122 September 21 - 27, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER contents | shopping & services | Arts & entertAinment | Food & drink | sports & recreAtion Best Place To Pet Other PeOPle’s DOgs White Rock Lake Dog Park When you need your daily dose of cuteness, head to the 3-acre dog park at White Rock Lake. It has sections for both large and small pups, so you can mingle with all different sizes of furry friends at this off-leash park. In hotter months, dogs can cool off in the lake, at “dog-wash” stations or in several shaded areas. Other features that make this spot topnotch for canines are the water fountains, dog drinking bowls, pet waste stations and picnic tables. Find this little slice of doggy heaven on the northwest side of White Rock Lake at the intersection of Mockingbird Lane and West Lawther Drive. 8000 Mockingbird Lane Best Low-Key yOga spot Le Sol House Tired of yoga classes with pop music blaring and instructors screaming at you like a Jane Fonda workout video? Us too. That is why we love low-key yoga spots like Bishop Arts’ Le Sol House. It’s not your typical studio but more like a community center for artists, entrepreneurs and creatives, offering a variety of wellness classes and social events each month. Vintage furniture in the compound’s cafe and meeting rooms give it a cool and curated aesthetic, and the garden with chickens makes it feel more like a home than a business. They call it “part spiritual, part social,” and we couldn’t agree more. 734 W. Canty St. lesol.co/house Best ParK Griggs Park With its abundant dogs, the sounds of cars purring along Central Expressway and the sight of the downtown skyline in your peripheral vision, Griggs Park is a great place to enjoy a Dallas weekend. Maybe you’re itching to get out your spikeball set, your Frisbee is gathering dust or you want to get out your Rollerblades. (If it is the Rollerblades for you, mind the sharp turns on the downhill of the loop.) There’s even a basketball court. It’s on the outskirts of Uptown, so visitors can also walk to some food or drinks on McKinney Avenue once their Griggs adventure has concluded. 2209 Clark St. 214-670-4100, downtowndallas.com/ places/griggs-park Best Nature Preserve Arbor Hills Nature Preserve If you don’t venture north of LBJ Freeway often, Plano and natural beauty might not seem to go together all that well. Judging from the often crowded parking lot at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, however, more people continue to see the correlation. The preserve offers surprisingly hilly options for hikers and bikers with paved and off-road trails. Its observation tower affords a gorgeously sweeping panoramic view into the suburban distance. 6701 W. Parker Road, Plano Best BiKe Trails Northshore Trail We know, there isn’t really a mountain in North Texas, but there is a good bit of quality mountain biking to do. A rider looking to hit an off-road trail will not go wrong by driving a few miles west, to the midpoint between Dallas and Fort Worth, to shred the singletrack of Northshore Trail. Stretched out along the northern shores of Grapevine Lake, it’s more than 20 miles of hills, rocks, climbs, descents and jumps that rival just about any other trail in Texas. Rockledge Park, 3600 Pilot Point, Grapevine rockledgepark.com Best HiKiNg Trails Big Cedar Wilderness A wilderness … in Dallas? Yes! Earlier this year Big Cedar made some news when it was announced that it would soon likely become a city park rather than a privately owned green space. With more than 280 acres, the hills, trails and wildlife of this rugged southern Dallas gem have more than enough room for hikers and bikers alike. The highest point of the escarpment is said to be the highest point in all of Dallas, offering phenomenal views. 8991-8999 Isom Lane Best Dallas star Joe Pavelski The Stars’ exciting 2023 playoff run stopped just short of Stanley Cup glory, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a transcendent, signature moment. After missing several games over 15 days because of a gnarly concussion, Joe Pavelski, one of the oldest players in the NHL, heroically returned to score all four of his team’s goals in a gut-ripping 5-4 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken in the playoff’s second round. Two of the goals were extra-magical in that they were deflected by Captain America’s stick in a precise way few have ever mastered. That he provided the offensive and emotional boost to his team after enjoying one of the best seasons of his Hall of Fame- caliber career is even more impressive. Best Dallas Cowboy Micah Parsons When Micah Parsons was drafted out of Penn State in 2021, Cowboys fans were more curious about the defensive stud than excited about him. By the end of his rookie season, that had changed, and after his all-pro 2022 campaign, Parsons established himself as the team’s best player, regardless of position. After finishing among the league leaders in sacks with 13.5, Parsons was the runner- up for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award. The only question NFL observers have about Parsons now is just how dominant can he be? Best F.c. Dallas Player Jesus Ferreira Because he plays soccer in Texas, FC Dallas star Jesus Ferreira might be the biggest local sports superstar many in North Texas haven’t heard of. But similar to how Luka Doncic, Micah Parsons and Jason Robertson have become A-list names in their sports, the 22-year-old son of former FC Dallas MVP David Ferreira has also risen to the top of his league. After making the U.S. World Cup squad in 2022, Ferreira has continued to score tons of goals for both club and country, and he’s making people from around the globe pay attention to Texas soccer in the process. Best Texas raNger Adolis Garcia Although he’s not the biggest star or the richest player on the Rangers roster right now, it’s not a stretch to think that outfielder Adolis Garcia might just be both of those things soon enough. In only his third full season in the big leagues, the 30-year-old Cuban defector became an all-star for the second time this season while keeping pace with the league leaders in RBIs and home runs. And opposing baserunners beware: Garcia’s arm is nothing short of a cannon. If he keeps this up, he may join the elite group of one-name Rangers stars along with Pudge, Nolan and Elvis. Sports & Recreation Patrick Williams BEST PLACE TO PET OTHER PEOPLE’S DOGS White Rock Lake Dog Park
