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  Oak Point Park and & Nature Preserve is a beautiful preserve in Plano with over 7 miles of paved trails and over 5 miles of natural trails so it can be enjoyed by all! At 800 acres, Oak Point is Plano's biggest park and also holds a body of water where you can kayak, canoe, and standup paddle board from dawn until dusk as well as a zip line that goes through the trees surrounding the preserve called GoApe.    Follow the trail to the bordering Bob Woodruff park for a full day of exploring and even more mileage. Oak Point also...

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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...

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By: Jeremy MaGee Located along the southwestern edge of Lake Grapevine, near the Bob Jones Nature Center and on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property, the Walnut Grove Trail covers 10 miles (with one main trail and numerous sections that branch off). A blend of woodland and shoreline, the difficulty level is listed as easy (given the mostly flat terrain with occasional short climbs). There are numerous trailheads (to be found at trail intersections, on the borders of parking lots/spaces (paved, gravel and/or dirt), at the end of residential streets, just off city streets and near parks (and similar settings,...

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Written By: Casey Washington Poisonous plants are avoidable but what about the dangers that move? One of the top reasons why some people don’t venture outdoors is because of the possibility of running into a “nope rope”.  They imagine that every root or log will have a nest of rattlers just waiting to strike, like the killer plants popping out of the pipes on Super Mario. There is a plethora of folklore and misinformation out there about the wiggle-sticks of their nightmares, but with some actual facts and a plan, you can respect a snake for what they do for...

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Written by: Casey Washington It’s the unknown crinkle in the leaves, or the leaves themselves, that prevent many of the new or want-to-be new hikers I meet from taking their first steps into nature. The idea of snakes or poison ivy lurking along the trail shouldn’t furlough the joy and connectedness that being outside brings to the human spirit. With some knowledge about how to avoid the itchy and bity things in the prairie lands surrounding DFW, and what to do if you cannot avoid them, even the more timid adventurer can step forward and enjoy all the wonders the...

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