98 BEST OF DALLAS® 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS & RECREATION | FOOD & DRINK | SHOPPING & SERVICES | READERS’ CHOICE | CONTENTS and green year-round. A small lake denotes the park itself, and miles of trails run along- side the nearby river. In contrast to the serene setting, the park has one of the best views of downtown. The stone cow statues sprinkled across the park feel right at home in the pas- toral space, and for budding birders, egret sightings are practically guaranteed. BEST PARK Halperin Park 626 S R.L. Thornton Freeway, Dallas halperinpark.org The newest Dallas deck park stretches five acres of green space across I-35E near the Dallas Zoo in an effort to sort of stitch Oak Cliff back together after decades of division. There are splash-worthy water features, a treehouse-themed playground and a rooftop terrace that delivers sweeping views of downtown and Fair Park. You can compare it to Klyde Warren Park, but it’s not the same thing, primarily because of the oft-over- looked area it’s located in. BEST YOGA STUDIO FOR BEGINNERS Black Swan Yoga Multiple locations blackswanyoga.com/markets/dallas Nobody tells you that your first yoga class will involve sweating through your shirt while a stranger folds into a pretzel three feet away. Black Swan Yoga fixes that with beginner classes. That doesn’t mean they’re necessar- ily easy, just nicer, as the instructors actually teach you pose alignment instead of assum- ing you were born knowing what “downward dog” means. It’s donation-based, so nobody’s judging your $8 contribution or your wobbly tree pose if that’s the best you can do. BEST REFORMER PILATES STUDIO Jungle 200 N. Bishop Ave., Dallas junglestudiofitness.com Jungle has been one of the best Pilates stu- dios in Dallas since they opened in Bishop Arts in 2022. But they only offered mat classes until they opened a reformer studio not too far from the original location, and another at their Fort Worth studio. The re- former studio has the same relaxing en- ergy as its predecessor, making working out a treat instead of torture. The instruc- tors are well-versed, and more impor- tantly, welcoming. In a city with a Pilates studio on every corner, head to this one in Bishop Arts. BEST MAT PILATES STUDIO MoveStudio 18484 Preston Road, Dallas movestudio.com MoveStudio has been a Far North Dallas mainstay for years, and its mat Pilates classes are the reason regulars keep coming back. Sessions focus on controlled, precise movement that builds a strong core, im- proves posture and boosts mobility. Instruc- tors bring real expertise, from kinesiology degrees to specialized certifications, and know how to modify for every body, whether you’re rehabbing an injury or chas- ing a deeper burn. BEST EXERCISE CLASS Training Mate 4823 Bryan St., Dallas trainingmate.com/studios/east-dallas/ Here you can forget everything you hate about HIIT class. No barking instructors, no judgy looks – just stations of controlled chaos and vocal encouragement. Training Mate mixes stationary bikes, medicine balls and weights into a heart-pounding, muscle-ripping sweat sesh that somehow still feels like torture. The Bryan Street stu- dio has turned East Dallas into a mate-making machine, one brutal 45-min- ute class at a time. BEST WAVE POOL SURFING Popstroke 5770 Grandscape Boulevard, The Colony popstroke.com/venues/dallas-the-colony Do not adjust your eyes, and do not shoot us an email telling us this is a typo. You read this correctly. Kickass surfing is going down in the northern ‘burbs at a fancy schancy mini-golf place. It was a bummer to see Fireside Surf in The Colony go dark. Strolling the Grandscape grounds on a sunny day and catching beach vibes was always fun in the middle of a concrete jungle, but those days are back now that neighboring attraction Popstroke, complete with its Tiger Woods-designed course, took over their wavey neighbor, renaming it The Surf Lounge at Popstroke in March. BEST OUTDOOR ROCK CLIMBING WORTH THE DRIVE Eisenhower State Park 50 Park Road 20, Denison tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/eisenhower Just 75 minutes north of Dallas, on the shores of Lake Texoma near the Oklahoma border, Eisenhower State Park offers a full day of thrilling bouldering with over 100 dif- ferent routes. The park’s crazy mix of lime- stone and sandstone makes for a genuinely unique climbing experience, and most of the boulders sit right along the lake’s shoreline, so you can cool off between climbs. The park charges just a $5 day-use fee and wel- comes climbers with a crash pad. It’s rug- ged, low-traffic, and proof that Dallas climbers don’t need to drive to Colorado for a real day outdoors. BEST INDOOR ROCK CLIMBING Movement Plano 525 Talbert Drive, Plano movementgyms.com For North Texas climbers, Movement Plano is as good as it gets. The 32,000-square-foot facility packs in 5,000 square feet of boul- dering and 20,000 square feet of top-rope, lead and auto-belay climbing. Routes here will challenge everyone, from first-timers to competitive climbing veterans. A 55-foot lead wall anchors the space, while the mez- zanine adds a kids’ area, fitness equipment, and training boards for dialing in technique. Add a full yoga studio and co-working space, and it’s less a gym, more a climbing home base. BEST BIKE SHOP Trek Bicycle Dallas Park Cities 7015 Snider Plaza, Dallas trekbikes.com/us/en_US/retail/dallas_ park_cities/ Nestled in Snider Plaza — where the parking lot alone probably has a higher GDP than most small countries — Trek Park Cities doesn’t feel terribly Park Cities. The staff there will happily help you out even if your bike cost less than their espresso machine. Quick service turnaround times on bikes, often without any appointment, are as rare these days as they are wonderful. There are trails nearby, so you can test-ride your purchase immediately. Rich neighborhood, refreshingly unpretentious bike shop. Photo by Bill Tatham / Image courtesy of Halperin Park Halperin Park Photo by Michael Emery Hecker / Courtesy of Movement Movement Plano