Allen's Landing

Often described as “Houston’s heart” and Houston's “Plymouth Rock,” Allen’s Landing is an area that truly defines Houston. It was here in 1836 that August C. and John K. Allen stepped ashore and claimed Houston as their own. The confluence of Buffalo and White Oak bayous also became Houston’s first port and a thriving commercial hub.

Anahauc National Wildlife Refuge

In Anahauc National Wildlife Refuge, the coastal marshes and prairies are host or home to an abundance of wildlife, from migratory birds, as many as 27 species of duck, to alligators to bobcats and more. Park activities include birding, canoeing, educational programs and observation of wildlife in the 34,000-acre refuge.

Armand Bayou Nature Center

Visit this astonishingly beautiful part of the Texas Gulf Coast and "reconnect with nature." Visitors can learn about plant and animal inhabitants, bird-watch, hike on the Nature Center's trails or view live animal displays of snakes, spiders, hawks and bison.

Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge

Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, a freshwater slough winding through salt marshes, is on a key location on the Texas Gulf which helps Freeport draw one of the highest Audubon Christmas bird counts in the nation - more than 200 species. Visitors can also look for alligators year round, upland birds, coyotes and armadillos. Besides birding, activities include boating, fishing and hiking.

Brazos Bend State Park

Brazos Bend State Park offers a scenic haven for birdwatchers and wildlife observers. Hiking and biking trails meander through the park´s varied terrains, and several lakes offer excellent fishing. More than 270 species of birds and 21 species of reptiles and amphibians have been spotted. For stargazers, the George Observatory is located within the park.

Buffalo Bayou

Buffalo Bayou, the 52-mile slow-moving waterway that was the site of Houston's founding in 1836, has become a destination for outdoor recreation near downtown Houston.

Buffalo Bayou ArtPark

The Buffalo Bayou ArtPark features a constantly rotating collection of public art at the Sabine Street bridge between Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive.

Buffalo Bayou Park

With downtown’s skyline as its back drop, Houston’s premier greenbelt winds from Shepherd Drive on the west to Bagby Street on the East End. Buffalo Bayou Park includes hike and bike trails, exercise stations, a boat launch, children's playground, recreation center, the Buffalo Bayou ArtPark and more.

Discovery Green (open April 2008)

Imagine an urban green space with vibrancy and tranquility intertwined: century old oaks mix with 21st century art, an outdoor jazz session serenades with families and friends gathered on the Great Lawn. Prepare to “See. Touch. Hear. Taste. Explore” the new Discovery Green, Houston’s new 11.78-acre downtown park.

Dog Parks

You and your dog are invited to enjoy the vast amount of park space in the Bayou City. Houston knows that most dogs love to run free and most dog owners would like to provide their pets with the opportunity to do so. Houston maintains many dog parks for you and your four-legged friend(s) to enjoy.

Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center

Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center's innovative facility, located on the banks of Goose Creek in Baytown, is host to thousands of visitors and school children each year. The Wetlands Center boasts a 9,000 square-foot exhibit area, which includes a variety of exhibits, and Gator World, with its juvenile alligators and large wetlands mural, is always a favorite with visitors young and old.

Eleanor Tinsley Park

Houston's favorite spot for a festival, this piece of Buffalo Bayou is perfect for a picnic or an afternoon outside.

Elizabeth Baldwin Park

Elizabeth Baldwin Park consists of 4.88 acres on Elgin Street, between Crawford and Chenevert Streets, in a proud old neighborhood facing revitalization in the Twenty-first Century in the form of renovated houses and newly built townhouses and businesses.

Galveston Bay Cruising Association

Galveston Bay Cruising Association is a non-profit organization that strives to put on quality yacht racing events at a minimum cost.

Galveston Island State Park

Galveston Island State Park features two thousand acres of surf, beach, dunes, coastal prairie, fresh-water ponds, wetlands and bay shoreline just down Galveston Island from the city of Galveston. Birdwatching, camping, canoeing/kayaking, fishing, hiking and swimming are common place.

George Ranch Historical Park

This 480-acre living history site, with more than 100 years of Texas history, offers hands-on experiences and costumed historical interpreters.

Glenwood Cemetery

Home to the resting places of Howard Hughes, William P. Hobby and other Texas VIPs, Glenwood Cemetary opened in 1871.

Guadalupe Park

Mariachi and salsa music, ballet folklorico, and seasonal festival are among the sites and sounds that fill Hispanic-styled Guadalupe Plaza Park in the East End’s Second Ward neighborhood.

Hermann Park

Hermann Park has a bountiful assortment of entertainment, from a golf course, an outdoor theater, a jogging track, a beautiful rose garden, picnic spaces, a butterfly exhibit and even a museum! There is plenty to see and do in Hermann Park.

Hidalgo Park

Since its founding in 1927 at the Turning Basin, Hidalgo Park has been at the center of the East End’s cultural and civic life. Neighborhood residents raised money to purchase the park’s orginal land and sponsored the creation of its unqiure quiosco (gazebo).

Houston Arboretum & Nature Center

Located on the western edge of Memorial Park (4 miles from Downtown Houston), the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center is a 155-acre nature sanctuary with 5 miles of hiking trails.

Huntsville State Park

Huntsville State Park lies in the piney woods of the Sam Houston National Forest, dominated by loblolly and shortleaf pines typical of the East Texas Pine Belt, providing attractive camping and picnic areas and encloses the 210-acre Lake Raven.

Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center

Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center covers 275-acres, preserving the Native American and pioneer lifestyles commonly found along the banks of Cypress and Spring creeks during the late 1700s and early 1800s. Jones Park is a window into a fast floodplain forest habitat. Explore diverse ecosystems, go on guided tours and observe live snakes and a beehive.

Katy Prairie Conservancy Wildlife Viewing Platform

A broad sweep of land that stretches from just beyond the Houston city limits, the Katy Prairie, ranges from flat coastal plains to gently rolling pastures; the terrain is typical of what is found along much of the upper Texas Gulf Coast. In Autumn, one of the most incredible natural spectacles in North America, as thousands, then millions, of migratory birds arrive, especially waterfowl.

Lake Houston Park

Lake Houston Park is a beautiful, lushly forested expanse that's perfect for photography, nature study, hiking, biking, canoeing and bird watching. Nearby civilization is soon forgotten when surrounded by pines, cypresses and a peaceful setting.

Lake Livingston State Park

Lake Livingston State Park contains 635.5 acres along Lake Livingston a 84,800-acre reservoir. The park features camping, swimming; fishing; boating and horse back riding.

Memorial Park

Dubbed “the largest urban park in Texas,” Houston's Memorial Park, just inside Loop 610 at Woodway, includes Texas’ top-rated municipal 18-hole golf course, as well as facilities for tennis, softball, swimming, track, croquet, volleyball, in-line skating, cycling and a popular three-mile running course.

 Montgomery County Nature Preserve

The Montgomery County Preserve provides a wonderful area for birdwatching, native plant observation and hiking. Local Master Naturalists as well as Butterfly Enthusiasts of Southeast Texas (B.E.S.T.) hosts official national butterfly counts, monitor water quality, and provide educational programs for area citizens.

 Sam Houston Park

In 1899, Sam Houston Park became Houston’s first public park. Historic postcards reveal “City Park” as it was then known, as having a children’s zoo, wading pool and picturesque wooden bridges. Today, as home to the Houston Heritage Society, the park is devoted to preserving Houston’s history by restoring and interpreting early historic structures.

 Sea Center Texas

This Texas Parks and Wildlife Department facility, Sea Center Texas, includes a marine aquarium, fish hatchery and wetland exhibit. A 50,000-gallon aquarium allows visitors to view large Gulf of Mexico marine animals. The site’s visitor center educates through interpretive displays, a 20-foot “touch tank” and aquariums depicting native Texas habitats including a salt marsh, jetty, reef and open Gulf exhibits.

 Sesquicentennial Park

The result of a nationwide design competition, Buffalo Bayou Sesquicentennial Park has become an urban oasis in the heart of Houston’s downtown Theater District. Serving as the park’s gateway, the two-acre Phase I site, includes a cascading fountain, gatehouse, and octagonal pavilion adjacent to the Wortham Theater. The 8.2-acre Phase II site includes sculptures and lawn areas for outdoor events.

 Sheldon Lake State Park & Environmental Learning Center

The Sheldon Lake Unit encompasses 2,800 acres with fishing, small boats and canoes, and birdwatching throughout the park. The Lake Unit is home to oak, pine, cypress, sycamore, several types of water lilies, deer, raccoon, opossum, rabbit, alligator and twenty species of waterfowl.

 Spotts Park

Spotts Park, which lies in a natural bowl just northeast of Waugh and Memorial west of downtown, includes a trail/walkway, basketball court, volleyball court, children’s playground and picnic area.

 Stephen F. Austin Park

Stephen F. Austin Park is divided into two sections, a small historic section and the larger recreational area. The historical area honors the areas past where Stephen F. Austin brought the first 297 families to colonize Texas and several historical conventions occurred. Its natural setting is great for hiking and fishing and offers forested areas for deer, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, opossums and a variety of birds is present year-round.

 Texas City Prairie Preserve

The Texas City Preserve, with 40 acres open to the public and 2000 acres on tours, features rare coastal prairie habitat and supports wild Attwater's Prairie Chickens. The Preserve features bluestem, the occasional are coastal gayfeather, nesting colonies of least terns and black skimmers, American peregrine falcon, white-tailed hawk, reddish egrets and more.

 Tony Marron Park

The Park People has initiated a development effort of this underutilized green space in Houston’s East End Second Ward neighborhood. Tony Marron Park will feature trails and walkways, children's playground soccer and baseball fields, a pavilion and more.

 Tranquility Park

Named for the Sea of Tranquility, with a monument honoring the first men on the moon, Tranquility Park is filled with grassy embankments and serene pools while situated right next to City Hall in downtown Houston.

 Trinity National Wildlife Refuge

Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge was established to protect a remnant of the bottomland hardwood forest ecosystem along the Trinity and continues to grow from 18,500 acres. The refuge, used during migration or nesting by nearly 50 percent of migratory bird species listed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, contains more than 620 plant species and 400 vertebrate species.

 Upper Texas Coast Waterborne Education Center

The Waterborne Education Center's (WEC) homeport is Anahuac Harbor, located at the mouth of the Trinity where the river meets the bay. Field labs also take place regularly on the Houston Ship Channel and occasionally on the Sabine and Neches rivers.