You can soon enjoy nature and hike across an entire lake at a boardwalk near Fort Worth

Visitors to a part of Lake Weatherford will soon be brought even closer to nature, thanks to a history-making boardwalk the city plans to unveil in June.

The boardwalk is located at the northwest end of Lake Weatherford and will connect East Lake Drive to West Lake Drive across the water. It will be almost 3,000 feet long.

“We have been resourcing and discovered that this will be the longest flotational boardwalk in the country,” said Shannon Goodman, Weatherford director of parks, recreation and special events.

Goodman said residents have wanted a trail around the lake, and that is also in future plans. The boardwalk will someday connect to that trail, he said.

“It almost feels like you’re walking through a marshland,” Goodman said of the boardwalk, which will take visitors across a section of the lake and into an area of trees and brush. Along the way they can stop to take photos, rest on one of several benches, complete with cupholders, or even cast a line in the water to try their hand at catching one of several kinds of fish that live in the lake, including sand bass, black bass, catfish and more.

“I like the looks of it. It’s about time to do something on this end of the lake. Maybe it will bring more fishermen. I’ve caught them over 12 pounds in here,” said Josh Kernan, a 20-year resident of Weatherford, holding up an 8-pound, 22-inch largemouth bass he caught near the boardwalk.

Though the boardwalk isn’t opened to the public, it is about 90% complete. The remaining work with the park area and trailheads on East Lake and West Lake Drive are still under construction, making the total project about 65% complete, Goodman said.

The boardwalk is made of compressed plastic with air pockets to keep it afloat. As the lake rises or drops, the boardwalk does the same.

“We can go up or down, depending on the weather,” Goodman said. “We visited one of the state parks in East Texas and they’ve had this material for over 20 years.”

The boardwalk has lights, which are solar-powered to allow for walking at night. A walk the entire distance of the boardwalk and back is just over a mile. For those wanting a shorter walk, a smaller loop of about an eighth of a mile is on one end with another nearby parking lot for direct access for visitors.

Goodman said a pavilion could also be installed with a fishing pier, and an educational kiosk is planned to provide information about the various fish, birds and wildlife in the area.

“We’ll encourage our schools to make this a field trip,” he said.

The Kayak Anglers of Fort Worth fishing club has a tournament planned for June 20 by the boardwalk.

“You’re not going to be able to go to another city and see this,” said Jaycob Kirkpatrick, Weatherford assistant director of parks and recreation. “The only one bigger is in Canada.”

Plans for the boardwalk began with the development of a Lake Weatherford Parks and Trails Master Plan in 2017. Funding for the project is coming from lake lot license fees that are collected for certain properties on Lake Weatherford.

“The boardwalk creates a unique opportunity for residents and visitors to experience the ecosystem of Lake Weatherford that would be unapproachable without the boardwalk,” Goodman said. “Our goal is to create an educational and passive recreation experience that is beneficial though exercise and observing nature in a wetland-like environment.”

This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "You can soon enjoy nature and hike across an entire lake at a boardwalk near Fort Worth."