Arbor Hills Nature Preserve

I’ve been coming to Arbor Hills for a while now due to the proximity to my house and place of work.
The good:
Diversity of landscape
Paved & unpaved trails — well maintained
Nice mountain biking trail.
Small Playground for children
Picnic area for parties
The bad:
Gets really crowded on a nice weekend day.
Parking can be challenging when it is crowded.
Tips:
Go early in the morning if you want to beat the crowds on a nice day.
Suggestions:
Would be nice to have drinking fountains.
City can also add bikes for rental.
Overall great park and will be coming back for years to come!

Really nice green area in the middle of Plano! Nice trailed to walk, hike, rollerblade and bike! Large kids playground area and lots of fun for kids to do

Great place! Its very well used, so if you’re looking for peace and quiet this won’t be the place for you. The paths are well labeled and easy to follow. There’s nice view of a pond. It’s a great place that’s not very far away. The hiking was okay.

Great location. Great place for sunset photos. Picnic area. Playground. Trails. Did I mention great scenery for portraits?!

Forgot to check in two days ago, but a friend and I walked the Arbor Hills Loop with a few detours along the way. There’s plenty of parking and a nice picnic area. I imagine this place is stunning in the fall with yellow, orange, and red leaves on the trees. It was the perfect loop for a stroll around 2pm while chatting with a friend. Don’t expect to walk any of the dirt trails if it’s rained in the past few days though.

Very nice place to take shoots. I plan on taking the drone out soon for Aerial shoots.

We love this place. We have been here numerous times and have tried almost every trail. It’s fun to see all the dogs enjoying themselves with their owners. We used this as a test run for our upcoming hiking trip. People looked at us funny with hiking backpacks on, but it was a great place to get a feel for weight and to make sure our boots were comfortable.

This park is only 5 minutes from my place, so it’s my go-​to when I need to get outside and don’t have a lot of time. It’s a pretty nice place for what it is, given it’s right in the middle of suburban Dallas/​Plano. There’s a paved trail that most of the casual walkers and joggers like to stick to along with a few unpaved trails throughout the interior of the park. There’s a nice little stream that runs through the unpaved trails that’s really nice for resting or relaxing.
I was surprised at the diversity of the landscape given there’s not a whole lot of land area. Creek beds turn into open field that turns into canopy within a couple of miles. There’s also a mountain biking trail, but I haven’t checked it out yet. From what I hear, it’s pretty legit.
This place isn’t exactly a secret, by any means. So, it can get pretty crowded on a nice weekend day. If avoiding the crowd is the idea, I suggest going early in the morning or on a rainy or colder day. Otherwise, you’re going to be dodging strollers.

Great place to go for paved or non paved walking trails. Not very challenging, most trails are very easy to walk with the occasional hill. There are a few set trails, but mostly you just wander around in the trees. It’s a little escape from the city! Dog friendly. Planning to go back quite often!

I traversed the trails with my pup after a few days of rain so the paths were muddy but we had an wonderful time. There is a large, paved, well maintained trail running through the center of the preserve with many dirt trails branching off.
A lot of trails zigzag across and around the creek so wear shoes that stand up to water and mud if you plan on going off road.
Lastly there is a nice playground near the parking lot for the younger ones. I will definitely be back with the kiddos, wife and puppy.

I love this park very much. I come here time and time again and always think «Why don’t I come here more often?» There is a path you can take through the park or there are trails you can also take if you like more off road! I love going through the trails they are easy and not too long and they always lead you right back to the main trail. Great for families, dogs, and people of all ages. There are picnic tables in the front, a small bathroom, and even a playground for the children. It is busy during the week by house moms and runners, but during the day its a very quite peaceful place. This park is not only beautiful because of the scenery but the park is kept very clean.

Amazing! Great place for a long (or short) walk with my pup. It’s really peaceful and pretty for taking pictures too. Close to home.
I will go there again and again!

If only the Texas weather was more pleasant, I’d take advantage of the outdoors more. This is a great place for walkers, runners, bikers, and even parents with strollers! A lot of people bring their dogs, but don’t let that keep you away. The owners and their dogs are friendly. Actually, everyone on this trail keeps to themselves so you don’t have to worry about creepers.
They have a small playground for children and a picnic area for parties. On my last visit, I saw a group of people on a tour of Arbor Hills. Never knew they offered tours! There are your normal concrete roads, but they also have dirt tracks for those that like to be more edgy and adventurous! I wish they had drinking fountains throughout the trails, but I’m only saying that because I’m too lazy to carry a water bottle when I run. :)

So today was such a gorgeous day out that I was in search of a park that I could take my 2 month old to stroll around. I got some suggestions from a few fellow Plano moms about Arbor Hills so I decided to check it out.
I fell in love with this place! Even though my much out of shape behind only walked from the playground area to the observation tower and back, I really enjoyed myself!
The air felt amazing, the trees were beautiful and there are many different types of trails that you can hike up!
If you go, make sure to go to the observation tower! The view is great! It’s a great little escape from the «real world.»
The people around were very nice and considerate. There was no trash lying around like other trails that I have been to and I love that there are plenty of benches and pavillions throughout the preserve.
This is also a great place to get pictures taken at! Especially in the fall!!!

Arbor Hills Nature Preserve is a hidden jewel of a place that allows you to forget that you are in a metro/​suburb locale. Parking is plentiful, especially since the expansion lot was installed.
The primary walking/​running trails are wide, fully concrete paved, and well maintained. The walk views are always interesting with established treeskapes, rolling hills, and running streams. The secondary troops are natural winding paths of fun exploration.
On the entrance side, a large play area complete with playground and climbing equipment keeps the little ones busy and entertained with plenty of seating for the adults. Near the play area are pavilions that are covered and offer picnic table seating for large groups.
There are trash stations, dog waste stations and where you are markers at periodic stops, and well kept indoor bathrooms and water fountains near the playground.
My husband and I have been dozens of times over the past few years to power walk the trails and we still look forward to each visit. We love the longer upper trails as they are more isolated from sound and really give that out in the woods feel, but with the wide concrete walk space, there’s no staining of shoes from walking on crunchy crushed granite like other nearby trails.
There is some shade and dappled light on parts of the trails, but wear sunscreen on sunny days, as most areas of the trails are exposed to full sun.
If you like to take pictures, or want a location for having pictures taken of the family, this is a great picturesque place for it! Photographers are there every time we go.

It was a pleasant surprise for me when I got here. Even better when it was recommended by the cashier at Trader’s Joe when I asked him about the different name signs that they have hanging at each check out line. He was very enthusiastic telling me about this place. I didn’t believe him at first thinking how can a place like this actually exist and only a few minutes away down the street from where I used to live. Pushing all my doubts aside, I decided to go and check it out. I was so glad I did.
The place was huge compares to most parks in the area. Once you follow the trail to go deeper into the park, you would forget that you’re still in the middle of a big city (Dallas it is, even tho I know it’s in Plano, but still).
There’s a small creek that you can take your fur baby here and let them have a little fun in the creek, cool down, especially during the summer time.
Once you get to about the center point (seems center enough to me, tho it might not be after all) about .75mile from the parking lot, you should see a tall little pavilion, you definitely have to get up there. The view from the top is magnificent! Stay there for a little bit and enjoy the nice breeze. It should take your mind off of any trouble thoughts for a moment.
One of the places I miss the most after moving away… :(

I was a little surprised after moving to Dallas, how many parks it has everywhere. I found out about this park from a roommate. I love it! This park is normally full when I come to jog. As a loner female, this makes me feel a bit safer. The patrons are respectful and keep to themselves. There is a main cement trail, nature trail, and a biking trail. There are always photographers taking pictures at this park. It adds to the different things a person can see on their scenic jog.

They don’t call it Arbor HILLS for nothing! These trails will give you a challenging hill work out! My husband and I were visiting family in Carollton and drove the 15 – 20 minutes to Arbor Hills. This is a public trail/​park with tons of wildlife. Clean and well maintained paved trails for biking, walking, and in my case running. There’s an area near the playground with a covered picnic tables next to an indoor bathroom.

Arbor Hills is indeed a nature preserve. It has all the things you could ever want in nature — small creeks, hills, trees with foilage, rocks, etc. There is a running trail and bike trail as well. I am partial to White Rock Lake though so it was difficult for me to get used to the winding trails and the fact that I couldn’t see the rest of the preserve until I got there unlike White Rock which you can see everything there is possibly to see for miles and miles. However, this preserve has a homey and quaint feeling to it that White Rock lacks and a certain kind of charm that I particularly enjoyed. I have only been twice but hope to go back as it is closer for me to drive there than White Rock. Enjoy! :)

Whether you’re in the mood to be fully active or just wanting to take a stroll through the park, this is your go to place. They have paved sidewalks, hiking trails, picnic tables, and a creek. I enjoy jogging here since it’s more scenic which makes it more enjoyable. You can bike, skateboard and even rollerblade whichever you desire.
It gets pretty dark at night so I would not recommend jogging around that time but bring some light source if need to.