Visiting the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge | Dallas Things to Do

Hey there everyone, my name is Eduardo Arroyo but you can call me Ed and today we are here visiting the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge here in Dallas, Texas. Yes you guys, you heard that right. Today we are visiting this amazing and scenic bridge, which if you're traveling from West Dallas over this way it will lead you into the downtown area and vice versa of course. The goal for today is simple, to learn a little bit about this location, check out the amazing views and have a good time. So if that interests you, come with me. Hey guys, we have made it to the bridge and the first thing I want to cover are your options on getting here. The first one of course is driving yourself. As you can see there are actually two parking lots on the West Dallas end of the bridge. I don't know how expensive they are but there's a lot of parking available. Your second option is public transit. I believe there are three buses that leave you here or close to here if you're coming from the downtown area. Just consider that then you would have to check the times and plan your visit accordingly. But if you want to avoid all that, you also have the option to take a quick Uber or Lyft ride. There is a pedestrian trail right next to the bridge itself so you don't actually get to walk on the famous bridge but that works as you can get some really cool shots of the bridge with the Dallas City skyline in the background. Now before we go through it, let's cover a few facts about this place. The bridge sits on top of the Trinity River which nearly crosses the entire state of Texas from top to bottom. Its headwaters begin in Archer County and its quote-unquote end is in Galveston Bay near Houston. Its construction began in 2004 and it was completed in 2012 so a total of eight years in the making. According to Dallas state officials, it cost $117 million to build but analysis by the Dallas Morning News team estimated the total project's cost at $182 million so very expensive indeed. Its main goal was to connect downtown Dallas to the rapidly growing West Dallas developments. Today this bridge is considered an engineering and architectural marvel and has been the recipient of multiple awards. Now we know why this place is so important for the city of Dallas but what makes it so popular amongst tourists? First of all, its architectural beauty. Not only is the bridge functional but it also looks amazing. The steel arc in the middle suspended by an array of twisted cables, it kind of reminds me of a spider web. It's more mesmerizing the more you look at it and that is no surprise as Santiago Calatrava, a famous Italian architect, was commissioned to complete this project. His goal from the beginning was to make this a gathering place, a place that people actually wanted to visit. So the plans had to include function, looks, and visitors and I think they hit the nail right on the head as this is a popular destination not only for tourists. Some of the most popular activities to do here include hiking or biking in the nearby trails. As you can see there are hiking trails right underneath the bridge which are perfect for hiking, biking, or running. I made it to the other side just to show you that the trail continues this way and it keeps going further that way. You can also go around here to get closer to the river right over there. Right now we are right in between the pedestrian bridge and the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge itself. I've seen people doing a bunch of activities trying to take advantage of this beautiful day so definitely something to do if you choose to visit. Another great idea would be to come here for a picnic or simply to lay on the grass, have a peaceful time as you enjoy these amazing views. And I'm not even gonna lie you guys one of the main reasons why I decided to come here today were the pictures that I saw online. It just looked like such a peaceful place to hang out and admire the views. And to nobody's surprise at all another very popular activity to do here is of course taking pictures of the bridge and the city skyline in the background. We are visiting this location during the day and as you are able to see the views are amazing but this is also a hot spot during the night. This place is I think open 24 hours a day which is crazy. You can literally come here at any time and trust me the pictures I've seen of this place at night truly amazing. Check this out you guys. This is basically the view of the Dallas city skyline that you get from this location. You can basically capture all of it and with the bridge right there in the foreground I think it just adds to it. That building that you see in the distance guys is Reunion Tower. We actually have a video about the place in the channel so I'll leave it in the description down below if you want to check it out. The funny thing is that when we visited Reunion Tower we were looking down at the bridge from all the way up there and now we're doing kind of the opposite. Definitely check this place out. I'll leave it in the description. Another activity that you can do here is visit the nearby restaurants. If you keep walking in this direction which is of course West Dallas you'll find a lot of different restaurants, bars and other activities. So if you visit you can choose to start your day at the opposite side of the bridge, come through the bridge, take a look at the amazing views and then end your day at a bar or a restaurant that is nearby for a dinner or a drink. And of course the most popular thing to do here is actually going through the bridge which is exactly what we are going to do next. Alright you guys so after all that talk we can finally go through the bridge. My goal is to get from one end to the other and back here to say my goodbyes. So let's see what we find along the way. My first thoughts about this place is that it is a very family-oriented location. As you saw there are along the way for convenience. There are also seating areas as you can see right here in case you get tired or your kids get tired or in case you want to sit down and admire the views. There are also play areas for kids like these rock climbing, I don't even know what to call them, shapes. I would love to try them but they look kind of small. You have your little holds right there and also this thing over here is soft in case someone falls. There are also these things right here which make me feel like I'm in Ninja Warrior. They're kind of shaky so be careful. I probably shouldn't be doing that. And of course something you have to do is stop once in a while to glance at the bridge. Check this out. And honestly you guys that's about it. We're already at the middle and I haven't seen anything new besides these chairs over here. Let me show you. Oh my goodness guys after walking for a while sitting on these chairs is so amazing. So I'm probably going to stay here for a little while. And these are my views right here you guys. Check this out. Perfect placement. And then we finally get to the section of the bridge where you can see the Trinity River. There you go guys. This is the main reason of why they had to build this bridge. It looks very green if I do say so myself. And check it out you guys. I found some tables along the way in case you want to have some lunch or dinner. Like I said it is open at night. You can come here and chill for a bit. And just like that you guys we made it to the end of bridge right here. I'm going to go ahead and head back to give you my proper goodbye. And with that you guys we get to the end of the video. Hopefully you guys enjoyed. If you like this video as much as I did I'm going to ask you to please click on the like button and subscribe to my channel if you want to see more cool and interesting travel videos just like this one. And just to remind you to always be kind, have an open mind. I'll see you next time.