Have fun on your date by spending time outdoors in 200-acre Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. Go for a walk along a 2.3-mile trail or take a bike ride along a 2-mile, off-road cycling trail. Go birding or spot rabbits, coyotes and bobcats from the observation tower. The Arbor Hills Nature Preserve is open daily.
In the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary, about 20 minutes from Plano in McKinney, Texas, hike on over 6.5 miles of self-guided nature trails. The 289-acre sanctuary also offers one-hour, guided, seasonal night hikes where you can hear and look for nocturnal animals. Free bird walks are also offered every second Saturday of each month. The Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary is closed on Mondays.
About 20 minutes from Plano in Dallas, you and your date will be transported back to the 11th century at Medieval Times. The two-hour dinner show features a four-course feast that you eat with your hands just like in the medieval days, medieval games and a medieval jousting tournament. You'll also find a dance floor and a full-service bar. Schedules vary and reservations may be made online.
Take your date to SpeedZone, which is also located in Dallas. Race against each other on 300-horsepower dragsters or race with up to 20 other drivers. Have fun playing video games and mini golf and riding the vertical-looping roller coaster. SpeedZone is open daily.
Seek adventure with your date in Zero Gravity Thrill Park, also in Dallas. The park, rated among the most fun things to do in Dallas, only has extreme thrill rides. Experience a seven-story drop bungee jump, a 16-story free fall, a ride that blasts you straight up at 70 mph and a ride where you spin with four Gs of force 165 feet off the ground. Zero Gravity is open daily.
If you and your date are sports enthusiasts, you'll have fun watching different sporting events near Plano. See the Dallas Stars play hockey from September through April or the Dallas Mavericks play basketball from October through April at American Airlines Center in Dallas. About 25 minutes away in Frisco, Texas, watch a Roughriders baseball game from April to September in Dr. Pepper Ballpark. On a Friday or Saturday night from April through September, you and your date can have fun eating home-cooked barbecue, listening to live music and watching pro-cowboy competitions in Mesquite Championship Rodeo, about 30 minutes away in Mesquite, Texas.
Attend fun special events with your date in Plano. Celebrate the annual Plano Balloon Festival with your date in September. On its 32nd year in 2011, the three-day event features skydivers, hot air balloons, concerts, vendors and food booths. Also in May, you and your date can attend the North Texas Beer Festival, where you can sample the beers and vote for your favorite, attend workshops, attend classes on cooking with beer, listen to live music and buy beer and food in the outdoor beer garden. You must be at least 21 years old to attend this event.
