Before white people came to Texas and screwed everything up, the Comanches, the Kiowas and Tonkawas smoked their pipes and made their babies on the land that is now Lake Ray Roberts State Park. When early pioneers saw this land, they of course wanted it, and much buckshot versus tomahawk violence ensued. The only good thing to come out of all of this was the formation of Ray Roberts Lake, created in 1965 to provide water to Dallas and Denton. Now Lake Ray Roberts State Park is probably the best place within an hour drive or so of downtown Dallas to go hiking. The Isle du Bois branch of the park has miles and miles of trails for hiking, as well as a paved trail for roller skating. The connected greenbelt corridor adds another 10 miles of hiking, biking and horse trails. Isle du Bois is located on Farm Road 455, 10 miles east of Interstate 35.