Dallas is a pretty green city when it comes to parks.

In fact, Dallas is ranked third in the state and 43rd in the nation when it comes to green space — 73% of Dallas’ entire population live within 10 minutes of a park! It’s even more impressive when you learn that a decade ago, that number hovered around a mere 53%. 

Building parks isn’t easy, especially in already-established metropolitan areas with limited available space. If there’s anything that “Parks & Recreation” taught us, it’s that a much-needed park can still take years to get approved, established and completed. The answer for many cities, then, has been small pocket parks!

But, what is a pocket park, anyway?

A pocket park is like a regular park, just a wee bit smaller, and dropped right into the middle of an urban area. These parks usually have a tiny footprint, sometimes no bigger than a house lot, and pop up in often-unexpected places; an old parking lot, an empty traffic circle, a corner lot — you name it!

These little green spaces are places to take a breather for us busy folks. They're where you can escape the noise, take a quick break or just enjoy some fresh air during your day. They may not have the size and facilities of a large, acres-wide park, but they’re certainly better than nothing at all!

Pocket parks come in all shapes and sizes, from a simple bench alongside a tree to a patch of grass overlooking the water to something fancy with water features or a playground. They can be publicly- or privately-owned, and they can take as much or as little space as they want. Sometimes they feature art, sometimes they have a playground, sometimes they have nothing at all!

Typically, though, a true pocket park is under a quarter of an acre in size, though that doesn’t mean small parks can’t hold the same value as pocket parks! 

Here are a few pocket parks or pocket-sized parks in Dallas that offer much-needed breaths of fresh air and green space to the city’s many residents.

5 tiny Dallas parks

Abrams Road Triangles 

This set of two small roadside slivers of greenery are home to a pair of columns detailing persons and places of local historical importance. There are some benches, some nice lawns and pathways running through these small parks — all you need for a quick stop for fresh air!

Harrell Park 

This little park in Lakewood is named for a pharmacist who, back in the early days of Lakewood, owned a locally-beloved drug store in the center of town. Though the pharmacy is no longer around — it used to be a staple of the Lakewood shopping center and a neighbor to the Lakewood Theater — old E.C. “doc” Harrell is memorialized with this slice of greenery featuring tall oaks shading a circle of park benches. 

Monarch Park

This small park is the perfect example of using limited space wisely. 

Featuring a playground, two painted murals, a sidewalk, benches, lawns, a basketball court and plenty of shade, Monarch Park boasts a lot for just half an acre of space! 

Pegasus Plaza 

Pocket parks often have unique features, and Pegasus Plaza certainly does!

This Downtown Dallas pocket park is built around a small hot spring fountain, and the story that goes along with it is pretty neat. 

You’re probably already familiar with the giant red Pegasus perched on the Magnolia Building downtown which, back when the neon winged creature was first lit in 1934, was one of the tallest structures in the city! You can read more about the Big Neon Red Pegasus here.

Anywho. There’s a Greek myth about the hero Perseus defeating Medusa, the snake-haired woman who could turn people to stone with a single look. When Perseus cut off her head, a Pegasus burst from the severed neck and jumped out. Every time the winged horse struck its hoof on the ground a spring would burst forth in the same way the Pegasus burst forth from Medusa. 

A pretty wild backstory for this little Dallas Park, to be sure! The spring that bursts forth from Pegasus Plaza is a bona-fide natural mineral spring that was tapped during the Magnolia Building’s construction back in the 1930s, and the snake-like, labyrinthian design elements surrounding the fountain echo the ancient story of the Greek myth. 

All in a half-acre piece of greenery in the heart of Downtown Dallas! Neat, huh?

Stone Park

This teeny tiny park is really not much bigger than a stone — making it a perfect park to add to our list!

At a whopping .1 acres in size, Stone Park includes a few benches, a bike rack, some lawn and plenty of shade, all nestled in a sliver of land near Stevens Park Golf Course. 

These small parks may not have the footprint of Fair Park or the grandeur of the event-filled Klyde Warren Park, but pocket parks serve an important role in our busy, urban lives. They give us a chance to touch grass, get out in the sun and breathe some fresh air no matter the situation — and isn’t that what all parks should do, anyway?

If you live in or near our Dallas apartments, then keep an eye out for these parks or other slices of greenery tucked in neighborhoods around Dallas!

Enjoy!

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Featured photo by Sergey Lapunin on Unsplash