Trinity river parking lot and launch at Hebron

I drive by the parking lot and launch/ramp every now and then.
Looks like they've been completely finished with everything for about a year now, but it's always gated closed.
Any word on when they will open the access?

PS--a few miles downstream is the large and potentially deadly spillway just before you get to McInnish Park in Carrollton.

It was open for about a year or so then it shut down and never re-opened. Never heard why. I know it flooded a few times last year. They may have learned it was a dangerous spot due to currents. Not to mention the people that would camp out there and fish while trashing it up. The trash and dumping of couches, etc is probably why they shut it down.

Just bizarre. They clearly spent a good amount of change constructing a quality launch area. Must have been a few bad apples that ruined the spot as they knew that area was prone to flooding--the entire Hebron area flooded in 2015 a couple years prior to putting down the first concrete.

I go by there at least 2X to eat my lunch in my truck on my break. I have never seen the gate closed even after hours. FYI from Hebron it looks closed but is not. So you might pull in and drive back.

I will say whomever designed it did a horrible job. The city of Lewisville spent a lot of $ on it and the launch dock is only usable when the water is low. Every time we get a hard rain and the river comes up even a bit the launch breaks and requires repairs It is all messed up right now and unusable. I launch there frequently (but rarely use the launch dock) and take out at Sandy Lake Cricket Practice fields before the spillway. I also like to paddle upstream when there is not too much current and toss a jig or worm into the logjams.

Thanks. Heard from others that it is open also.

Sounds like a typical Government Project: Over-Engineered and Under-Thought. IslandJim

So I've learned some funny info. The company I work for a metal fabrication company,did the work. The company was sold after this and a year or so later I was hired. It was a city job. The guys who drew it up were from some artectual firm the city hired. The guys who did the metal fab were extremely under qualified and now no longer work for our company. I will ask the new owners about it and see if there is an opportunity to do it again. I'm sure it was just a money grab for city or county people.

I just think they did not take into consideration the water level fluctuation which is tremendous. Heck if an engineer looked at this they would have said. "This won't work" I said it when I first saw where they were putting the walkways. It is not even listed on the city's website anymore.

Seems to me if they spent the $$$ to have it engineered correctly now they would not have to repair it 5 times a year for the rest of it's lift which I kinda feel won't be long.

Hahahaha! If engeneeres ever spent any time in the field instead of all their time in books they would know a lot of the things they design won't work. I battle them all the time because practal experience isn't what they know.

Yup. They would have been better off with a narrow and looonnnngggg ramp (and potentially a short launching pier). The launching pier would require some time and attention to keep it aligned with the fluctuating water level. A simple ramp would do just fine for kayaks, canoes and small jon boats. A simple ramp and gravel parking area would have saved them a boat load of cash.

While not a metal guy... I spent a couple of decades as a carpenter and feel the same way. Each and every architect (and engineer) should be required to strap on an apron for no less than 2 years. This will impact thier designes for the rest of their careers.

I talked to an employee of the city who told me they have to disconnect the dock and walkways from the concrete so it does not break every time the water is up.

Agree with you Mike. Would have preferred a regular ramp with pea gravel or such. The mud there is 12-18" deep. I know because my pal tumped and lost his shoes. So much silt.

I wonder if they will dredge it out?

Agreed, except I don't think dredging is money well spent. It's a river... dredging is time consuming and is likely a never-ending battle. If they had a simple concrete ramp they could come in with a front-end loader and scrape it 3' to 4' into the water a couple of times per year. They could do this in 30 minutes (but the city folks would milk half a day).

As Christian pointed out... practical application vs best-case assumptions. Shame on the engineers who designed it. I had high hopes for this when they announced it... I have shown up twice and could not use it.

well said Mike

Any reports here? Thinking maybe float to McKinnish and toss little baits to all the Bass looking spots along the way?

it is open

When I looked at it - months before opening the first time - It was obvious it was built to withstand flooding of the biblical sort, and some of the workers installing the floating docks (note FLOATING docks) pointed out some of the tons of concrete that made it a floodable facility. That said, I took a great float with my friend Danny Scarborough last year on this route, and enjoyed it in a strange way ... as we floated under highways and bridges so loud we couldn't hear each other talk. Made me wish even more THAT people cared about the Denton Trinity Greenbelt from Ray Roberts to Lewisville. That was a fantastic run in its time, but I have given up trying to get anyone to take responsibility and step up and fix the darn thing.

How is the fishing in that run of the river?

I think I mentioned but the launch is open (as stated) and looks like a total PIA to launch a heavy fishing kayak there. But I would not mind trying out a new spot.

Dan if you have a kayak cart you can walk down the long concrete ramp to the dock. Not so bad.

I normally paddle up river and float back down fishing as I do not have a partner to park a car down in Carrollton and my ride can only carry smaller yaks. It is pretty good. The area between Hebron and 121 is decent. Never caught anything big but always catch something.

Thanks for the info! I am looking forward to giving it a whirl soon.

What types of fish do you mostly catch there? I have been looking and see mostly drum being caught. When I have done a little recon on the area I saw a whole lot of gar. I have to assume it has everything that Lake Lewisville has in it?

[quote=texasflycaster]When I looked at it - months before opening the first time - It was obvious it was built to withstand flooding of the biblical sort, and some of the workers installing the floating docks (note FLOATING docks) pointed out some of the tons of concrete that made it a floodable facility. That said, I took a great float with my friend Danny Scarborough last year on this route, and enjoyed it in a strange way ... as we floated under highways and bridges so loud we couldn't hear each other talk. Made me wish even more THAT people cared about the Denton Trinity Greenbelt from Ray Roberts to Lewisville. That was a fantastic run in its time, but I have given up trying to get anyone to take responsibility and step up and fix the darn thing.

The Greenbelt between Ray Roberts and Lewisville is a lost cause. Plans to eliminate the series of log jams continue to get nixed in Austin and with PETA. Realistically the only way to clear the jams now is with dynamite. Since the area is wetlands and home to migratory birds, nobody will be able to touch it. They slowly opened the park on 380, but that is just for bike trails. If you stand at the old kayak launch, you can't even see the water as it re-routed away from the park due to the HUGE log jam.

Can almost always catch catfish. I will take a couple rods a couple brews and a good cigar and go stake my kayak in the shade and catfish. For bass I like paddling up then floating down casting a small jig or a light weighted Tx rigged senko or craw bait. I have also caught em on spinnerbaits but mostly pitching a bitsy bug jig behind and into logs and brush. Never caught any over a pound or two but they are healthy hard fighters.

Holler if you decide to go and want company.