The falls, Lucy Park and the river trail in Wichita Falls

The city is named for a waterfall that has not existed since 1886. When Wichita Falls was platted and named on September 27, 1876, there was a small fall in the Wichita River, about five feet high. A flood took it ten years later. For close to a century after that, visitors kept turning up and asking where the falls were.

In 1987 the city gave them one. The waterfall you can see today is man-made: a 54-foot cascade in several steps on the south bank of the river, built upstream of where the original stood. When it runs, it recirculates about 3,500 gallons a minute, and drivers heading south on Interstate 44 see it as they cross the river.

Check before you go

As of late September 2026, the city's page for the falls says they will stay turned off indefinitely. A recent evaluation found that repairs are needed to prevent further damage, and the city expects a full assessment with repair recommendations by the end of the year. The trail to the falls is open.

The walk is still worth making. But if you are coming for moving water, or for a photograph of it, read the city's page on the day. The city says the falls host many outdoor weddings each year, and anyone planning one there will want the same check.

Getting there

The falls sit at the edge of Lucy Park, and the easy way in is on foot. The city sends visitors to the parking areas just inside the park on Sunset Drive, which connect to the concrete trail. From there it is about a mile to the falls and back. You can also park along the service road that loops under the I-44 bridge over the river.

Our listing for the falls carries a Central Freeway address, which is the interstate side. Lucy Park's own address is 100 Sunset Drive.

Lucy Park

Lucy Park is the big park in the middle of the city, 178 acres by the city's count, set in a bend of the Wichita River. Old pecans and cottonwoods shade much of it, and a large pond is kept for waterfowl, so there are ducks and geese year round.

A 1.7-mile concrete loop circles the park. Inside it the city lists a swimming pool, an 18-hole disc golf course, three playgrounds, sand and concrete volleyball courts and basketball goals. There are two large shelters and a log cabin that can be reserved for parties, five smaller shelters, 30 picnic tables, 34 grills and 86 benches. A swinging bridge crosses the river.

River Bend Nature Center uses 15 acres of the park along Third Street. The city's parks page says to look out for white-tailed deer, bobcats, raccoons, turtles and, in the air, Mississippi kites.

The river trail starts here

Lucy Park is where the city's trail network began. The first concrete trail was poured there in 1987, the same year as the waterfall, and the park is still the west end of what the city calls the Circle Trail. The city describes more than 20 miles of trail today, almost all of it 10-foot reinforced concrete, laid mostly along the Wichita River and Holliday Creek. Two more connectors are planned to close the loop at about 24 miles.

The river section runs 4.37 miles from Lucy Park to Williams Park, where it meets the Holliday Creek section. Start in Lucy Park and you can go all the way to Lake Wichita and back, a round trip of 28.76 miles. The city's page for that section describes wooded stretches that color up in spring and fall, white-tailed deer and birds, and honeysuckle you can smell from the trail.

City ordinances set the trail rules. The ones people run into most:

• Bikes, skateboards and skates yield to people on foot. Keep right, pass on the left, and say so as you pass.
• Dogs stay on a leash the whole way, and you pick up after them.
• No motor vehicles or horses, apart from city vehicles and motorized wheelchairs.
• No alcohol on trails inside parks.

Off-road, across the river

For dirt, the Wee-Chi-Tah Off Road Trail sits on the north side of the river. It is owned and kept up by Wichita Falls Streams and Valleys, a volunteer group, and the city's page puts it at about 11 miles of loops with roots, rocks and climbs. It runs one way: walkers and runners go opposite the bikes, and on Wrong-Way Wednesdays everyone reverses. Helmets are required, and only pedal-assist e-bikes are allowed. The trailhead is on Wichita Street, with parking at the Wichita Falls Travel Information Center on the Central Freeway.

When to go

Summer here is serious. At the regional airport, July highs average 97 degrees and about 28 days a year reach 100. The park's shade helps, but a noon walk to the falls in August is a different trip from one at eight in the morning. Take water. There are four drinking fountains in the park, which is not many for 178 acres.

May is the wettest month on average, so check the forecast before a long ride along the creek.

Nearby

Scotland Park is just off northbound I-44 at the river, with a reservable shelter, a playground and an ornamental pond. The city says it is within five minutes of the falls, the Multi-Purpose Events Center and the Texas Tourist Bureau. Lake Wichita Park, at the far end of the trail, covers 234 acres on the lake's north shore and has the city's off-leash dog park.

Using our listings

Our Parks and Outdoors and Things to Do pages list the parks, trails and landmarks we hold, by name and address, including Lucy Park, Scotland Park, Lake Wichita Park and the falls. We carry no hours. Park hours, shelter bookings and news about the falls come from the city's parks department.