Doe Branch Park
Park
137 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Lakeviews · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Little Elm
More than half of Little Elm’s land is conserved: 54%
54% of Little Elm’s land is conserved, about 6,365 acres. Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2,406 acres are parks and preserves, 44 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #7 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
54%
6,365 acres · of 18.5 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,406 ac
44 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
21 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 21 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Little Elm?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Little Elm have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Little Elm is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #7 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Little Elm’s overall grade.
Conserved land54% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land44 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,406 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)#7 of 642
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Little Elm’s 54% is ahead of 99% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 85% of them.
Water is 18% of Little Elm’s area (4 of 23 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 44%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Doe Branch Park, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sunset Pointe Park
Park
22 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 13 parks & preserves
Doe Branch Park137 acres · 1.9 mi of trail
Sunset Pointe Park22 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Little Elm Park154 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsEldorado Playground2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
McCord Park69 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCentral Park22 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBeard Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Little Elm Parks & Recreation Department
DirectionsNarrow Lake Park31 acres
Cottonwood Park19 acres
DirectionsLake Providence Park4 acres
Union Park Fitness Park4 acres
Wood Family Dog Park3 acres · Town of Little Elm
DirectionsHidden Cove Park2 acres
Who protects it
6,365 conserved acres
54% of Little Elm’s land. Water is left out: Little Elm has 18.5 square miles of land and 4.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Little Elm’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers12,208 ac
Town or city887 ac
County104 ac
Joint47 ac
Not recorded47 ac
Recreation or Education Easement · 6,233 acRecreation Management Area · 6,104 acLocal Park · 633 acLocal Recreation Area · 129 acConservation Easement · 120 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewisville Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 6,104 | Open |
| Doe Branch Park Local Park | Town or city | 179 | Open |
| Cottonwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 163 | Open |
| Little Elm Park Local Park | Town or city | 158 | Open |
| Lincoln Park Local Park | Town or city | 64 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Recreation Area | County | 52 | Open |
| Little Elm Athletic Complex Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 47 | Open |
| Mccord Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 37 | Open |
| Narrow Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 37 | Open |
| Hidden Cove Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
32 places to go in Little Elm
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Little Elm
Little Elm BeachIn Little Elm Park
DirectionsPublic pools in Little Elm
The CoveIn Central Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Little Elm
Glen Cove Community Grounds
DirectionsLittle Elm Elementary Playground
DirectionsLittle Elm Park PlaygroundIn Little Elm Park
DirectionsMcCord Park PlaygroundIn McCord Park
DirectionsPlus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Little Elm
Plus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Little Elm
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Little Elm
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Little Elm
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.0 miUnpaved · 3.9 mi
Lakefront Trail3.4 mi
Lakeview Trail0.3 mi
Wooded Trail0.1 mi
Lakefront Tral0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
21 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
21 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Tennis
9Baseball
8Basketball
6Beach volleyball
6Football
6Tracks
5Soccer
3Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Little Elm
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 | 60 | 68 | 75 | 83 | 91 | 95 | 96 | 88 | 78 | 66 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
January is the driest month (2.2 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 Little Elm →
Next door
Little Elm and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Frisco96 miThe Colony40 miLittle Elm15 miProsper3.6 miProvidence Village1.1 miSavannah0.0 miOak Point0.0 miAubrey0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Elm | 54% | 0.8 | 44 | 99%+ | A+ |
| The Colony | 43% | 2.8 | 47 | 97% | A+ |
| Providence Village | 2% | 0.4 | 10 | 99%+ | B |
| Frisco | 5% | 1.4 | 11 | 98% | A− |
| Savannah | 1% | under 0.1 | 11 | 99%+ | C+ |
| Oak Point | 15% | under 0.1 | 60 | 90% | B+ |
| Aubrey | under 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 92% | C− |
| Prosper | 1% | 0.1 | 12 | 88% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Little Elm
Where can I hike in Little Elm?
The longest trail networks: Doe Branch Park, 1.9 miles; Sunset Pointe Park, 0.9 miles; Little Elm Park, 0.4 miles; McCord Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Little Elm is conserved land?
54% 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 Little Elm’s trails?
Doe Branch Park and Sunset Pointe Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Little Elm?
21 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 21 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Little Elm?
31,357 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Little Elm or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,406 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Little Elm have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #7 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 Little Elm 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 →