I've always been to Deussen park from my childhood age and I still go now. They have made such a…read moregreat improvement and it's still a great park spot. We like this dog spot for our puppy. I forgot to take the picture of the river area but it's a nice relaxing spot.

No one, and I mean no one (in my circles) has ever referred to this park by its full name. We…read morealways just refer to it as Deussen Park. That said, Alexander Deussen was an important geologist who basically donated the land on which this park is situated. What sets this park apart from most parks in the metropolis is the expansive acreage, dark green verdant scenery, forest-like quality and its proximity to Lake Houston. Most parks in Houston have the concrete jungle as a backdrop or, in the case of Memorial Park, are located near highways or major thoroughfares. However, Deussen Park is one of those parks you can kind of disappear into and get lost in away from the chaos and everyday randomness of urban life. I've been here for BBQs and other gatherings, but would like to attend a concert here one day. If you just want to escape the big city, this is one of the best places to go.

Checked out Sheldon Lake State Park after seeing it nearby. It's not a fully developed park, rather…read moreit's a collection of former fish hatcheries that have been returned to nature + walking trails + wetlands. There is no entrance fee and you're able to fish from the shoreline without a fishing license. The park is open from 8am-5pm. There's only about 2 miles worth of easy, paved trails. The main attraction is their observation tower that has an elevator that took us to the top. Up there, we saw the Houston skyline, oil refineries, and the other areas of the park we can't get to by foot. There are occasionally some ranger programs that the park rangers host. Because this park is classified as a not for profit park, they don't sell any gifts or souvenirs. They do have a park stamp though if you're interested in adding to your Texas State Parks Passport stamp collection. Even though this place doesn't offer many of the bells and whistles of other parks, the free admission makes it accessible to anyone seeking to get away from the "busyness" of life.

This is one of the Texas State parks that is free without the TX State Park pass and doesn't allow…read moreindividual camping. They only have group camping onsite and the campsites are not private, but very close together. Located in an unincorporated community just right off of Beltway 8 and US-90 Highway is Sheldon, TX which isn't too far from East Houston. Sheldon Lake isn't as kept up as Brazos Bend State Park in Needville or Stephen F. Austin in San Felipe, TX (which are closer state parks near Houston worth checking out); I did notice that since the park is considered free, hooligans feel the need to vandalize educational outdated posters on the tower and carve their names into trees which serve no purpose. I had the pleasure of meeting one of the park rangers, Tori who mentioned that the park was special to her. She was going around the park to assessing things that needed to be completed and worked on. This is one of the underrated parks that is home to ecological habitats of wetlands, bottomland woods, and coastal prairies. Driving to the park on Garrett Road, to your right, you'll see Sheldon Reservior. Seeing the trees on the reservior reminded me of the bald cypress at Caddo Lakes State park in Karnack, TX. Big and sunken into the swampy waters. Climbing several stairs to get to the top of the 82-floor tower was exciting because the view was stunning. There are placemarkers on the floor that indicate at which area that you stand you can see the Houston Ship Channel, the San Jacinto Monument, Houston Skyline, bayous, and views of the park. The elevator looked to be out of commission for a while as it was boarded up. There were giant solar panels generating the Mitsubusi Generators behind the towers. The trails are flat and gravel based; they are easy to manever for able-bodied and handicapped accessible individuals. There aren't any traditional trail markers located through the park which can be a bit confusing if you have trouble with reading a maps or don't have a sense of direction due to a lack of spatial awareness, then you may get lost. Not to worry because the park is very small and each trail isn't too long. The main trails always lead back to the parking lot. Each trail at this park doesn't extend past 0.8 miles. Unlike many others TX State parks, the Civilian Conservation Corps didn't build anything on-site at Sheldon Lake. This is definitely not one of my favorite state parks within our state that I've visisted, but it isn't bad to come here for a quick hike and to relax. It wasn't very crowded like it would be at Enchanted Rock located in Fredricksburg, TX or even Inks Lake in Burnet, TX. The park is very simple and needs some extra work to make it shine like the other TPWD parks.

We came here this morning to walk and it is a nice park. I like the walking trail but I definitely…read morethink it is safer to go with someone else or while there is light. The nature scenery is beautiful and the playground is nice. I did not use the restrooms but they looked clean. I would definitely like to bring my dog to the dog park area.

This is a great park! There are two dog areas, one for large breeds and another area for small…read morebreeds, both have dog washing stations that are gated. The playground is one of a kind, my kids love it. There is a small pond with lily pads covering the top and beautiful coi fish. The pond has a railed walking path through it that has a few benches throughout. Catch and release fishing is allowed. There are several alligator warning signs however I've never seen any myself but I spoke to a couple people there that say they have in fact spotted the alligators near the water a time or two. This is a nice place to have a birthday party because there is a covered pavilion with picnic tables underneath and plenty of space for games and even to hang a piñata. There are bathrooms with water fountains and they are always clean and well-kept. Definitely recommend this park.

This past weekend, my dog, Sneakers and I were in Baytown, TX checking out W.L Jenkins Park. This…read morepark is a true hidden gem and has an expansive gravel trail that covers 3+ miles into open space and connects into another nearby park. Also, there's a large and small dog park with good sturdy doggie bags with handles. I loved this park so much that Sneakers and I spent hours hiking and relaxing. We covered 4.2 miles. I wanted to share this hidden gem with y'all since I was surprised that Baytown has such a fun park!!

Beautiful little park here in Baytown. Clean and quiet with lots to do. Splash pads, playgrounds,…read moredisc golf, skate park, softball / baseball fields, soccer, fitness area, dog park and walking trails. I think I got em all. Oh well. Get your lazy butt out and enjoy this little gem. Go explore before you can't.

Nice wooded area with some water access but super ghetto and not very well managed especially in…read morethe interior parking lot and surrounding space. Fine to bike through but there's trash everywhere in the woods

Dwight D. Eisenhower Park is a great park that was a recent find for us! Sitting at 682 acres, this…read moreis a large park featuring multiple forested hiking trails that you could easily spend a couple of hours exploring. We loved the multitude of hiking trails here varying from less than 0.5 miles to 3.2 miles, but wish there was a map to help guide us as we hiked. As hard as we looked, we couldn't find a single hiking trail map within the park including at the trailheads! Luckily, there were clear trail markers (yellow arrows) on all the trails. As one might expect, there's plenty of wildlife - including snakes here. We ran into a harmless ribbon snake crossing the path on the Palmetto Loop Trail! Important Tip: bring your hiking shoes! We love our Merrell Waterproof Moab hiking shoes. If it's recently rained you'll be trekking through some mud and puddles. This also looks like a great place to fish! It's best known for catching rainbow trout.

Place is awesome when there are zero to very little photographers on the premises…read more Its a wonderful loop to escape the rat race of the city.

Great park to stretch your legs in! I was there today and saw a nice big buck deer near the parking…read morelot. I walked some trails, the river nearby was very calm and almost like glass. Lots of birds and other wildlife along the river bank. We had to climb over a big tree that had fallen across the raised walkway.

A curious thing happens at Lake Houston Wilderness Park, where proximity to the city gives way to…read morereprieve. Though it is close to Houston, the park is improbably remote, as if distance were measured in mood rather than miles. The warm breeze softens, noise recedes, senses are redirected. Toward birdsong. Wind through pines. The quiet rhythm of the forest. The landscape reflects calm. Preserved through the foresight of George Mitchell, the visionary behind The Woodlands (once the largest master-planned community in the world), the park is a legacy of thoughtful design.

I'm sure I'm going to offend some people with this review but let me preface it by saying that…read morehiking in the Houston and surrounding areas tends to be a "what you make of it" proposition because we don't have any nice bodies of water (sorry, a bayou doesn't count), mountains, waterfalls, or even a real hill. I get that and I am not comparing this park to the PNW, but even in the context of "It may not be the best place to hike, but it's the best we've got", this is a pretty unremarkable and boring park for hiking. I'm sorry, it just is, and it's not worth the drive unless you happen to live in the area and have no other place to go. The name of the park is Lake Houston Wilderness Park but you don't see Lake Houston from here and in the 10.5 mile hike around the Ameritrail, I did not see one single bit of wildlife- not even a bird. How does a park with so many trees not even have birds? I mean don't get me wrong, I'm glad I didn't run into any snakes or even a single mosquito either but how is it possible that even wildlife don't come to this park? For the $3 cover charge, at least I got plenty of exercise but I might as well been at the Houston Arboretum since it's closer and they actually have turtles and birds and such to see. This was just a long walk without any bathrooms or rest stops along the way and you can get that anywhere. I guess if you are there for camping or the other activity they offer, it might be worth it but if you're going to do that, why not just go to Brazos Bend where they have some interesting stuff going on too?

We loved this park, camping and the trails and the food trucks and the slides for the kids were all…read moregreat! Will be back soon!

Had an AMAZING TIME, cam here on a trip with my girls and we all had a blast! We are so grateful to…read moreour guide who we unfortunately did not get the name of but he was super sweet and gave us an amazing experience around the property! It will be a core memory forever !