Legacy Trail isn't one trail yet. Tyler Parks & Recreation lists two separate open sections. The 4.5-mile south section has run along Old Jacksonville Highway since July 2019. The 2-mile north section opened in January 2026 along Frankston Highway and Old Noonday Road. The north end is getting the city's attention right now. Stewart Park, which KETK called the newest park to open in Tyler in more than 20 years, is being built at that trailhead. The stretch that would connect the two sections shows up in the city's own planning documents in the 2030 column.
That makes Legacy Trail two different trails for the foreseeable future. Each has its own parking, its own anchor park, and its own reason to go.
The two sections, side by side
| South section (Phase I) | North section (Phase II) | |
|---|---|---|
| Opened | July 2019 | January 2026 |
| Length | 4.5 miles | 2 miles |
| Path | 10-foot-wide concrete | 12-foot-wide concrete |
| Route | Along both sides of Old Jacksonville Highway, past Toll 49 toward Flint | North along Frankston Highway and Old Noonday Road to W.E. Winters Park and Peete Elementary |
| Parking | Three Lakes Parkway at Old Jacksonville Highway; Mahar Road just south of Crosslake Boulevard | Stewart Park trailhead off Frankston Highway; W.E. Winters Park |
| Anchor park | Faulkner Park | W.E. Winters Park, with Stewart Park under construction |
The newer section is shorter but two feet wider. The older section is the only one that leaves town, running past Toll 49 on an old rail line.
The south section follows a railroad that built the region
Phase I sits on the Old Cotton Belt train route. Tyler Parks & Recreation calls that line "instrumental in the growth of East Texas." Smith County and the city's parks department share maintenance on different portions. The city's description starts the trail off W. Cumberland near Faulkner Park, across from Cherryhill Drive. The main trailhead sits at the entrance to Three Lakes Parkway off Old Jacksonville Highway, south of FRESH by Brookshire's. From there the path runs southwest. The city's separate Legacy Trail project page describes the route heading toward Gresham, while the parks department says toward Flint. The direction is the same either way: south, out of the city.
A lot of the section's appeal comes from what's around it. Faulkner Park, at 410 W. Cumberland Road, has a fishing pond, a sprayground, a skate park, a tennis facility, ball fields with batting cages, pavilions and a playground. It also has nine miles of nature trails, including a five-jump downhill line, and the sprayground runs in summer. One caution before you take a bike onto the dirt. The city's park and trail closures page, last updated January 20, 2026, lists Faulkner's trail bridges as closed, with dates of "April 2019 - TBD." It says to avoid all park bridges and that the other trails are open.
The trailhead also has a coffee stop now. The Tyler Morning Telegraph reported in May 2026 that Likewise Coffee opened its second Tyler café at 7596 Old Jacksonville Highway, Suite 400. At the time it was open Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., serving coffee, tea, matcha and fresh lemonade. Those hours date from May, so check before you go.
The FRESH lot also hosts a regular ride. Ride Tyler lists a Wednesday Urban Ride at 6 p.m., organized by Rose City Cycling, meeting in the back parking lot of FRESH by Brookshire's. Route options include Legacy Trail, Hollytree and Rose Rudman. The listing says every Wednesday. That puts the next ones on October 14, 21 and 28, but the listing doesn't say which route any given week will take.
The north section is the one still growing
Phase II opened with a celebration on January 6, 2026, at what the city then called "Future Stewart Park," 2713 Frankston Highway. From there the trail heads north along Frankston Highway and Old Noonday Road to W.E. Winters Park and ends at Peete Elementary.
The park in the middle of the route was recently redone. The city's listing for W.E. Winters Park gives its address as 910 S. Peach Avenue and lists a pavilion, a playground, basketball and multipurpose courts, restrooms, picnic areas and a 0.4-mile concrete walking trail. The city says the park was renovated and reopened in June 2025. KLTV's coverage of the reopening gave the address as 900 S. Peach and said the work added a playground, a swing set, seating and trails, along with a renovated pavilion and bathroom.
So the north section links a park that reopened in mid-2025 to a park that isn't open yet. Most of the city's recent park spending is happening along this two-mile route.
What Stewart Park will be, and what's paying for it
The park honors T.B. Stewart and Mrs. Gladys Stewart, a longtime teacher. Tyler Parks & Recreation says the couple gifted the land to the city through their estate, while KETK's groundbreaking story describes the family as having sold it to the city. The design reflects Mrs. Stewart's teaching career. Plans call for a pavilion, playground features, picnic tables and restrooms, plus a trail leading to a raised stage for educational programs, with educational signage along the way. The city says feedback from a public meeting helped shape those plans.
The contracts have come in three pieces over four months:
- April 22, 2026: City Council approved $220,997.19 to Kraftsman Commercial Playgrounds and Water Parks for playground equipment and furnishings like the pavilion and picnic tables, and $113,379.58 to CXT Inc. for restrooms.
- June 23, 2026: The city held a groundbreaking. KETK reported it as the newest park to open in Tyler in more than 20 years.
- August 12, 2026: Council awarded Bid No. 26-031 to Schumacher Construction LLC for up to $295,000. Parks and Recreation Director Leanne Robinette called it "the final puzzle piece for Stewart Park." She said the bid drew seven bidders and that the three contracts together come to about $630,000.
The funding source is unusual. All of it comes from Keep Tyler Beautiful's Capital Improvement Park Fund, which is paid for by tipping fees collected at the landfill. At the August meeting, Robinette described it as "no cost to our citizens." She also said that if money is left over, some alternate items from the bids will be added back. That means the finished park could include more than the base plan. The city's proposed FY2027 budget, released the same day, includes a separate $802,500 line for Stewart Park improvements.
When it opens depends on which page you read
The city's Stewart Park project timeline says construction continues "until the end of the year" and lists a grand opening in "Winter 2026." It gives no specific date, and the page was last updated in July. In April, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported the goal as a usable park by year-end, with a ribbon-cutting "in the spring." Both point to the same rough window: work finishing around the turn of the year and a formal opening somewhere between December and spring. The trail map shows a parking area at the Stewart Park trailhead, but the city's closures page lists Stewart Park itself as closed while it's being built. Until it opens, W.E. Winters Park is the other designated place to park for the north section.
The connection is a 2030 line item
Both the parks department and the city's project page say the long-term goal is a single trail. The parks page says future expansion is meant to connect Phases I and II. The project page names that link Phase III and says its dates are "to be determined depending on grants." It also mentions a possible future connection from Three Lakes Parkway to the South Tyler and Rose Rudman trails.
The most specific figure comes from the city's 2026–2027 Half-Cent Sales Tax annual work program, dated July 21, 2026. It lists Legacy Trail Phase III at $497,867 in the 2030 column. The project sits in Tier 2, a group of projects scheduled to begin between October 1, 2028, and September 30, 2032. A line in a work program is a plan with a dollar figure attached. It isn't a construction date.
For now, the practical way to use Legacy Trail is to treat the two sections as separate outings. Start at Three Lakes Parkway or Mahar Road for the longer ride south along the old Cotton Belt line, with Faulkner Park and Likewise Coffee nearby. For the newer, wider two miles, park at W.E. Winters Park and walk the route that runs between Peete Elementary and the Stewart Park site on Frankston Highway. The Stewart Park playground, pavilion and stage are due at that north trailhead around the end of this year.
Jana Dillard has worked Tyler since 2005, and she follows the Old Jacksonville Highway corridor toward Flint as closely as the lake. If you'd like to talk through homes or acreage within reach of either trailhead, Jana Dillard can walk you through what's on the market and what's coming. Book a Consultation.
