Parks and Playgrounds in Forney, Crandall and Heartland: The Fall Guide
September through November is the best outdoor stretch of the year in Kaufman County. Not too hot, not yet dark at five. Here’s where to go.
Forney Community Park
The City of Forney runs 242 acres of parkland, and 84% of it is at Forney Community Park. It’s not close between this park and everything else in town.
What’s there:
- Splash pad (seasonal — see below)
- Playgrounds
- Soccer fields
- Baseball / softball fields
- Hiking trails
- Tennis courts
- Spillman Amphitheater
It’s the default after-school and Saturday destination in Forney, and on a nice October evening it’s busy. The trails are the underused part — most people come for the playground and never walk the loop.
The Splash Pad Closes September 7
Worth putting on the calendar. The splash pad runs Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, daily 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Labor Day 2026 is Monday, September 7.
After that, free outdoor water in Forney is done until next May. Get the last few weekends in.
Bell Park
Small, historic, and a completely different kind of place — southwest corner of Trinity and Bois d’Arc downtown. A gazebo, a fountain, and benches. Not a playground destination; a nice fifteen minutes if you’re already downtown.
Heartland
Heartland is its own ecosystem, and it’s a large one: over 400 acres of parks and picnic areas, a 35-acre stocked lake with a fishing pier, and miles of hike and bike trails.
Two amenity compounds:
Heartland Park — three pools (junior-Olympic, volleyball, tot), basketball court, baseball and soccer fields, and the Pirate’s Cove playground.
The Oasis — two 30-foot waterslides, three pools, splash pad, playground, outdoor game room, snack bar, a 5,000 sq ft event center, and a 6,000 sq ft fitness center.
The stocked lake is the thing outsiders don’t know about. A fishing pier and a 35-acre lake is a legitimate weekly activity for a kid, and it costs nothing.
Remember that Heartland is Crandall ISD, not Forney ISD — it catches new residents every year. Which district serves which neighborhood.
Crandall
Crandall’s park system is smaller and more neighborhood-scaled, which for elementary-age kids is often the point — you can walk to it. The city’s fields also host a share of the rec-league schedule.
Using Parks as Actual Exercise
Two things that work if you’re trying to combine kid time with your own training:
Walk the loop while they play. The Forney Community Park trails circle back on themselves. Twenty minutes of walking laps while the kids are on the playground is twenty minutes you didn’t have. We wrote about walking trails in the area previously.
Use the fields when nobody’s on them. Empty soccer fields between 3:30 and 5 are the best free interval-training surface in the county. Sprints, carries, sled-less pushes — grass is easier on your knees than the road.
What Parks Can’t Do
Two things, honestly:
Strength. Parks give you cardio and play. They don’t give you progressive loading, and after about age 35 that’s the part that determines how you feel at 60. Bodyweight work plateaus fast. If you want the details, we covered progressive overload and why strength training matters after 40.
December through February. The outdoor plan works beautifully for about ten more weeks and then the weather takes it away. That’s exactly when a lot of people’s routines fall apart — the ones who make it through winter set up the indoor version in the fall, not in January.
The Indoor Version
We’re at 127 E US Highway 80 in Forney, about five minutes from Forney Community Park and twelve to fifteen from most of Heartland. Over 10,000 sq ft, full free-weight floor, machines, infrared saunas, locker rooms with showers. Open 5 a.m.–11 p.m. Monday–Thursday, 5 a.m.–10 p.m. Friday, 6 a.m.–9 p.m. weekends.
The Kids Zone — ages 1–11, Monday–Saturday 8 a.m.–1 p.m. and weekdays 4–8 p.m., two hours per child per day — is the indoor equivalent of “the kids are occupied while I do something.”
The Kids Zone is a supervised play area for parents exercising at TX Fitness — not a licensed child-care facility, and not regulated by the State of Texas.
$19 every two weeks for an adult; family plans from $31 with no annual fee. 7-day free trial, no card required.
Where We Are
127 E US Highway 80, Forney, TX 75126 — south side of the highway. Serving Heartland, Crandall, and Talty.
Questions? Call (972) 564-0909.
Park details compiled August 2026 from City of Forney and Heartland community published information. Splash pad dates and park hours change — confirm with forneytx.gov or call the city at 972-552-6675.