Free - park on the side of the road and take pictures. There are lots of photo ops! Just watch…read moreout for the bugs

It has been said the "Eclectic Menagerie" exists simply to make commuters smile and I totally agree…read morewith that statement. Most of the "art" on display were made by welder Ron Lee, a more than 50-year veteran employee of Texas Pipe and Supply. A true artist-in-residence, Lee, who passed away in 2017, never exhibited his work anywhere else other pieces were made by light metals artist Mark Rankin. No new works have been added since Lee's death so now comes the rest of the story or in short why is this display of roadside oddities is so cool and turns the heads of every traveler on TX-288. The Eclectic Menagerie is "quintessential Houston art--rough, ready, and right there on the roadside for your viewing pleasure" and in my opinion simply irresistible and totally FREE. Just a reminder this is private property so although there are no "no "trespassing" signs that I could see it's important to respect the property so uncontrolled access continues for school children, little old ladies and anyone else like me who appreciates the utter oddness of walking among the legs of a sculpted steel spider as big as a house and other monoliths of gargantuan proportions. They say everything's bigger in Texas, I'd say this validate that...

Before I step out of my car to check out a new park, I verify Braeburn Glen Park on Google Maps…read morefirst. I thought this was a huge park with all the green filled area on the map. Well, guess what? Not so. It is only a 10th of this green space. Majority of green space belongs to Braes Bayou trail. Being on the south of Lee LeClear Tennis Center, they share a brand new parking lot. I consider this as a neighborhood park, because there's no restroom. The entire area is enclosed by a chain-link fence. It kind of set my mind set to beware of my surrounding. I'm only here during a bright sunny Friday afternoon with few people in the park. Park users don't generally drive. (Hint hint). They use park benches to take naps. (Hint hint). Trash can be scattered near trash bins. Ok. Not everyone is neat. But I feel pretty comfortable walk my laps. Oh, watch out for a giant crack on the asphalt trail near compressor building. This park is covered by mature trees. I like to walk during hot days, because it's cool.

Let's just get a few things out of the way. This neighborhood is no longer one of Houston's finest,…read moreand the park itself could use a little TLC. But if you're looking for a place to park your car and hop onto the bayou trail and run or ride your bike, this is the spot. From this park, we were able to ride our bikes down Brays Bayou all the way to Hermann Park, have a nice lunch, and ride back - about 25 miles total. So yeah, the park is meh. But it's a trailhead, and the trail is awesome. Of course, as I write this, the trail is all torn up as Houston widens Brays Bayou... but the trail will return.

A peaceful, lovely set of trails along a creek, reminding us of the Houston before urbanization…read more The Houston Audubon Society maintains it and the number of bird species there is quite stunning. One key: feel free to park at the church around the corner. There is a "back entrance" trail leading from the church parking lot to the nature sanctuary.

God bless Edith Moore for donating this beautiful sanctuary to the Audubon Society. The Moore's…read moreincredible log cabin still stands and is open to visitors to read up on the history and the many species of wildlife. The volunteer staff there does an amazing job. The sanctuary is deceptively large with a great trail system. You will get both a good work out and pictures of nature. This truly is a hidden gem in Houston. Species we saw: Hermit Thrush, Carolina Wrens, Robins, Cardinals, Downy Woodpecker, Spotted Gars, Broad Banded Water Snakes, Broad Headed Skink, Five Line Skink, Red Eared Pond Slider, Eastern Mud Turtle, Green Darner, Yellow Crowned Night Heron, Morning Doves, White Winged Doves, Blue Catfish, Eastern Grey Squirrels, and the biggest Swamp Rabbit I've ever seen.

This park has many names. If you used Google Map to get here, you'll find Brays Bayou Park on the…read moreGPS. But the sign says Harris County Stein Family Park. So, someone at HQ needs to update the name to something other than Harris County. Anyhow, I come here to park my car and ride on the bike trail on the opposite end of Brays Bayou. It's the beginning of the trail system. But parking is scarce. I can only come here on my weekdays off. There's no way to exercise at this tiny park. It has a paved asphalt path of less than 100 feet long and 10 feet wide. It's like a long driveway. It has a gully at the end of this fenced pavement. It's fun to watch hundreds of birds playing on the bayou bed. No, you can't go down there to play with them. The major attractions of Stein Family Park are the giant play area surrounded by well-maintained grassy area. I talked to a maintenance guy. He said the entire play area is available for rent. Besides play sets, there are picnic tables, BBQ stands and fully functional restrooms. He told me he comes daily. I don't know the cost, but you can find it by calling the number on the sign.

The park is cool. My daughter loves it. I wish they had a sidewalk trail type around the play area…read morelike other parks I've gone too of my exercise purposes. But other than that, it's pretty nice. There's a large field for people to play soccer, football, tag, etc. There are multiple attractions for the kiddos to enjoy themselves. There's a covering over benches so you can have parties. Finally, it's always well maintained when my daughter & I visit this park.

Big, diverse, not crowded and safe. The wildlife it's great,…read morethe only bad thing about is that some entitled people still walk their dogs without leach.

This is such an unexpected gem in this area of Houston! This park is not popular at all. There are…read morenice plants and wildlife to see, and the flowers bloom in the springtime. For such a nice park, it is surprising that there are no restrooms. There is construction going on directly adjacent to the park. As in, the noise is deafening and dust flies into your lungs on one part of the trail because you are a few feet away from major construction. Although it looks like a mine, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are drilling for something.

This is a 10-acre park, located near the Port of Houston Turning Basin, and is worth a brief stop…read moreto explore and observe nature... The full, official, name is Yolanda Black Navarro Buffalo Bend Nature Park. The bike trail connections with Buffalo Bayou appear to be inaccessible, however. It is also near Hidalgo Park. Limited Parking, but the Metro Bus #28 has stops within walking distance, along Garcia Dr,, and on Wayside.

Buffalo Bend is a tiny 10-acre park located on the east side of town, part of the Houston East End…read moredistrict. This one will only take a few minutes to complete (~20 min if you walk slowly). There's nice scenery here and one trail loop that goes through the park. There's also some nice artwork representing the culture of the district.

This is the most western portion of the Brays bayou trail that goes towards 59 and BW8. It's…read moreprobably also the most quiet and sketchy portion of the trail and the least aesthetic. The bayou is pretty polluted and trash ridden as you move towards the west side and the areas around the trail aren't the best. There's also quite a few sketchy road crossings (looking at Beechnut) that are very busy and not bike/hike friendly. Otherwise the road surface is paved well and it serves as a few mile extension to the Brays bayou trail system.

My son took me to this walking trail he found. I'm not sure trail is the correct word for an eight…read morefoot wide sidewalk that runs from Hillcroft Avenue to the west side of Galena Park. We've walked almost to Hiram Clark Road from Hillcroft.....according to the map on the bayou greenways 2020 website. The map shows the sidewalk being complete to Hiram, a few other sections are done and some are being completed. The part we walked covered 3.5 miles each way, we turned around because we ran out of go power before we ran out of completed trail/sidewalk. Next time i'll apply more sunscreen. Lots of walking trails and not many people.

Right now, this park is in the middle of nowhere…read more According to the website: America Modern Green (AMG) is developing the Ivy at Lower Kirby, a mixed-use development at the southwest corner of South Spectrum Blvd. and the SH 288 frontage road in Lower Kirby. The Planned Development is proposed to include office, continuing care retirement center, retail, condominiums, townhomes and apartments. As for now, the playgrounds are AMAZING! One playground is for younger kids and one is for older kids. Both are shaded! There is a covered pavilion between the two with picnic tables. Next to the playground is an amphitheater. (Not sure what it will be used for just yet but it looks super neat!) Along the lake is a walking/biking trail. On a windy day, the fountain in the lake will provide a refreshing mist. It will definitely be cool to watch this area transform over time. Like I said, right now, this is literally in the middle of nowhere. Only negative is that the only trash can near the playground is overflowing with garbage. My guess is that because this place is so secluded, trash emptying might be neglected. All in all, a great park!!

Located in the Lower Kirby District of Pearland, Ivy Park is a new public park created by the…read moreprivate group of developers, American Modern Green. The Ivy District is a mixed-use project which will eventually be home to offices, apartments, retail centers, along with this public park. Unfortunately, it seems that there have been some delays including legal obstacles in project development and it's unclear what the timeline of finishing will look like. That being said, the public park portion of the development is currently open! There is some work to do - There is no official parking lot (parallel parking on the street is available), trash cans, or working restrooms yet. The park includes a children's playground, a few manmade lakes complete with lit up fountains, and surrounding trails that start around the lake and eventually branch off into woods. There is even a pedestrian bridge that connects to Shadow Creek Ranch and allows you to visit the Shadow Creek Nature Trail. We spent about 30 minutes enjoying the trails at sunset. As residents of the area, we think this park is just what Pearland needs and hope it will be completed soon!