Hidden Cove Park
Park
569 acres4.7 mi of trail
Amber's AlleyBrad's BluffJustin's Junction
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in The Colony
43% of The Colony’s land is conserved: 3,882 acres
40 miles of mapped trail cross The Colony, 2.8 per square mile of land. 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2,148 acres are parks and preserves, 47 per 1,000 residents.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #1 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
43%
3,882 acres · of 14.0 sq mi of land
Trails
40 mi
2.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,148 ac
47 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
21 mi
17 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is The Colony?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does The Colony have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, The Colony is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of The Colony’s overall grade.
Conserved land43% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (40 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land47 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,148 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home97% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)#1 of 642
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so The Colony’s 43% is ahead of 99% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 98% of them.
Water is 13% of The Colony’s area (2 of 16 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 38%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Hidden Cove Park, with 4.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wynwood Park
Park
154 acres1.9 mi of trail
Tribute Shoreline Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bill Allen Memorial Park
Park
48 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Stewart Creek Park
Park
52 acres0.3 mi of trail
The Colony Shoreline Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 25 parks & preserves
Hidden Cove Park569 acres · 4.7 mi of trail
DirectionsWynwood Park154 acres · 1.9 mi of trail
Bill Allen Memorial Park48 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsStewart Creek Park52 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsPerryman Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsKids' Colony Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · The Colony Parks & Recreation
DirectionsThe Grotto1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBB Owen Sports Faciliy19 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBridges Park / Tennis Courts17 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of The Colony
DirectionsThe Thicket8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGreenway Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDave Cowan Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Eastvale Park36 acres
DirectionsTurner Soccer Complex9 acres
DirectionsLion's Club Park8 acres
DirectionsScout Park6 acres
Park Loop Trail Greenway4 acres
Alister Park4 acres
DirectionsRidgepointe Park3 acres
Park Loop Trail Greenbelt2 acres
Legends Activities Area (Private)2 acres
Slay/Baker Park2 acres
N Colony Blvd Park2 acres
DirectionsDavidson Court1 acres
DirectionsHistorical Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
3,882 conserved acres
43% of The Colony’s land. Water is left out: The Colony has 14.0 square miles of land and 2.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages The Colony’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers6,866 ac
Town or city2,940 ac
Recreation or Education Easement · 3,667 acRecreation Management Area · 3,433 acLocal Park · 1,822 acConservation Easement · 646 acLocal Recreation Area · 238 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 71 parcels. 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 | 3,433 | Open |
| Hidden Cove Park Local Park | Town or city | 1,125 | Open |
| Wynnwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 409 | Open |
| Eastvale Park Local Park | Town or city | 109 | Open |
| Kids Colony Playground/Skatezone Skate Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 90 | Open |
| The Colony Five Star Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 75 | Open |
| Bill Allen Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| Turner Soccer Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Taylor St. Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Bridges Park/ Tennis Courts Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
41 places to go in The Colony
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in The Colony
Surf Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in The Colony
34 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in The Colony
Pawsome Playground Dog ParkHours: Mon–Sun 7 am – 9 pm
DirectionsThe Shacks Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in The Colony
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in The Colony
1 fishing spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.5 miUnpaved · 13.6 mi
The Colony Shoreline Trail3.3 mi
Tribute Shoreline Nature Trail2.9 mi
Amber's Alley0.3 mi
Brad's Bluff0.2 mi
Justin's Junction0.2 mi
Outer Loop Trail0.1 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.
17 mi
off-road bike paths
4.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
18Tennis
17Baseball
15Soccer
5Basketball
3Football
2Volleyball
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in The Colony
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) | 56 | 60 | 68 | 75 | 83 | 91 | 95 | 96 | 88 | 78 | 66 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
July 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 The Colony →
Next door
The Colony and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Colony | 43% | 2.8 | 47 | 97% | A+ |
| Lewisville | 36% | 0.7 | 42 | 93% | A |
| Little Elm | 54% | 0.8 | 44 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Carrollton | 9% | 0.4 | 16 | 93% | A− |
| Frisco | 5% | 1.4 | 11 | 98% | A− |
| Plano | 10% | 0.7 | 16 | 94% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in The Colony
Where can I hike in The Colony?
The longest trail networks: Hidden Cove Park, 4.7 miles; Wynwood Park, 1.9 miles; Bill Allen Memorial Park, 0.6 miles; Stewart Creek Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of The Colony is conserved land?
43% 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 The Colony’s trails?
Hidden Cove Park and Wynwood Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in The Colony?
21 miles of bike routes are on the map: 17 of off-road paths and 4.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near The Colony?
32,865 acres of parks and open public land lie inside The Colony or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,149 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does The Colony have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #1 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 The Colony 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 →