Today I took Cosmo to do some exploring in Farmersville, Texas.  While I did not find any dog friendly restaurant patios, there were some nice things outdoors for us.  Downtown Farmersville is very cute, though small, and we enjoyed walking around and window browsing.

Heading down the street a block or so from Main Street, we ran across The Onion Shed.  It is called The Onion Shed because in 1925 they began planting onions in Farmersville, and by 1935, Farmersville was known as the “Onion Capital of North Texas.”  The Onion Shed, restored in 2002, was where they sacked the onions for shipping.

The sign in front says that the farmers market is there the first Saturday of each month.  We’ll have to come back!  Next to the Onion Shed is a playground with picnic tables, and there are picnic tables under the roof of the Onion Shed as well.  That would be a great place to take a break with your pooch and have something to eat.

Right behind the Onion Shed I found a trail head to a 132 mile long hiking trail that goes through East Texas.  (see entire trail map here) I had read about it Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine while waiting for my car at a tire shop, (click here to see article).    The article’s author walked the whole trail in 6 days and ended his journey with a new dog.  The stray followed him over 100 miles!  Needless to say he has a new best friend.

The is called the Chaparral Trail, beginning at the Audie L. Murphy trail head right behind the Onion Shed.  The trail starts in Farmersville and goes all the way to New Boston.  It looks like there is a shorter 10 mile loop that you can do, but I didn’t come prepared with water for Cosmo, so we just walked a small part of the trail.  (more trail infor here).

In the fall when Cosmo is older and it’s cooler, I will try to snag a friend to join me to hike at least a good part of the Northeast Texas trail!

SIDENOTE:  I was concerned that the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding former government railway easments would no longer be valid as public access easements may have cause this trail to close.  I found an article addressing the issue and apparently as of right now, the trail is still open to the public!