I was chatting recently with one of my SoCal friends who, like me, loves to explore new places and loves public parks. I told her that the kids and I could go to a different DFW park every week and not run out of new ones for literally years. It’s one of my favorite things about the Metroplex.
That conversation got me thinking that maybe other people would enjoy reading about the parks here and what each of them has to offer. Some of them are big, sprawling places perfect for long, scenic walks, while others are more like little picnic spots. I was inspired to start a “collection” of local parks, with pics and descriptions of each one.
We can’t actually visit a different park each week. There’s no shortage of parks, just a shortage of time. But every time we do get to a new one, I’ll add it to my collection.
So yesterday the kids and I were at the Trader Joe’s in Southlake. There are two parks within easy walking distance of the store: Summit Park and McPherson Park.
Summit Park sits on a little hill surrounded by businesses:
The area is a lot prettier in person than it looks on Google Maps. Here’s a view of the park from the top level of the parking garage behind Trader Joe’s:
And here it is as seen from Cafe Express, where the kids and I had lunch:
There’s a little gazebo near the center of the park.
I would classify Summit Park as a picnic spot, because it only takes a few minutes to walk from one end to the other, but it’s a really lovely walk.
Here is the sign, to make Summit Park an official entry in my collection:
If you’re walking from Summit Park to McPherson Park, I would recommend going by way of Southlake Town Square. There is a pretty pond and a gazebo and a fountain…
Plus this guy.
There’s a directory next to the Town Square. Use it to make sure you walk through the courtyard behind Brio Tuscan Grille on your way to McPherson Park, because that’s worth seeing too.
McPherson Park:
There’s not much to say about McPherson Park; it’s basically a pond with a trail around it. It looked so uninspiring that we didn’t even walk around the pond, we just followed the trail far enough to snap a pic of the sign to make it official…
…and then looped back into the shopping district, which is gorgeous and a nice place to spend a lot of money if that’s your thing.
To summarize, Summit Park is a lovely little picnic spot. McPherson Park is nothing special, but I’m glad we went because we saw a lot of cool stuff during the walk there and back.
Hopefully I’ll be adding new parks to my collection at least once a month. If you live in the Metroplex and you have a favorite park that you’d like to see recognized here, feel free to leave a note in the comments.
Happy trails!
An Invincible Summer 