Sometimes, the best things in life are free, and Plano, Texas, is full of awesome free things to do. Stroll around downtown Plano and check out the public art, or take the family to the skate park for a day of fun. At Huffines Chevrolet Plano, we want to share our list of free entertainment spots in Plano for everyone to enjoy. Make sure to stop by our dealership to check out our inventory of the latest car models to help you get around town and experience the following free entertainment destinations.
Carpenter Park Skate Park
Image via Flickr by Treefort Photo Dept
Also known as the Skate Park at Carpenter Park, the skate park is located in the southeast corner of the park and brings together bowl skating and street skating features. The park is designed to accommodate skaters of all levels, from beginner to expert. Its terrain begins at the parking lot on Colt Road and extends all the way to the middle of the park. The skate park is one of the largest bowl complexes in the Dallas and Fort Worth area.
Skaters get to enjoy features that include different coping sizes on quarter pipes, rails, ledges, and manual pads, a Maloof ledge and rail, and down-rail options of square tubing or round pipe. There are return banks that allow for stopping and starting just about anywhere within the park, and there are two sets of stairs, including one with a London Gap feature.
The bowling complex features a shallow end with steel coping and a deep end with concrete pool skate park coping. There are two waterfalls between the three central depths of the bowl. The bowl is 5 feet deep at the shallow end and 10.5 feet deep at the deep end. There are varying depths throughout.
The skate park is open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. You can visit the website or call ahead to reserve a spot for your next outing.
Downtown Plano Arts District
Downtown Plano features buildings that date back to the early 1870s, including commercial buildings, theaters, historic homes, and a plaza. The district’s streets are paved in brick, which gives it a historic charm that sets the stage for the arts district. You’ll find 10 public art pieces including murals and sculptures, throughout the district along with artist storefronts, including a pottery, art center, the Plano Art Association, portrait painters, and more.
The district is also home to events throughout the year that include an art and wine walk, Asiafest, Steinfest, Apparition Expedition, and Courtyard Texas Music Series to name a few. Viewing the public art is free as is the window shopping, and many of the events held in the district are free to enter.
Interurban Railway Museum
The Interurban Railway Museum is a free history museum owned by the City of Plano and operated by the Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc. The museum’s primary point of interest is Historic Car 360 displayed outside the museum on its own stretch of track. The museum itself is a former train station that was completed in 1908 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
The museum is based on the Texas Electric Railway, an interurban railway that ran between Dallas, Corsicana, Denison, and Waco. It once consisted of over 200 miles of a track until the rise of the automobile cut into the line’s profitability, causing it to close in 1948. The museum opened a little less than 60 years later and is focused on preserving the history of the railway through interactive exhibits that explain the operation of the railway, events that took place on and around the trains, and local events that were made possible by the existence of the interurban railway.
Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve
Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve is one of Plano’s best-kept secrets. It’s full of native flora and fauna that are frequently visible from the trails. The 800-acre preserve is designed to give plants, trees, wildlife, and birds a place to call home. It has almost 8 miles of concrete trails that are easy to traverse and 5 miles of soft-surface trails alongside Rowlett Creek. Bikers, hikers, and horseback riders are welcome to use the trails while kayakers, canoes, and paddleboarders can bring their own watercraft to the pond and enjoy a day on the water.
Before you go, make sure to download the free maps, documents, and guides to your phone for reference. The guides include plant and tree identification, guidelines for using the soft trail, where to park horse trailers, and a map of the tracks. You can use the PDF documents offline and not worry about getting lost if your phone signal drops during your walk.
The website for the park points out that there are venomous snakes and wildlife that call the preserve their home. The park advises visitors to keep an eye out for them for personal safety. Always make sure to bring bug spray for your personal comfort and defense against biting insects. You can also visit Arbor Hills Nature Preserve.
Free Concerts at Haggard Park
Haggard Park in downtown Plano plays host to the Plano Community Band for their summer concert series. The band plays its summer series starting in early June and finishes around the middle of July each year. Performances are held every two weeks on Monday for a total of four performances. The music selection sometimes revolves around a theme, and sometimes a guest band takes the place of the Plano Community Band. Performances are always free, and all are welcome.
That wraps up our list of free entertainment destinations in Plano, Texas. Did we miss an event that you feels belongs on the list? Get in touch with us and we’ll be sure to add it to our list. At Huffines Chevrolet Plano, we want to make our neighborhood a great place to live by giving back to the community that has trusted us and kept our business going.