The Loop Plaza, Dallas' new trail 'front porch,' is set to open near Victory Park

Walkers, runners and cyclists at the south end of the Katy Trail are about to get a smoother way through one of Dallas' busiest areas. D Magazine reports that The Loop Plaza opens this month, linking three of the city's trails near the American Airlines Center.

The plaza sits at Victory Avenue and Houston Street, where a 12-foot retaining wall used to stand. According to The Loop Dallas, the nonprofit behind the project, that wall has been turned into open space for walking, biking and gathering. The design includes a pedestrian and bike bridge that carries the Katy Trail forward, passing over a ramp down to street level. From there, trail users can pick up the Hi Line Connector, a one-mile trail that runs under Interstate 35E and through the Design District to the Trinity Strand Trail, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The Loop Dallas calls the plaza the "front porch" of The Loop, a 50-mile trail system that ties together 39 miles of existing trails with 11 miles of new ones. When the full loop is done, it will connect neighborhoods, job centers and green spaces including White Rock Lake, the Trinity Forest, the Katy Trail, the Design District and Victory Park.

The Addy Foundation helped make the plaza happen with a $5 million gift, D Magazine reported in 2024. The Loop Dallas has worked with the City of Dallas for more than a decade to build the trail circuit as a public-private partnership. Landscape architecture firm TBG Partners worked on the plaza's design.

For neighbors in Victory Park, the Design District and West Dallas, the plaza closes a gap where the Katy Trail used to stop short at the arena. It also gives people a new place to rest and gather on their way through.

This story is based on original reporting by D Magazine, with additional reporting from The Dallas Morning News, Candy's Dirt and The Loop Dallas.