Just 2 miles from Box K Ranch, the Collin County Outer Loop is a 55-mile planned multi-modal transportation facility that will ultimately go from the Denton/Collin County line, through cities including Celina, Weston, Anna, Melissa, Farmersville, Josephine and Royse City, to the Rockwall/Collin County line. The facility will include a freeway with a wide area in the center reserved as a future rail corridor.

Here is an interactive map of the new loop.

Box K sits only 4 miles from the NETT, which is a 130-mile shot across the forests and fields of seven counties throughout Texas. Some of it’s paved; other portions are much rougher. It zips in and out of remote farming towns with names like Pecan Gap and Ben Franklin, crossing swollen creeks on wooden trestles where trains once came rolling round the bend. The NETT starts in Farmersville, an hour or so northeast of Dallas, and ends in New Boston, eight miles from the Arkansas border on the Red River.

See more from Texas Monthly here.

Visit the website and trail map here.

A 436-acre preserve located in northeast Collin County. The park features a 52-acre relic of the Blackland tall-grass prairie and provides magnificent views of the countryside, much like those viewed by early settlers more than 100 years ago. Covered pavilions with cook pits and restroom facilities are available.

Wildflowers on the prairie include Prairie Parsley, Wild Petunia, Indian Paintbrush, Winecup, Prairie Clover, Meadow Pinks, Purple Coneflower, Mexican Hat, Gay Feather, Azure Sage, Golden Rod and Asters.

Parkhill Prairie is open for day use only from sunrise to sundown.

Nestled only about 20 minutes from Box K Ranch, Lavon Lake is a fishing, kayaking and hiking haven. Locals recommend Lake Lavon Dam and Lavonia Park for the best fishing, where crappie, blue catfish, white bass, channel catfish, largemouth bass, spotted bass and others are found.

Fore more information, visit here.

A 75-acre hike/bike trail located between Princeton and Farmersville, adjacent to Lake Lavon. The primitive trail is open for day use only for hiking and off-road biking. This is a great little hidden away park on the very northern tip of Lake Lavon.

Known for Sister Grove Park Trail, the trail has an established community of hikers and bikers who continuously come back to explore the 7.6 miles of adventurous trails. It consists of four loops, Puppy, Safari, Lake, and Sister. All of the loop run clockwise.

Here is more info on biking the trails.

Here is more info on hiking them.