Memorial Park’s trails cater to all levels, including the easy Eastern Glades paths that include the Oval Promenade, Wetlands Boardwalk, and Lake trails. Memorial Loop offers the three-mile, crushed-granite Seymour Lieberman jogging trail, which is a runner’s low-impact dream complete with workout track, bathrooms, and watering stations. There are eight color-coded, natural-surface trails in the Bayou Wilds area, where hardcore trail runners and mountain bikers will find the 2.2-mile Green Trail. Cyclists use the paved picnic area as a practice loop, and hikers flock to the peaceful arboretum for three miles of shade, indigenous plants, bats, birds, and even a gator.

This is the longest of all greenways in Houston—clocking in at almost 35 miles—making it perfect for long-distance runners and cyclists. There’s much to see along the way. In the east you’ll pass gems including the historic Gus Wortham Golf Course, the Orange Show, Mason Park, and Gragg Park Complex. When you continue west, you’ll cross the Bill Coats Bridge in Hermann Park, and pass the Houston Zoo, the Museum District, Rice Stadium, NRG Stadium, and the Astrodome.

Located along Buffalo Bayou between the Beltway and Highway 6, this incredible gateway to Houston nature boasts some of our greatest hike-and-bike trails. The Quail Trail—a shady, slightly hilly 10-mile paved path stretching from Eldridge Parkway to Wilcrest Drive—is perfect for both walkers and cyclists, and eventually connects to George Bush Park, where you can connect to 11 more miles of trails. Mountain bikers prefer the dirt-path “anthills” through the woods along the bayou.

Don’t get scared if you hear heavy artillery—that would be the shooting range at the Energy Corridor–area park, located inside the Barker Reservoir. It just makes the place all the more Texan, right? Runners can get away from the park’s bike-centric paved path by opting for a loop around the lush grass near the epic Millie Bush Dog Park—named, of course, for Barbara and George H.W. Bush’s deceased springer spaniel—or the soccer complex (hello, bathrooms).

What’s not to love about our hike-and-bike trail nestled up against downtown, with easy access to the Waugh Drive Bat Colony, the Cistern, the Johnny Steele Dog Park, a skate park, and one of our best restaurants of 2022, Flora. This destination is as popular among bikers and runners as it is lovebirds on dates, solo walkers getting fresh air, and families exploring the great outdoors. You’ll want to stop for a selfie with the skyline and the park’s amazing public art.

TC Jester Park in Oak Forest is a great launching point for running along White Oak Bayou. There’s a dog park, the EZ7 skate park, baseball fields, a frisbee golf course, and loads of locals getting their steps in on the park’s mile-long granite trail. Take that north, then hop onto the paved trail—watch out for cyclists—and you’ll hit the Watonga Bridge Bat Colony (1.5 miles away). Head south to connect to the Heights Hike and Bike Trail (eight miles away).

Built on top of a former Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad line, this path connects the Heights to UH Downtown. Daily, hundreds of walkers, joggers, cyclists, and bike commuters take advantage of the vital shortcut the path offers between the east and west ends of the White Oak Bayou Greenway. But there are other reasons to appreciate it: fireflies near Lawrence Park, a safe walk home from Postino or Target, and an easy hop onto the Paul Carr Jogging Trail Park on Heights Boulevard among them. For a quick back-and-forth, park at Stude Park near the baseball fields and head north until you feel like turning around, or park at Lawrence Park near MKT for a brisk walkabout.

It’s not actually located on Lake Houston, but the nearly 5,000-acre, city-owned park—30 minutes north of downtown, off US 59—does have its own lovely waterway, Peach Creek, and offers an abundance of natural, leafy, out-and-back trails. Start with the Ameri-Trail, an eight-mile round-trip run that delivers all the wilderness you can handle, plus beachy pit stops along the creek. If you’d like, turn around at the halfway point—which, fair warning, is easy to miss. Watch out for rogue mountain bikers muddier than Rambo in First Blood.

Hermann Park’s two-mile, asphalt Marvin Taylor Trail will take you past the Houston Zoo, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and Miller Outdoor Theatre (hello, short hill repeats). Much of the way under the shade of beautiful, moss-adorned oaks. Want more distance? Hop across Main Street to run the adjacent three-mile Rice University Loop—if you like dream homes, it’s one of the most magical trails in all of Houston.

The out-and-back path follows a flood-retention gulch through Clear Brook, with various types of coastal birds and three shady parks along the way. It’s an ideal trail for families with youngsters, dog walkers, or anyone doing long slow distance training. Start at Dixie Farm Road Park, where you’ll find bathrooms, covered exercise equipment, a shaded path for walkers, and a retention basin perfect for peeling off quick mile repeats but do bring your own water bottle if you’re going long.