The Trail at the Woods
Park
74 acres1.7 mi of trail
Rowlett Creek TrailPecan Grove TrailWetland TrailThe Trail at The Woods
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: CityofAllen · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Allen
7% of Allen’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: The Trail at the Woods (1.7 mi), Bethany Lakes Park (0.7 mi), Allen Station Park (0.5 mi). 7% of Allen’s land is conserved, about 1,090 acres. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Allen, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #106 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,090 acres · of 26.4 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,028 ac
9.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
106 mi
3.4 mi lanes · 82 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Allen?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Allen have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Allen is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #106 of 642 in Texas. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Allen’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land9.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,028 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 72%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 84%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Allen ranks #259 on Outdoors.
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Allen’s 7% is ahead of 82% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is The Trail at the Woods, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dayspring Nature Preserve
Park
25 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 44 parks & preserves
The Trail at the Woods74 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsBethany Lakes Park43 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsAllen Station Park130 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsDayspring Nature Preserve25 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsWest Lake Park6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsVillage Green1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsFord Park West18 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsThe Bluffs at Lost Creek15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Stacy Ridge Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Country Meadows Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Heritage Village4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCelebration Park95 acres
DirectionsSpirit Park80 acres
DirectionsMolsen Farm65 acres
DirectionsFord Park East25 acres
DirectionsBolin Park17 acres
DirectionsSuncreek Park17 acres
DirectionsTwin Creeks Park16 acres
Greenville Hights13 acres
DirectionsBridgewater Crossing12 acres
Glendover Park11 acres
DirectionsStory Park11 acres
DirectionsCollin Square Greenbelt9 acres
Hillside Park9 acres
DirectionsWatters Crossing Park8 acres
DirectionsReed Park West8 acres
DirectionsBethany Ridge Park8 acres
DirectionsShadow Lakes Park6 acres
Spring Meadow Park6 acres
DirectionsLost Creek Park6 acres
Orchards Park5 acres
Quail Run Park5 acres
Green Park5 acres
Morgan Crossing Park5 acres
DirectionsConnemara Meadow Preserve4 acres · Connemara Conservancy
Reed Park East4 acres
DirectionsBradford Crossing Park4 acres
Allenwood Park4 acres
DirectionsRolling Hills Park4 acres
Cheatham Park4 acres
DirectionsCottenwood Bend Park3 acres
Waterford Park3 acres
Custer Meadows1 acres
Heritage Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,090 conserved acres
7% of Allen’s land. Who manages Allen’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city2,241 ac
Joint61 ac
Conservation Easement · 724 acLocal Park · 638 acRecreation or Education Easement · 400 acLocal Recreation Area · 369 acLocal Conservation Area · 134 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 13 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 140 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celebration Park Local Park | Town or city | 99 | Open |
| Allen Station Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 93 | Open |
| Estevie Property Local Park | Town or city | 78 | Open |
| Watters Branch Property Local Park | Town or city | 73 | Open |
| The Trail at The Woods Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 71 | Open |
| Molsen Farm Local Park | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Open Space Local Park | Town or city | 50 | Open |
| Joe Farmer Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| Bethany Lakes Park Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| DaySpring Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 35 | Restricted |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
76 places to go in Allen
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Allen
Ford PoolIn Ford Park West
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Allen
Orchards ParkIn Orchards Park
DirectionsRocketship ParkIn Waterford Park
DirectionsSchoolyard
Directions69 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Allen
Bark Yard
DirectionsPlus 2 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Allen
Muddy CreekIn Bethany Lakes Park
DirectionsPlus 2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.2 miUnpaved · 2.2 mi
Rowlett Creek Trail1.4 mi
Pecan Grove Trail0.3 mi
Wetland Trail0.2 mi
Biking & sports
106 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
82 mi
off-road bike paths
21 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
35Soccer
34Tennis
32Baseball
23Basketball
23Golf
10Football
6Beach volleyball
5Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Allen Water StationDistrict · listed 2009
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Allen
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 55 | 59 | 67 | 74 | 82 | 90 | 94 | 95 | 88 | 77 | 66 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
July is the driest month (2.3 in) and August the warmest (highs of 95 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 95 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Allen →
Next door
Allen and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Allen
Where can I hike in Allen?
The longest trail networks: The Trail at the Woods, 1.7 miles; Bethany Lakes Park, 0.7 miles; Allen Station Park, 0.5 miles; Dayspring Nature Preserve, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Allen is conserved land?
7% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Texas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Allen’s trails?
The Trail at the Woods and Bethany Lakes Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Allen?
106 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.4 of painted or protected lanes, 82 of off-road paths and 21 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Allen?
26,012 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Allen or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,160 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Allen have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #106 of 642 in Texas. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Allen neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →