our community has the resources to thrive. This space will be a living tribute to his vision of unity.”
Toni Rose, Texas State Representative
belonging, ownership, and stewardship among locals. Through increased access, residents are encouraged to become agents of change and protectors of their outdoor spaces, melting barriers and strengthening social bonds over a shared sense of responsibility for their environment.
There is no limit to what can be achieved through dedication, collaboration, and a shared vision for a sustainable future. Like the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt itself, our celebratory grand opening of the Judge Charles R. Rose Community Park represents the culmination of years of passionate residents, organizations, and city leaders working in partnership with TPL to make the community’s dreams come true, marking an exciting new chapter in the ongoing story of a greener, greater Dallas.
A NEW BEGINNING
On June 7, 2025, TPL was thrilled to join community members and local leaders— including Texas State Representative Toni Rose, daughter of Judge Charles R. Rose—to celebrate the park’s grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. With over 300 smiling Dallas residents in attendance, the delighted playground squeals of children melded with the happy chatter of neighbors connecting with friends old and new.
PHOTO BY SALTBOX MEDIA
TEXAS ADVISORY BOARD
Asheya Warren, Chair
Charles Elk, Vice-Chair
Bobby Abtahi
Jake Anderson
Tre Black
Bill Chaney
Chantel Cheatham
A.C. Gonzalez
Vonciel Jones Hill
Peter Lewis
Mackenzie Martin Cook
Drexell Owusu
Andrés Ruzo
Jim Shipley
Enisha Shropshire
Roslyn Dawson Thompson
Joan Walne
Help ensure everyone has access to the outdoors. Every park we create, schoolyard we transform, trail we extend, and landscape we protect is thanks to supporters like you. tpl.org/donate
JOIN US!
YOU have the power to make equitable park access a reality. Every gift brings us closer to a Dallas where nature is within reach for all—improving health, safety, and opportunity for generations to come.
Join us today: Explore naming opportunities, schedule a site tour, or create a giving plan that matches your vision.
Together, we can realize a greener, more equitable Dallas—one park, one trail, one neighborhood at a time.
GDGD CAMPAIGN CABINET
Ron and Rebecca Gafford, Co-Chairs
Roland Parish, Honorary Chair
Tillie Borchers
Bill Chaney
Charles Elk
Sharon Lyle
Lynn McBee
Roslyn Dawson Thompson
Molly Morgan
Texas State Director molly.morgan@tpl.org
Ray Garvin
Texas Director of Philanthropy ray.garvin@tpl.org
3000 Pegasus Park Drive Suite 752
Dallas, TX 75247