Outdoors in DFW: Erwin Park
Outdoors is Better Than Indoors
Campfire Guy here. Some of my favorite memories growing up took place in the great outdoors. While I never had the pleasure of being chased by a bald headed bear or matching wits with trash can-dwelling raccoons, I hope to pass on my love of nature to our kids.
So Much Concrete, So Little Space to Roam
Living in a suburb of Dallas,TX it’s easy to forget that there are some great places close by where you can ditch the screens and get recharged outdoors. Most of them don’t even have gift shops or food trucks. This is the first of what I hope to be many posts in a series entitled “Outdoors in DFW”.
Erwin Park, A Fantastic Place You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Back in December, I had the pleasure of spending a cold, windy day at Erwin Park in McKinney, TX. Our Boy Scout Troop holds their annual Soapbox Derby there. I knew that a Soapbox Derby required a sizeable hill, handmade cars, kids to drive them, and the Laws of Physics had to show up and cooperate.
Hiking, Biking and Picnicing, Oh My!
I’ll be honest, I’ve always thought McKinney was crammed full of housing developments and shopping malls, with nary a green space to be had. As always, I was wrong.
Not only did Erwin Park have a long, tall hill perfect for racing rickety Scout crafted driving machines, but it also boasts over 7 miles of mountain bike and hiking trails.
Special thanks to fellow Instagrammer @txtrailmix for use of the photo above!
Situated on over 200 acres, Erwin Park has nine campsites, numerous playgrounds, and three picnic pavilions. Campsites and pavilions are available for rental. Entrance to the park is free.
The day of our event, one campsite was occupied by a mountain biker. He basically had the entire park to himself once our derby wrapped up.
Erwin Park, located about 50 miles North of downtown Dallas, is a popular destination for mountain bikers, trail runners, and hikers. The trails are maintained by Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association. Campsites are first come first serve and you have to reserve them over the phone in advance.
However, If you also rent a pavilion, you get dibs on the campsites closest to the pavilion. Pavilions have restroom facilities. Campsites do not have water or power.
If you are looking to ditch the concrete jungle and get back to nature. Erwin Park is a great place to start!
Erwin Park
Website: http://www.mckinneytexas.org/885/Erwin-Park
Location: 4300 County Road 1006, McKinney, TX
Phone: 972.547.2690
Pricing
- Residents of McKinney
- Campsites – $12.50 / night
- Pavilion Rental – $30 / day
- Non Residents
- Campsites – $20 / night
- Pavilion $50 / day
Another special thanks to mountain biker, Dr. Jeff Hicken, for letting my invade his campsite to shoot photos!
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2 thoughts on “Outdoors in DFW: Erwin Park”
Have you heard of Cedar Hill, Lake Tawakoni, Ray Roberts, or Lake Whitney? Then there are Corps of Engineer Parks (our favorites) Lake Bardwell, LaVon, Lewisville, etc. From the map I can’t tell how far away they are. Most all have about three campground sites. Not to mention what’s around Marble Falls!!! Let’s go camping!! Love the pics!
Love those suggestions! Cedar Hill SP is great (so long as you don’t set your tent up on a very active black ant community). I’ve driven past, but haven’t stayed at Tawakoni, Ray Roberts and Whitney. Very pretty country around all three. We may hit up Enchanted Rock, Inks Lake or Colorado Bend this fall. We are pretty fortunate to have numerous State Parks and BSA facilities all within about a three hour drive of DFW. Daingerfield SP is another fantastic place to camp.
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