Cedar Hill

Historic downtown and Hillside Village

Cedar Hill has two centers. The historic downtown is a few blocks around Cedar Street, Houston Street and Main Street, with tiny Pioneer Park (600 Cedar St.) at its corner. The town dates to 1846.

Downtown is mostly small, local businesses. Sam's Pizza & Pasta (601 Cedar St.) has served the area for more than 30 years. Babe's Chicken Dinner House is at 200 S. Main St., Phat Girlz BBQ at 107 S. Main St. and 1846 Coffee at 610 Cedar St. Cedar Hill Market (208 Houston St.), Decor on the Hill (608 Cedar St.) and Corner Square Quilts (702 Cedar St.) are among the shops. The Cedar Hill Roller Rink is at 202 N. Main St.

Most chain retail sits at Hillside Village, an open-air center at 305 W. FM 1382 with about 458,600 sq ft and anchors including Dick's Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble, Old Navy and H&M. Tenants were still renovating space there in 2026. An Olive Garden opened in April 2026 at 311 N. Clark Rd., filling a long-empty restaurant site.

A year built around downtown and Valley Ridge Park

Country Day on the Hill is the main event. It began in 1937 and is held downtown on the second Saturday of October, with a morning parade, craft booths, a petting zoo and live music. The 87th edition ran in October 2024. The Old Settlers Reunion has been held downtown the evening before.

Late October brings Scare on the Square, a downtown trick-or-treat night. Holiday on the Hill, with Santa photos and the city tree lighting, was held downtown on Dec. 4, 2025, with a shuttle from the JCPenney lot. Hillside Village runs its own Village Lights tree lighting.

Valley Ridge Park hosts the larger summer events. In past years these included a Friday-night Music in the Park series in June, the Best Southwest Juneteenth celebration (2024) and LatinFest in September (2023). We did not find 2026 dates for these.

Parks, trails and Joe Pool Lake

The city says it has 52 parks and greenbelts covering about 3,770 acres. Valley Ridge Park (2850 Park Ridge Dr.) is the largest city park at 164 acres. It has 18 soccer fields, 10 baseball and softball fields, 3 football fields, a 2,000-seat amphitheater, a fishing pond and a 1.5-mile trail. Virginia Weaver Park (631 Somerset Dr., 27.6 acres) has an inclusive playground, a softball complex and The Lagoon, a city pool with a lazy river and slide that opened in 2023. Crawford Park (401 Straus Rd.) has lighted tennis and basketball courts.

The city lists more than 60 miles of trails. Its named paved trails total about 11 miles, led by the 3.6-mile Lake Ridge Trail and the 3.2-mile Red Oak Creek Trail. The 1.4-mile Signature Trail links the library to Hillside Village.

Cedar Hill State Park (1570 W. FM 1382) sits on Joe Pool Lake, about 6 minutes from downtown. It has 350 campsites, a swimming beach, two boat ramps and the DORBA mountain bike trail. Day entry is $7 for adults. Next door, Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center (1206 FM 1382) covers more than 200 acres, and the city's Cedar Mountain Preserve adds 110 acres.

Errands are mostly in town

Groceries are close. Kroger (235 E. FM 1382) and Albertsons (427 E. FM 1382) are near Hillside Village, Walmart Supercenter is at 621 Uptown Blvd., and ALDI is at 805 E. Belt Line Rd. Both supermarkets and Walmart have pharmacies, and Walgreens and two CVS stores are in town too. Costco is just north in Duncanville.

Cedar Hill has no hospital. The closest is Methodist Charlton Medical Center (3500 W. Wheatland Rd., Dallas), a Level III trauma center about 12 minutes away. In town, Baylor Scott & White Urgent Care+ is at 642 Uptown Blvd. and CareNow is at 345 N. Hwy 67.

City Hall, police and the school district office share the Government Center at 285 Uptown Blvd. The Traphene Hickman Library (450 Pioneer Trail) opened in April 2024. It sits in a 3.5-acre park and has a rooftop deck, a podcast studio and the city's history museum.

Schools

Most of the city is in Cedar Hill ISD. Parts of town are zoned to Duncanville ISD or Midlothian ISD, so check the address. CHISD has 11 campuses: six elementaries, three middle schools and two high schools. Collegiate Prep (PK-5) is a choice campus that admits by application and lottery. The district was rated C for 2026. Among campuses, Collegiate High School is rated A, Collegiate Prep and Collegiate Academy B, and Cedar Hill High School C. Life School runs a K-6 charter campus at 129 W. Wintergreen Rd., and Trinity Christian School (PK-12) is at 1231 E. Pleasant Run Rd.

Getting around and public safety

US 67 runs through town and FM 1382 crosses it near Hillside Village. Off-peak, downtown Dallas is about 22 minutes away, Arlington's stadium district about 28, Love Field about 32, DFW Airport about 37 and downtown Fort Worth about 41. Rush hour adds time. We did not confirm any public transit.

Cedar Hill Fire Department runs four stations and three MICU ambulances with 24-hour advanced life support. EMS made up more than 70% of its calls, which reached 6,653 in 2025. Its ISO Class 1 rating took effect in 2021; only about 0.5% of rated departments have it. The police department, at 285 Uptown Blvd., lists 66 officers.

Not confirmed yet

• 2026 dates for Country Day on the Hill, Holiday on the Hill, Music in the Park, Scare on the Square and LatinFest.
• Whether Cedar Hill hosts the Best Southwest Juneteenth in 2026 (the event appears to rotate among cities).
• 2026 TEA ratings for the six campuses not shown here (Highlands, High Pointe, Lake Ridge, Plummer, Waterford Oaks, Coleman, Permenter); only 2025 grades are listed for them.
• Grade spans for CHISD elementary and middle campuses other than Collegiate Prep (PK-5).
• Street addresses for Cedar Hill Collegiate Academy, Collegiate High School and Collegiate Prep.
• Whether TotalCare Emergency Room (850 N. Hwy 67) is still operating.
• Details for Bear Creek, Community Center, Highlands South and Parkerville parks and the greenbelts (city pages failed to load).
• Public transit service (STAR Transit or other) in Cedar Hill.
• Post office address.
• The city's 52-park count vs. the 33 parks listed in its own park menu.