In the middle of February, most of the trails in Dallas – Barnhartvale were free of mud and ice and suitable for hiking.    For this outing, I started at the lower trailhead, just off Dallas Drive, and hiked up the Pussywillow Trail to the benchland.    I then went through a gate to continue southeast on the Blackwell Trails.      I tried to avoid any north-facing gullies since there was some mud on some of the narrow single track trails.    Most of the trails on the benchlands through open forests and grassland slopes already had fine hiking conditions.

The Pussywillow Trail is a single track that climbs up a gully to the benchlands.   There are some viewpoints on the north end of the trail overlooking the river valley.

The Blackwell Trails are horse-and-hiker trails that also are used for grazing cattle in season.    The best trails of the area are on the east side of the Nature Park.

The loop route took me up to the Barnhartvale gate at the end of Eliza Drive.    From there I took a series of trails down through the forest, along the rim of a benchland above gullies, then back by a different trail down a ridge on the north side.

There were some dog walkers out on the trails and I spotted a few birds active in the forest.   I hiked selective trails on this day, leaving more trails for another day of hiking in spring.