Buffalo Bayou Park & Trails

Buffalo Bayou Park is located directly west of the central business district in downtown Houston. The lovely green space winds 160 acres along the banks of Buffalo Bayou and is one of of the most popular places to run in Houston. A $30 million urban revitalization plan that has won national acclaim (More info here).  It’s also the closest route to the George R. Brown Convention Center and downtown hotels. Bonus: well-lit at night.

One can out together a run of varying distances, using the numerous bridges that are about 1/2 mile apart, using Allen Parkway as a guideline. A popular, pretty  5.6-mile loop runs from downtown to Shepherd Street Bridge to the west. The loop runs along both sides of Buffalo Bayou, offering scenic views of Houston’s downtown skyscrapers. You also pass by some lawn areas and bridges as you run. We recommend crossing Rosemont Bridge at the halfway point of the loop for a spectacular tree-top view of Buffalo Bayou and Houston skyline. Paths feature one lane for cyclists and one for pedestrians, and several water fountains along the route. It is a little hilly, too. Note, at Waugh Dr. is a “bat bridge”, where there are reliably at sunset, thousands of bats.

Add-Ons: About 1.5 miles south of the trail, there’s nice running in the Montrose neighborhood. Can also connect to the White Oak Bayou Trail.  For longer run (~11.5 miles), you can combine Buffalo Bayou with the Seymour Lieberman Exercise Trail at Memorial Park. Use the underpass at Shepherd Street Bridge, which leads to a sidewalk that to Memorial Park, about 1.5 miles west of the bridge. See route here.