The Shoreline Trail is a true blessing of tranquility and natural beauty in the midst of urban life…read morein the Metroplex. Enjoy!

Very nice trail in the Colony. My friend and I walked it the last day we were busting her. I…read moreenjoyed the beautiful houses along the shoreline.

Hidden gem that is perfect to cool off on a hot day. Great for kids of all ages. A little difficult…read moreto navigate after it rains and is very muddy, but still fun.

We didn't actually spend much time at the park, but it looked nice. Rather, we accessed the Taychas…read moreTrail through the park. In case you're wondering about which way to go on the trail, because it goes both north and south from the park, please please go north. We didn't know any better and decided to go south, figuring we'd go around a half mile, get to the end, turnaround, and hit the rest. Well, the trail now connects to another trail on the south side of 121. If you're planning to walk to the south end and turn around, you've got a long way to go. After a mile going south, we turned around. The south stretch (most of which isn't actually Taychas) isn't shady and honestly isn't that great. However, the north stretch of Taychas trail from the park was very nice. Much more shade and available trash cans (for throwing away dog poop bags you carried along your southern journey). Unfortunately, we ran out of time and didn't get to see the northern end, but we will...next time when we decide to go north instead of south!

If you find yourself in the Plano/Carrollton area and need a break from the concrete jungle, Arbor…read moreHills Nature Preserve is an absolute must. My husband and I came here for a weekend trek, and it's easily one of the best outdoor spots in North Texas. What I love most is the versatility. Whether you're looking for a smooth, paved stroll or want to get your boots a little dusty on the dirt hiking trails, they've got you covered. It's a great mix of elevation and flat stretches. It's a great spot for everyone. Pets are welcome (on leashes!), and there is a fantastic playground near the parking lot--perfect for kiddos who still have energy to burn after a hike. You'll see a beautiful variety of plants and likely some local wildlife. Just a heads-up: they do have warning signs posted for snakes and poison ivy, so definitely keep an eye on your surroundings while you explore. The parking lot is huge, but this place is popular! We arrived around 1:00 PM and it was nearly at capacity. We were lucky to snag a stall, but I'd definitely recommend arriving earlier in the morning if you want to avoid the parking hunt.

Arbor Hills is a place near and dear to my heart. This is one of the best places to get away from…read morethe crowded areas and just enjoy nature. The entrance area is always crowded so people don't get to see how amazing this place is. It's incredible because once you go off trail, you can see for miles to around and the sunset views are phenomenal. There are plenty of shortcuts around this area if you just want to do a quick loop to the observation tower and back to the main entrance. I took my old dog out here years ago and went off trail to isolated areas. I hope other dog owners get to see how happy she is and how much joy dogs get from being in this place. It's fairly common to see people taking family photos here but again, I truly recommend walking in off trail areas for 10 minutes to get spectacular photos.

Looking for a short getaway to bask in some beautiful hiking, biking and/or running trails?! Bonham…read moreis a great option for this, bring family and friends or come solo! The park itself is fairly small with several trail loops to explore. Go thru the gate and grab a pass from the main area where you may also park. They will give you a trail map as well as tell you a bit about the trails in terms of where to start, etc! They also had a really fun cooking class in the morning right on the lake. Super unexpected but awesome! Apparently they do lots of trail events often to check online to see what is going on. Bring your tent or RV and you can camp out right on the water. Cheap kayaks are available for rent as well. Since it is so hot you need to start early and/or bring plenty of hydration for your adventure. This was a great way for me to start my weekend and really set the tone for a serenity kind of Saturday! Go check out downtown Bonham for shopping and lunch right after. Rangers are always on duty and they truly take pride in this incredible park.

Overall, Bonham is a great spot for a weekend camping trip, hiking, and doing miscellaneous water…read moreactivities IF you don't mind a ridiculous amount of daddy long leg spiders. I don't know if it was because of the hot and humid weather (end of September) -- we'd set up camp at the end of a major shower -- or if that's just the norm but if you rent a campsite in the upper teens (16, 17, etc.) expect to see dozens if not hundreds of spiders on a regular basis. If you rent the lower number sites (12, 11, etc.), you won't see hardly any "wildlife." My group of 5 rented 2 sites (5 adults, 4 dogs, 3 cars, 2 nights, and 1 "oh Lawd, why" moment) so I had the pleasure of experiencing both extremes. Restrooms and showers are a short 3min walk from the camp sites and are very well maintained. My only complaint is there's very little airflow in the women's room so expect to sweat even while watering the pool. The campsites are even better. There's an outlet box to plug in all of your necessities and a water spigot. Picnic table and little hanging poles to dry your towels. Everything you need is right there. Our neighbors were quiet for the most part with the occasional "too loud after 10pm" moment and 1 neighbor who wouldn't answer his 4am alarm until it had gone off for a good 5min haha! Some activities include swimming in the lake, renting paddle boats, renting fishing gear, and hiking. We hiked the "Gnarly Root Trail" and boy the only thing gnarly about it was again, the spiders. The ground looked like it was moving and the path is 1-person wide so if you're with friends, don't expect to carry on a conversation. The trail markers were a bit confusing and we had to double back once to make the correct turn but it was a pretty decent and simple 1.5mi hike. My friends had a great experience with the paddle boat rentals and it wasn't until we were leaving that we realized we could've rented fishing gear, too (darn!). Other factors, there was a burn ban that weekend and we didn't realize it until the park manager told us (it was pouring rain when we arrived so we didn't see the sign). But he was super cool about it and let us extinguish it without penalty. That's another great thing: the park managers truly care and make sure everyone is having a great time and are safe. The evening of our check in, he stopped by and gave us the lowdown on how things work, some tips, and answered any questions we had. Overall, this is a great park and I'd definitely return for another camping trip when the weather cools off.

Very nice trails. Not hard to walk and only about 1.5 miles total. We saw several deer which is…read morealways nice.

What a treat to get just an hour out from Dallas and be able to enjoy a crisp lake, minimal crowds,…read moreblue skies, plenty of trees, and around five miles of trails! The state park had multiple clean restroom facilities with water fountains and places to fill bottles. I enjoyed a 14 mile trail run, looping each trail several times. Multiple trails offer lakefront views. The park is open early (6 AM) all the way til 10 PM with self-pay options for entering. At just $5 to enter, it's a real bargain to get outside and get your dose of nature in. There were minimal pests (bugs) throughout the park (unlike my last trip to Broken Bow!), and I must have seen at least 20 deer in the 3ish hour period I was there. It's not Colorado or anything, but for being so close to Dallas it's a perfect retreat. The park staff was very friendly, along with all the locals I encountered on the trails!

The park is a nice place for children and soccer players. The trails are very long and don't loop,…read morebut show you all the rich people houses. The trail path is poor quality asphalt in some areas, not ideal. Also trash litters the creek, just like all parks around the Trinity.

Beautiful park to get your bike, hike or run on! There is also a playground for the kiddos. I love…read morethis area because it is so pretty and lots of trees to keep you cool on hot days. Nice getaway that is tucked into the Colleyville neighborhood. I like to cruise around the area and admire the homes nearby...it's like getting your steps in and watching HGTV at the same time. Venture off from the actual park itself if you want to get in some serious mileage. I love this park whenever I'm in the area teaching a class at the gym. Nice cool down before or after my workouts.

Multi-functional park for literally EVERYONE!…read more Fitness Enthusiasts: There are softball fields and a cricket pitch. There is a built in exercise station. I see cross-fit groups out here all the time. There is a huge running/walking/biking loop around the entire park and connecting to other routes. I think also some kids soccer groups also play here. Families: there is a very large playground with benches and shade! It's top notch and well maintained. Tweens/teens- there are benches and sick places to hang. You can even bring hammocks. There is plentiful parking. Picnic tables. Families often come out on nights with solar events and their telescopes. To be fair it is super well lit so it may not be the best place for star gazing, but you get many people to interact with. Plus let me add for Pokémon Go players- three gyms and 6 Pokéstops so this makes for excellent playing.

It could go either way rating this great park. I will leave the specifics of that to a later update…read morereview. Today I want to describe why I am here. Passing this park on an out-of-the-way side street for the last two years, I noticed a "workout area" towards the entrance to the park. I made a mental note to stop and check it out but, never did until today. I usually work out daily at the recreation center but, recently due to Omnicron, I've been looking for an interesting outside place to get some exercise. I remembered passing this place and decided to check it out. On pulling up I was initially disappointed. I guess I thought the structure should be bigger, more interesting, more challenging! then I started using it. Bam!!! Hello! I thought I was in decent shape for my age but, boy was I wrong. I couldn't even make it through a few exercises on this "adult playground"!!!! It just shows you can't judge a book by its cover or make assumptions. You have to Do It. this great little outdoor gym known as the Miracle is just that. In a fairly small area, several exercises are demonstrated via placard if you need them. It will wear you out, challenge you in ways you didn't anticipate. I'm so glad I found this outdoor place to exercise in the fresh air at this time. I feel I'm getting a type of physical challenge that I didn't inside a gym. Definite Go!

I love the time it's in the summer but about the bugs is kind of a bit annoyed about. It's not that…read morethey should remove it. I'm just saying that it's too concerned for me. Well, it is a creek trail so there has to be bugs right but anyways, they have so many trails But my grandpa and I don't take off course trails because we just don't want to. We don't have any reason for, but we just don't want to. But it's so good looking lots of different species. I've actually saw species type of bug there. It was so beautiful. I even had a butterfly land on me one time I didn't want to move or scare away because it was so pretty.

This is such a great nature area to walk or bike around. There are nice paved paths for walking or…read morebiking and some nature trails you can explore. We walked off the paved paths and ended up lost in the middle of the forest but it was fun being surrounded by nature. If you walk on the paved path, then it'll loop around the entire park. The nature trails had some dead ends which sucks because we were hoping it would connect back to the main path somehow. The only surprising thing is the limited parking spot available. There's only one small parking lot with 7 SPOTS available for the park, and they were all taken by others. We had to park our cars at Chick-fil-a and walked across the street just to get to the park.