Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens

Trail
3.00 Miles
N/A
Free
3stars (3.00)6
1star (1.08)
1point5stars (1.58)
N/A
No
No
N/A
22306 Aldine Westfield Road
Humble
Harris
More Info
Photos
Scenic Ponds
One of many scenic ponds in the garden. (Photo by Blaze)
Bamboo Collection
An impressive collection of bamboo trees. (Photo by Blaze)
Lily Pond
This is a scenic man-made pond with benches for relaxing and enjoying the view. (Photo by Blaze)
Map Of The Garden
This shows the basic layout of the garden. You can see the trails that lead out of the garden at the 11 and 4 o'clock positions. (Photo by Blaze)
Entrance
This is the entrance sign you'll see from Aldine-Westfield Road. (Photo by Blaze)
Log Entries
Take Time To Smell The Flowers
By Blaze on 2/9/2013
Rating: 1star Difficulty: halfstar Solitude: 1star
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens is a neat place to visit, especially with family.  The ladies will love it.  It is a fairly small complex of gardens, ponds and sitting areas.  Lots of beautiful plants, flowers and trees.  It is a photographer's dream.  I recommend you visit in the Spring when the flowers bloom.  The complex sits adjacent to (south of) Cypress Creek.

There are two dirt trails that lead out of the main complex in opposite directions to other areas.  The trails are all flat and easy to walk.  At one end, there is a really nice pond and bamboo tree park.  Sadly, they had some fake, plastic, painted ducks floating in the pond... c'mon!

Although tranquil, it does not provide much solitude.  It sits off a busy road (Aldine-Westfield) and is close to Bush Intercontinental Airport.  Still, it would be a nice place to sit, relax or spend time with a romantic partner.

If you love plants, this is the place for you. If you are an avid hiker, it's not.

By wesrader on 6/20/2009
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes

This hike was nice in a few areas, especially by the river where the white dunes are.  Lots of mosquitos, so bring your spray.  Hot and humid too (duh, it's Houston in the summertine!).  Not bad, we went because it was very close to the house.  It has a nice HQ building, with interesting stuffed animals, live snakes (coral, copperhead, mocassin, etc) in glass cases.

Great beginning hike with kids
By shamrick on 10/26/2008
Rating: 5stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

Took my two small sons, 5 & 3 at the time, as our first hike. The interpretive center got us excited and the trail was well established and easy to follow. We were pleasantly surprised, once we got deeper into the park, at how removed we felt. It did not feel like we were in the middle of one of the most traffic-congested areas of Houston! There is a meadow and a large pond with several varieties of turtles, trees to climb, lots to explore. We actually went back two weeks later and had my son's birthday party there!

By comstone on 4/11/2008
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 1star
Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour
In City Trail
By rob-auber on 11/3/2004
Rating: N/A Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 2point5stars
Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
I met with friends and dogs to enjoy the change in weather (from hot to cool). It was a nice hike, and we did not encounter anyone else except at the playground. This is an inner city trail that is constantly being improved. It was well marked and easy to navigate. I imagine that on a weekend, it would be crowded, but this mid-week hike was uninterupted by other people. My initial investigation indicated that dogs are allowed and no one challenged the fact that we had five dogs.
By Eveline on 9/25/1999
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 1star Solitude: 1star
Distance: 6.80 Miles Duration: N/A
The walk started out going though some wonderful piney woods on a gravel path. The second part of the walk took us through the botanical gardens. I love ponds and there were several, plus a bog garden, and a bamboo forest. When we came to the end of the garden the walk continued on into the woods again where we did an out and back. Upon returning to the gardens we completed the loop through them. I particularly liked the vine sections.
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Recommended Item 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Houston: Includes Huntsville, Galveston, and Beaumont
Laurie Roddy
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