Bear Creek Pioneers Park

Lots of people picnicking at the park.  Menacing clouds threatened, but it never rained.

As an interesting aside, my mapmyhike app recorded 5.76 miles, but my friend's mapmyrun app recorded 5.96 miles and her Garmin watch recorded 5.53 miles.  I was surpirsed by the variance in distance recorded by the three devices.

2 laps around a hiking/jogging loop in Bear Creek Park on a beautiful day in Houston.

Bear Creek Pioneers Park is a HUGE park with a lot of amenities and special attractions.  Not only is it a good place to exercise and for kids to play, there are also many great spots to picnic, barbeque, play sports, etc.  In addition, there is a Wildlife Habitat that is basically a miniature zoo that holds a number of birds, rheas, emus, goats, pigs, miniature horses, a pair of bison (yes, that's correct) and more.  Finally, there is also a War Memorial dedicated to all the U.S. Service men and women from Harris County that lost their lives in the various wars from the present all the way back to WWI.

As far as the trails go, there are basically two that you'll see on the map.  One is a loop running/walking path that is paved.  It is 2.01 miles long.  The other is an equestrain trail - actually there are two: a short 1.5 mile trail and a longer 3.5 mile trail.  Therefore, the total trail length is 5.51 miles.

In my case, I decided to walk not only the published trails, but the roads that connect them.  Specifically, I parked at the War Memorial at the main entrance of the park, walked the walking trail adjacent to War Memorial Drive, took Sullins Way to Brandt Drive to N. Golbow Drive up to Bear Creek Drive, and finally arrived at the Equestrian Trails.  I took the same way back, except I also walked the loop on Sullins Way.

The Equestrian Trails were the highlight of my trip.  They offer wide dirt trails that take you back into the woods.  There you will see wildflowers, palmetto groves, lots of small ponds with turtles, and lots of pretty views.  It should be noted that the trail crosses Bear Creek and the low lying areas can get muddy, especially after the rain.  In my case, I went the day after it had rained and I found some "challenging spots" to get across or go around without getting stuck in the mud.  There is no signage and knowing which way to go can be confusing when the trail forks, but you really can't get lost for long in this area since it's not that large.  If you prefer to hike rather than walk, you'll enjoy these trails.  I know I did.