Outdoor Activities In Houston – Take a trip down the bayou as you kayak with the downtown skyline as your backdrop. Enjoy a leisurely horseback riding lesson along the beach while watching the sunset. The options are endless.
Courtesy Galveston CVBGalveston Island Horse and Pony Rides Sitting high in the saddle while traveling the coast on horseback offers a unique perspective that cannot be duplicated. Passionate about horses and the beautiful coastal landscape, the folks at Galveston Island Horse and Pony Rides carefully select and train their horses to ensure you have an enjoyable riding experience—even if you lack the skills superior equines.
Outdoor Activities In Houston
Yi-Chin Lee / Houston icleHermann Park Railroad Train Take a ride on a beloved Houston train that runs through Hermann Park. Tickets are sold at the Hermann Park Conservancy Gift Shop at Kinder Station in Lake Plaza located at 6102 Hermann Park Drive. The hours for the train, boats and cafe are subject to change according to weather or seasonal conditions. For the most up-to-date hours, please click here.
The Best Outdoor Activities In Houston
Yelp/Stephany L.Bayou City Adventures 1520 Silver St (713) 538-7433 Get ready for summer with Bayou City Adventures, ready to take you on a kayaking tour down Buffalo Bayou. Photo: Yelp/Stephany L.
Hermann Park ConservancyMcGovern Centennial Gardens & Cherie Flores Garden Pavilian The Friendship Pavilion at McGovern Centennial Gardens is just one of the many gardens you can visit in the area that were made especially for Hermann Park. Some of the other beautiful gardens to explore include the Cherie Flores Garden, Arid Garden, Family Garden, Hawkins Sculpture Walk, Rose Garden and the Pergola Walk. For more information on hours and tours, visit the website here.
Jon Shapley, Staff Photographer / Staff Photographer Pedal Boats at Hermann Park Conservancy Hours are subject to change based on weather conditions or seasonality. For the most up-to-date hours, click here. With an area of more than 600 square miles in size, Houston, Texas gives us more than enough free space for outdoor activities. The city has a lot to offer Houstonians and visitors from around the world. Today, we can enjoy many outdoor adventures, whether it’s fun in a beautiful green area like Hermann Park, playing golf, enjoying outdoor shows or visiting a monument. But no worries, the following are the best outdoor activity suggestions we can come up with for you and your family.
Hermann Park is more than your average community park. You can enjoy many free family events and botanical gardens at this Houston point of interest.
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Hermann Park hosts an amazing Japanese garden that will help you bring some peaceful feelings. The garden contains beautiful plants such as the Oga lotus, the Taiwanese cherry tree, and the Japanese apricot to name just a few.
You can also enjoy boating by train and pedal boats, art in the park, cycling and picnicking.
The Houston Zoo is across from Hermann Park. Here you can enjoy learning about 4,500 different species of animals. The zoo includes an African forest section to show its imitation of the West African forest. They also host animals from the Western Hemisphere as they aim to educate the public about the importance of wildlife protection. The Houston Zoo is truly a place to bring your family to enjoy the environment.
This beautiful golf course has been open to the public since 1997. It has beautiful Bermuda scenery and consists mostly of flat land. If you love golf, come and check out the River Terrace Golf Course and enjoy a fun and relaxing day in the open area.
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This awesome outdoor venue hosts some of the most popular events in the Houston area. Every musical performance in the theater is definitely free. Be sure to check out each event online before joining the fun as some events are ticketed to reserve seats. You can enjoy the festivities by bringing your own drinks into the park.
This beautiful water wall is perfect for image fanatics. Although it was designed more than 20 years ago, it never ceases to amaze those who look at the tall fountain for the first time. This eye-catching monument is located in the Gallery area.
Houston has its own version of Chicago’s Cloud Gate Monument (The Bee). Yes indeed, and some of us Houstonians are bold enough to say that our version is better than Chicago’s. For those of you who haven’t visited yet, our very own bean is located near Herman Park. If the bean is better than the one in Chicago, it is an amazing work of art that everyone in Houston should go and get a picture of.
Now, this may sound scary, but it really isn’t. Memorial Park is home to over 200,000 bats. You can enjoy watching a remarkable sound of bats during sunset from the Wow Bridge.
The Best Outdoor Activities In Houston [updated 2023]
This park full of bats has a good set of walking trails, jogging trails and a skate park. It is a great place to go for a run because of its sloping nature. Be sure to stop and enjoy some of the art pieces on the higher areas of the park.
This is one of Houston’s favorite parks to run in. If you live near the area, be sure to take advantage and include going to Memorial Park in your weekly routine. It is also a great place to scavenge for plants and animals.
Mason Park offers a variety of sports terrain for the Houston athletic community. The grounds include soccer fields, baseball fields, tennis courts, a swimming pool and a disc golf course for the community. It’s a perfect place to stay active in a big city like Houston.
Levy Park is quickly rising in the popularity ranks here in Houston. This beautiful park has some awesome concerts, community gardens, playgrounds for kids and even a dog park. You won’t regret coming to the free events that Levy Park has to offer. They also offer story time for kids and free workout classes for adults. It’s no wonder why the park has been getting a lot of attention since it opened in 2017.
Houston Parks & Outdoors
Discovery Green is one of the most exciting destinations in Houston. It is in downtown Houston, making it a convenient location for the Houston community. They host free events that include workouts, farmers markets, concerts and much more. If you are into water activities, they also offer kayaks and paddleboards that can be rented on the lake. Come and enjoy this amazing and young place.
Although the Mercer Botanical Gardens are not located directly in Houston, they are just outside. The Botanic Garden offers free entry to the gardens and walks in the same location. This is a great place to explore the outdoors at its best. Mercer Botanic Gardens is a must see place near Houston.
Who can forget outdoor fishing? It is one of America’s favorite outdoor sports and it is certainly something that can be done in Houston’s freshwater and saltwater bodies.
Note: You are required to have a Texas fishing license to fish in the state. Make sure you have purchased the appropriate salt and freshwater license before you go fishing.
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We hope you enjoy our list of the best outdoor activities in Houston. You quickly realize that the city is more than busy highways and tall buildings. We have beautiful outdoor locations that are ready for everyone to explore. Feel free to share your favorite outdoor spot in case we missed it! Houston is known as a concrete jungle, but you’d be surprised how many outdoor activities Houston actually has! Houston has almost 50,000 acres of park space (that’s even more than San Diego, a city famous for its park space). It has also rapidly expanded its outdoor offerings over the past 20 years.
If you’re headed to the Gulf Coast, don’t avoid Houston because of what you’ve heard. Although 20 years ago, the city gained the reputation of being a sidewalk paradise, you might be surprised by what it looks like today. Whether you live here and are looking for new opportunities to explore the outdoors, or you’re visiting on a trip, here are the best outdoor activities to check out in Houston.
If you’re a water sports enthusiast, grab your kayak or paddleboard and head to Buffalo Bayou. The waterway is a staple of the city and part of the original Houston of the early nineteenth century. If you don’t have your own equipment, no worries, there are plenty of rental companies to choose from. If you want some competition to get you pumped up, enter the annual Buffalo Bayou Regatta (which just celebrated its 50th year).
Discovery Green is one of Houston’s most recent additions to Houston’s post-2000 revitalization. Created in 2008, this 12-acre spot of greenery is one of Houston’s most beautiful urban parks. If you want to spend a day downtown, Discovery Green is an excellent place to visit or just stop for a picnic lunch. Discovery Green is always putting on events if you’re looking for something to do besides just hang out, so check out their calendar.
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The Armand bayou