Cleburne State Park

My husband was working an event near Cleburne as an EMT so we decided to spend the day at Cleburne State Park checking out the trails. Once we are able to camp here, I will come back up and update this post with that information.

Cleburne State Park is a 528-acre Park with its spring-fed lake located about an hour south of Fort Worth or 2 hours north of Fort Hood.

Hiking Trails at Cleburne State Park

There are a total of 11 trails at Cleburne State Park that you can combine and make into a loop with a total trail mileage of about 11 miles (your mileage may vary). If you plan on doing all the trails and making a loop, I suggest parking at the parking lot near the restrooms at the beginning of the park.

You would start near the bathrooms on the Camp Creek Loop to the Fossil Ridge Trail to Coyote Run Nature Trail, to Limestone Ridge Trail to Limestone Ridge Inner Loop Trail back to the Limestone Ridge Trail to Spillway Trail which will connect you to the White Tail Hollow Trail back to the Spillway Trail which will then take you back to the parking lot. You should get around 10 or so miles.

Before starting out for a hike, remember to always take the 10 Essentials.

White Tail Hollow Trail (1.9 miles – Pink)

The White Hollow Trail is marked with pink blazes and runs alongside the spillway and across the man-made dam. This trail, while well marked, can get pretty confusing as it takes off in all different directions with cut-throughs. You will be in trees for most of the way. It is roughly 1.9 miles long and is a loop rated as easy.

Spillway Trail (0.7 miles – Yellow)

Probably the most scenic trail in the park, it runs alongside the three-tiered spillway (which was carved by hand). It is rated as moderate and is 0.7 miles one way. If this is the only trail you want to do, I’d suggest parking at the parking lot near the bathrooms as this is where the trail starts.

Camp Creek Loop (1.1 miles – Purple)

This is a loop trail that is rated as moderate although I would classify it as easy. It is marked by purple blazes and begins in trees before spitting you out to the park boundary fence where you then hike alongside it for the remainder of the trail before going back towards the parking lot next to the bathrooms.

Coyote Run Nature Trail (1.1 miles – Red)

Marked with red blazes, this is a 1.1-mile one-way trail marked as moderate and I agree lol. There is a side trail that will take you to an “overlook” as indicated on the map. Really it takes you directly down to the lake and not to an overlook. The trail to the lake isn’t marked well and there are several trails you could take. Where do those trails go? Who knows? I’d recommend skipping this “overlook”.

Fossil Ridge Trail (2.5 miles – Blue)

This trail is a 2.5-mile one-way trail marked with blue blazes that runs along the park boundaries and is rated as challenging. While it is marked as challenging on the map, I would classify it as moderate. This trail leads you in and out of the trees, alongside the campsites, and into prairie-like settings. You have to be careful about watching where you need to turn, the trail will run right into one of the camping areas if you miss the right-hand turn at the electrical pole.

Limestone Ridge Trail (1.7 miles – Light Green)

Rated as challenging this is a 1.7-mile one-way trail marked with lime green blazes. It is mostly twists and turns with a lot of switchbacks which can cause you to become disoriented. Make sure to bring a GPS or compass. I have not done this trail as of yet, but once I do I will update this post with my trail report.

Limestone Inner Loop Trail (1.7 miles – Dark Green)

Like the Limestone Ridge Trail, this trail is a 1.7-mile one-way trail listed as challenging and marked with dark green blazes. It also has a lot of twists and turns and is recommended that you carry a GPS or map & compass as it is easy to get disoriented. I have not done this trail as of yet, but once I do I will update this post with my trail report.

Fishing Trails (0.1 -0.3 miles – Orange)

There are also 4 fishing trails (trails that lead to fishing areas) that are rated as easy and rang in 0.1 -0.3 miles one way each.

Video of Hiking Trails

This video includes the first set of trails we did at Cleburne State Park. I was attempting to create a loop. We had parked at the White Tail Hollow Trail Trailhead area. We did the White Tail Hollow Trail to the Spillway Trail towards the restrooms to the Camp Creek Loop Trail back to the parking lot next to the restrooms and back to our parking lot. From there we took the Spillway Trail to the Coyote Run Nature Trail to the Fossil Ridge Trail and got off on the road near the parking lot at the White Tail Hollow Trail Head.

Camping at Cleburne State Park

This section is still a work in progress as we have not personally camped there yet. I will update this section more once we get the chance to do that!

Cleburne State Park has five camping areas as well as a screen shelter/cabin area and group barracks area. There are a total of 27 full hook up sites, 31 campsites with water & electricity, 1 youth group campsite, 6 screen shelters with water/electric, 3 cabins, and a group camp area with dining hall and two barracks.

Cleburne State Park Info