Sam Houston Trail Park
Park
314 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Av9 · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Irving
5% of Irving’s land is conserved: 2,256 acres
The biggest trail networks: Sam Houston Trail Park (1.3 mi), Lively Pointe Park (1.1 mi), Cottonwood Creek Park (0.8 mi). 86% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 31 miles of mapped trail cross Irving, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #155 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
2,256 acres · of 67.0 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,421 ac
9.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
32 mi
5.2 mi lanes · 26 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
15
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Irving?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Irving have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Irving is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #155 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 Irving’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (31 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land9.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,421 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home86% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 64%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 76%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Irving ranks #301 on Outdoors.
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Irving’s 5% is ahead of 78% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. 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 Sam Houston Trail Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rose Meadows Neighborhood Park
Park
5 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 58 parks & preserves
Sam Houston Trail Park314 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsLively Pointe Park35 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCottonwood Creek Park28 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsVictoria Park22 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsWyche Park16 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsRose Meadows Neighborhood Park5 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
North Lake Ranch Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLakeview Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsJaycee Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsNichols Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Fritz Park125 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Cimarron Park17 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLevy Event Plaza7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsDorris Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsIrving Soccer Complex32 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Irving
Rio Vista Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Heritage Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSaddlehorn Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLuzon Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Irving
Trinity View Park159 acres
DirectionsTrinity River - Mountain Creek Preserve108 acres
Running Bear Park99 acres
California Crossing Park33 acres
DirectionsThomas Jefferson Park27 acres
DirectionsThe Elis Walker Outdoor Learning Center25 acres · Irving ISD
DirectionsNorthwest Park25 acres
DirectionsTowne Lake Park22 acres
DirectionsParkside Commons21 acres · City of Irving
DirectionsSenter Park20 acres
DirectionsWest Park18 acres
DirectionsSouthwest Park17 acres
DirectionsCentennial Park14 acres
DirectionsShady Grove Trail Park12 acres
W. O. Harrington Park11 acres
DirectionsSunrise Park9 acres
Lee Park7 acres
DirectionsParmenter Gazebo Garden6 acres
DirectionsCalifornia Crossing4 acres
DirectionsKeeler Park4 acres
DirectionsBen Carpenter Statue Park4 acres
DirectionsWilliam Square Park3 acres
DirectionsWoodhaven Park3 acres
Trinity River Floodway2 acres
Millenium Park2 acres
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park2 acres
DirectionsLa Villita Park2 acres
DirectionsAngel Gardens2 acres · Trinity Broadcasting Network
Appolon Hills Park2 acres
DirectionsRodeo Park2 acres
Sulis Square Park2 acres
DirectionsElm Fork Greenbelt1 acres
Opitz Park1 acres
DirectionsLas Colinas Flower Clock Park1 acres
DirectionsMax G. Greiner Environmental Center1 acres
The Pavilion1 acres
Texas Lottery Plaza1 acres
Prospect Park1 acres
Woodridge Park1 acres
Who protects it
2,256 conserved acres
5% of Irving’s land. Who manages Irving’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city4,229 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,135 acLocal Park · 1,601 acLocal Recreation Area · 326 acRecreation or Education Easement · 76 acLocal Conservation Area · 75 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 253 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Wells Park and Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 311 | Open |
| Sam Houston Trails Park Local Park | Town or city | 257 | Open |
| Trinity View Park Local Park | Town or city | 163 | Open |
| River Hills Park Local Park | Town or city | 105 | Open |
| Keenan Crossing Park Local Park | Town or city | 86 | Open |
| Fritz Park Local Park | Town or city | 86 | Open |
| Spring Trail Park Local Park | Town or city | 84 | Open |
| Running Bear Park Local Park | Town or city | 82 | Open |
| Trinity River Mountain Creek Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 75 | Open |
| Elm Grove Park Local Park | Town or city | 62 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
87 places to go in Irving
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Irving
Graff Farms Pool
DirectionsPlus 3 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Irving
Running Bear PlaygroundIn Running Bear Park
Directions66 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Irving
Central Bark
DirectionsCity of Irving Dog Park
DirectionsLarge Dogs
DirectionsLarge Dogs
DirectionsLee ParkIn Parkside Commons
DirectionsPaws Colinas Dog Park
DirectionsSmall Dogs
DirectionsSmall Dogs
DirectionsPlus 2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Irving
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Irving
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Irving
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Irving
W. O. Harrington Park Disc Golf CourseIn W. O. Harrington Park
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Irving
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.9 miUnpaved · 6.1 mi
Trinity River Levee2.5 mi
Valley Ranch Canal Trail0.9 mi
Campion Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
32 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
26 mi
off-road bike paths
1.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
87Tennis
54Golf
41Soccer
40Baseball
33Basketball
13Football
13Multi-sport
8Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 17 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Irving
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 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 61 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 91 | 96 | 96 | 89 | 79 | 67 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
July is the driest month (2.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 4.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Irving →
Next door
Irving and its neighbors
Irving has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irving | 5% | 0.5 | 9 | 86% | B |
| Dallas | 9% | 0.7 | 15 | 88% | A− |
| Grand Prairie | 24% | 0.3 | 33 | 80% | A− |
| Coppell | 6% | 0.4 | 14 | 94% | B+ |
| Carrollton | 9% | 0.4 | 16 | 93% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Irving
Where can I hike in Irving?
The longest trail networks: Sam Houston Trail Park, 1.3 miles; Lively Pointe Park, 1.1 miles; Cottonwood Creek Park, 0.8 miles; Victoria Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Irving is conserved land?
5% 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 Irving’s trails?
Sam Houston Trail Park and Lively Pointe Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Irving?
32 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.2 of painted or protected lanes, 26 of off-road paths and 1.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Irving?
38,821 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Irving or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,446 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Irving have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #155 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 Irving 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 →