Discovering your Town Series: Dayspring Nature Preserve, Allen

If you are looking for a wooded greenbelt and trees that evoke images of the East coast, you should explore Dayspring Nature Preserve in Allen. This is a 26 acre wooded preserve along Watters Creek. The City of Allen has done a superb job of building neat bridges, lookout points and well placed seating spaces to sit and enjoy the greenery, the sounds of the creek and the majestic trees. 

The entire route is not wooded - parts of the trails pass through local parks, along backyards, and along a quiet road for a short stretch.  The stretch of the trail that runs behind Boon Elementary is, hands down, the prettiest part of the trail. 

In Fall this stretch has gorgeous fall colors and evokes memories of  the north east with its towering trees, boardwalks, and thickly wooded areas.

This is a lovely trail that everyone's sure to enjoy!

Discovering Your Town Series: The Trail at the Woods, Allen

It's easy to miss the entrance to The Trail at the Woods if you blink too fast. The entrance is in a suburban residential community, right off of a main thoroughfare into the community. 

The trail starts off Rollins Dr, between Longwood and Belhaven Dr. You are plunged right away into a dense hardwood forest. The homes are just a stone's throw away but the dense, lush forest simply transports you to a faraway place. 

The trail is a wide paved path but halfway through, you can stroll through smaller, dirt paths that are basically interpretive trails. These are well marked and have informative signage that identifies the trees and plant life in that area. These rough trails are the best part of the Trail at the Woods as they take you deeper into the woodlands and close to Rowlett Creek. There are several lookout points to take in the pretty creek views. 

The Wetland trail snakes through swampy land that is important to the ecosystem of this area. There is a small, rough hewn amphitheater with chunky stone benches - a great place to have a campfire if you want to venture out for a night hike and experience the woodlands after dark. Another interpretive trail is the Pecan Grove trail  - a  dense, wooded trail that loops around back to the main trail.

You can continue on the main trail for about 1/ 2 a mile until it reaches Alma Dr. Once past Alma, the trail connects eventually to the Connemara Nature Preserve, a 72 acre natural habitat filled that is abundant in wildlife, birds, and plant life. But that will be another post.

Stone benches scattered through the trail to rest and experience the habitat

Rowlett Creek Views

Amphitheater

Discovering my Town Series: Bethany Lakes Park, Allen

The city of Allen has a network of gorgeous trails and parks and Bethany Lakes is one of those gems - an oasis  in the middle of a busy town.
This is a 40 acre park with all the facilities like sports and picnic sites. But what I love about this place are the picturesque ponds, trails, the board walk, and the variety of birds that the foliage and the water body attracts.

A serene pond at sunset

The resident Great Blue heron

Snow Goose

Seagulls

Norther Shoveler

Ring Necked Duck

Widgeon

One of the best times to visit is during sunset. The beauty of the amazing Texas sunsets are magnified in this picturesque park. The trails are rather short but if you are looking to enjoy the great weather, the wildlife and take in the sunset then this is the perfect spot for you.