Breckinridge Park
Park
497 acres5.5 mi of trail
Breckinridge Park Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Richardson
8% of Richardson’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Breckinridge Park (5.5 mi), Ruth Back Toler Park (0.5 mi). 20 miles of mapped trail cross Richardson, 0.7 per square mile of land. 8% of Richardson’s land is conserved, about 1,402 acres.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns · #56 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,402 acres · of 28.6 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,437 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
107 mi
45 mi lanes · 53 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
8
What kind of outdoors town is Richardson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Richardson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Richardson is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #56 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Richardson’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,437 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home98% 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 81%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 91%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Richardson ranks #183 on Outdoors.
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Richardson’s 8% is ahead of 86% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 81% 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 Breckinridge Park, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Spring Creek Nature Area
Park
105 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Richland Park
Managed by City of Richardson
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 40 parks & preserves
Breckinridge Park497 acres · 5.5 mi of trail
DirectionsRuth Back Toler Park47 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSpring Creek Nature Area105 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsRichland Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Richardson
Crowley Park51 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHuffhines Park49 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Richardson
DirectionsPrairie Creek Park42 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWoods Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
McKamy Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBerkner Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Glenville Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCityLine Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGazebo Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
J.J. Pearce Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Heights Park23 acres
DirectionsCottonwood Park20 acres
DirectionsLookout Park20 acres
DirectionsPoint North Park14 acres
DirectionsFox Creek Park11 acres
DirectionsTerrace Park11 acres
Custer Park10 acres
DirectionsFoxboro Park9 acres
DirectionsGalatyn Woodland Preserve9 acres
DirectionsMimosa Park9 acres
DirectionsMark Twain Park9 acres
Renner West Linear Park8 acres
DirectionsWyndsor Park7 acres
DirectionsCanyon Creek Park7 acres
DirectionsWoodland Park7 acres
DirectionsYale Park6 acres
Sting Soccer Complex5 acres
Woodhaven Grove Park5 acres · City of Richardson
Northrich Elementary Playground5 acres
Campbell Ridge Park5 acres
DirectionsTwin Rivers Park5 acres
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park3 acres
Durham Park1 acres
Memorial Park1 acres · City of Richardson
The Falls Park1 acres
Buckingham Park1 acres · City of Richardson
Who protects it
1,402 conserved acres
8% of Richardson’s land. Who manages Richardson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city2,499 ac
Not recorded297 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,123 acLocal Park · 962 acRecreation or Education Easement · 297 acLocal Recreation Area · 297 acLocal Conservation Area · 117 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 25 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 80 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breckinridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 549 | Open |
| Sherrill Park Municipal Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 297 | Open |
| Spring Creek Nature Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 109 | Open |
| Huffhines Park Local Park | Town or city | 50 | Open |
| Crowley Park Local Park | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| Prairie Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 37 | Open |
| Heights Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Duck Creek Linear Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Lookout Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Cottonwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
78 places to go in Richardson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Richardson
Cottonwood Heights Swimming PoolIn Cottonwood Park
DirectionsFalls Swimming Pond
DirectionsPhase 1 pool
DirectionsPhase 2 pool
DirectionsPhase 3 pool
DirectionsPhase 4 Pool
DirectionsPhase 8 Pool
DirectionsPlus 2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Richardson
Cottonwood Park PlaygroundIn Cottonwood Park
Directions51 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Richardson
Bush Central BarkwayHours: Thu–Tue 6:30 am – 10:30 pm; Wed 10 am – 10:30 pm
DirectionsNorthside Dog Park
DirectionsPawsAbility Park
DirectionsPawsAbility Park
DirectionsThe Falls Dog Park
DirectionsPlus 6 dog parks without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Richardson
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Richardson
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Richardson
Creekside Community Garden
DirectionsDover Elementary School GardenDover Elementary School
DirectionsEco HubUniversity of Texas at Dallas
DirectionsUT Dallas Community GardenUTD Office of Student Volunteerism
DirectionsPlus 1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 10.9 miUnpaved · 5.4 mi
Breckinridge Park Nature Trail3.0 mi
Huck Finn Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
107 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
45 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
53 mi
off-road bike paths
9.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
92Tennis
33Soccer
27Baseball
19Basketball
11Beach volleyball
8Pickleball
4Football
4Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Richardson
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) | 56 | 60 | 67 | 75 | 82 | 90 | 95 | 95 | 88 | 78 | 66 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
July is the driest month (2.1 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 Richardson →
Next door
Richardson and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Richardson
Where can I hike in Richardson?
The longest trail networks: Breckinridge Park, 5.5 miles; Ruth Back Toler Park, 0.5 miles; Spring Creek Nature Area, 0.3 miles; Richland Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Richardson is conserved land?
8% 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 Richardson’s trails?
Breckinridge Park and Ruth Back Toler Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Richardson?
107 miles of bike routes are on the map: 45 of painted or protected lanes, 53 of off-road paths and 9.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Richardson?
27,886 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Richardson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,440 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Richardson have?
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #56 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 Richardson 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 →