A Trail Most Residents Have Never Seen After Sunset
The Shoreline Trail runs along the edge of Lewisville Lake in The Colony, a route that draws joggers and cyclists through most of its daylight hours. On the evening of Wednesday, October 28, that same path transforms into something different. At 6:30 p.m., with the sky already dark and the lake somewhere out beyond the tree line, a small group of residents will be picking their way along the trail by the light of what the night provides — listening, watching, and looking for signs that other creatures are active long after most people have headed home.
The event is the Owl & Howl Prowl, organized by Keep The Colony Beautiful and led by Texas Master Naturalist Donna Cole. It runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., and it is free.
What a Master Naturalist Brings to a Walk in the Dark
Donna Cole’s credential matters here. Texas Master Naturalists complete a rigorous training program through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension before they ever lead a public program. They study local ecology, native species, habitat, and the kind of observational skills that turn a nighttime walk from a casual stroll into a structured lesson in what is actually living in a place.
Along the Shoreline Trail, that means paying attention to things most people overlook: tracks pressed into soft soil near the water’s edge, the silhouette of a bird roosting in a tree, the sound of something moving in the brush just off the path. The trail corridor along Lewisville Lake sits within a larger ecosystem that supports great horned owls, barred owls, white-tailed deer, raccoons, opossums, and a variety of migratory birds that pass through north Texas in October. Cole will be guiding participants in reading those signs rather than simply walking past them.
The hour-long format is deliberate. It is long enough to cover meaningful ground and allow the group’s eyes to adjust to the dark, but short enough to keep the experience accessible for residents who might not consider themselves outdoors enthusiasts.
Where to Meet and What to Expect
Attendees are asked to arrive at 6:15 p.m. — fifteen minutes before the walk begins — at the Shoreline Trailhead in Ridgepointe, located at the intersection of Lakeshore Boulevard and Lake Ridge Drive. That early arrival time gives Cole and the Keep The Colony Beautiful organizers a chance to orient the group, discuss what they might encounter, and get everyone moving together when the walk starts at 6:30.
Bringing a small flashlight or a phone with a flashlight function is a practical idea, though the group will likely use those sparingly. Part of the experience of a nighttime nature walk is allowing your senses to adapt, and flooding a trail with bright light tends to scatter the wildlife you came to observe.
Dress for October in north Texas, which means layers. Temperatures along the lake after sunset in late October can drop faster than they do inland, and an hour on a trail that runs close to the water will feel cooler than the forecast suggests. Comfortable walking shoes with some grip are a better choice than sandals.
Keep The Colony Beautiful’s Broader Role
Keep The Colony Beautiful is the city’s environmental stewardship organization, affiliated with the statewide Keep Texas Beautiful network. The group coordinates litter cleanups, tree plantings, and community education programs throughout the year. The Owl & Howl Prowl fits into that educational mission by giving residents a direct experience of the natural environment they already live alongside.
The Shoreline Trail is one of The Colony’s signature outdoor assets, stretching along the Lewisville Lake shoreline and connecting several parks and neighborhoods. Offering a guided after-hours experience on that trail — rather than simply pointing people toward a map and a parking lot — reflects an attempt to deepen the community’s relationship with a place that many residents use mostly for exercise.
Programming of this kind also tends to build a constituency for trail maintenance and habitat preservation. Residents who have spent an hour listening for owls at the water’s edge with a naturalist are more likely to notice when something changes along that corridor and to care about what happens to it.
One Evening, One Free Hour, One Trail After Dark
The Colony’s city events calendar lists the Owl & Howl Prowl among the fall programming coming from multiple city departments and partner organizations this October. For residents who have driven past the Ridgepointe trailhead dozens of times without stopping, the evening of October 28 offers a low-barrier reason to finally walk it — just under different conditions than usual.
The walk is free, requires no registration listed in city materials, and lasts exactly one hour. The Shoreline Trailhead at Lakeshore Boulevard and Lake Ridge Drive is the meeting point, and 6:15 p.m. is the time to be there.
