Arbor Hills Trail Highlight

Arbor Hills Trail Highlight

Written By: Jeremy Magee

Arbor Hills is 200 acres of woodland and open prairie located in the western part of Plano (the latter of which offers absolutely incredible views of the landscape and its surroundings).  

Owned and maintained by the City of Plano, the preserve has mountain biking, natural surface and paved trails – the bike trail is 2.8 miles in length and the paved and unpaved trails are both 3 miles in length. It’s also important to know that the bike trail is exclusively for off-road riding, whereas the concrete trail is designed for bikers and hikers alike; the natural surface trails are for hikers only. The hiking trails are mostly flat (with one good-length downhill section and a few short-but-not-too-steep climbs), and travel from forest to prairie and then back to forest; the bike trail is rated as beginner/intermediate and has twisty sections, short ascents/descents, root ledges and short downhill sections. 

*no fee is necessary to use the trails*

Witnessing the view from the observation tower is a must when visiting the preserve-I myself only recently checked out the view from the tower (despite having been to the preserve several times) – mostly due to being in close proximity to others in the time of Covid (thank you vaccines! 😊). However, I definitely recommend taking time out of your visit to do so (given the stunning views, especially at sunset). 

Links to trail map and trail detour map (given ongoing construction):

https://www.google.com/maps/place/33%C2%B002'50.9%22N+96%C2%B050'55.3%22W/@33.0474687,-96.8486967,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d33.0474687!4d-96.8486967

https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/ddcf528e-7b96-4554-b262-0769bc531df2?cache=1800&scope=all

Although the natural surface trails are closed after it rains the paved trail is still able to be used

Park hours are 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday, 2 p.m.-11 p.m. on Wednesdays and 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday

Visit the park and enjoy the panoramic vistas – don’t forget to check out the observation tower and interpretive trail markers too!

Rating: Easy

Coffee for before your hike: Mudleaf Coffee House

Brewery for after your hike: Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co.

Get out there and ExploreMore!


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