Plano parks and trails, by the city's own numbers
Plano's park system totals 4,408 acres, about 10% of the land inside city limits, and the city counts 98 miles of paved trails, 12 miles of soft-surface trails and 150 miles of signed bike routes (City of Plano). Its largest park, Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve, covers 800 acres (City of Plano).
The system in numbers
The figures here come from the City of Plano's Parks, Recreation, Trails & Open Space Master Plan Update, adopted July 24, 2023, in its snapshot of the existing system (City of Plano). The 4,408 acres include park sites that are not yet developed. The plan counts 31 neighborhood parks (generally 7 to 10 acres), 20 developed community parks (generally at least 25 acres, 16 of them athletic complexes), 16 linear parks, 9 special use facilities, 4 open space preserves and two 18-hole municipal golf courses, Pecan Hollow in the southeast and Ridgeview Ranch in the far north (City of Plano). It also lists ten recreation and aquatic facilities, including recreation and aquatic centers, a tennis center, a nature center and a senior center (City of Plano). The city's parks planning page describes the maintenance job as more than 4,000 acres of parkland and 1,200 irrigated acres (City of Plano).
Trails that cross the city
Beyond the 98 paved miles, the plan counts 12 miles of soft-surface trail and 150 miles of signed bike routes (City of Plano). The Cottonwood Creek Greenbelt follows Plano's eastern edge and connects Richardson to Allen; it is part of the 2001 Six Cities Trail Plan among Allen, Frisco, Garland, McKinney, Plano and Richardson, which includes 8.5 miles of trail through Plano (City of Plano). The Bluebonnet Trail runs from Central Expressway to Midway Road along an Oncor power line easement, crosses the Chisholm Trail in the center of the city and connects with the Preston Ridge Trail at Carpenter Park (City of Plano). For the next city up the Cottonwood Creek line, see the Allen parks and trails guide.
The two big nature preserves
Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve, Plano's largest park at 800 acres, runs from Parker Road north to Chaparral Road and from Spring Creek Parkway east to Los Rios Boulevard (City of Plano). On the city's western border, Arbor Hills Nature Preserve covers 200 acres used for walking, jogging, hiking and orienteering (City of Plano). The master plan describes the system as running from Oak Point in the east to Arbor Hills in the west (City of Plano).
What the plan says comes next
The plan puts Plano at 15.09 acres of developed and undeveloped parkland per 1,000 residents, falling to 13.32 by 2050 as the population grows, and says the city would need to acquire 557 more acres by 2050 to meet its targets (City of Plano). Because Plano is primarily built out, the plan expects that land to come slowly, and it notes about 196 acres of parkland that are still undeveloped (City of Plano). Its recommendations include renovating neighborhood parks, adding a splash pad in community parks in each major sector of the city, at least six more indoor courts, and new parks for Downtown Plano and the Northwest Legacy area, two places the plan says lack enough green space (City of Plano). These are plan recommendations, not funded projects; the city's park projects page tracks what is actually under way.
Sources
- City of Plano — Parks, Recreation, Trails & Open Space Master Plan Update (adopted July 24, 2023; PDF) (retrieved 2026-10-22)
- City of Plano — Nature Preserves & Trails (retrieved 2026-10-22)
- City of Plano — Parks Planning & Development (retrieved 2026-10-22)
Sources: 3 cited above
How many miles of trails does Plano have?
The city's master plan counts 98 miles of paved trails, 12 miles of soft-surface trails and 150 miles of signed bike routes (City of Plano).
What is the largest park in Plano?
Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve, at 800 acres. Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, on the western border, covers 200 acres (City of Plano).