Memorial Park

Fitness Hike
By Blaze on 12/14/2013
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 5.80 Miles Duration: 2 hours

2 laps.

The Bridle Trail, The Triangle, And The Hogg Woods Trail
By Blaze on 3/1/2013
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 4.50 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

This is my third visit/log of Memorial Park.  In this log, I will cover the Bridle Trail, The Triangle, and the Hogg Woods Trail.  All of these trails are lesser known and, therefore, have less traffic on them.  The reason they are lesser known is due to their location (i.e., they're not easy to find).

All of these trails exist on the WEST side of the railroad tracks.  I parked in the same parking lot I described in my first log and then crossed over the Living Bridge.  The Hoggs Woods Trail and The Triangle Trail are north of Woodway Drive, but south of Memorial Drive.  The Bridle Trail is an equestrian trail north of Memorial Drive.

I caught the Bridle Trail first.  It is in the shape of a "9".  It is mostly a linear trail with a short loop at the end.  The trail is primarily used by horses and is not particularly scenic.  At the top of the "9", the trail passes very close to Highway 610 so there is very little solitude as traffic rushes by.

The Triangle is a real cool and challenging mountain bike trail.  It is full of dips and berms and it is also fun to hike.  It is probably the most advanced bike trail in Memorial Park.  The start of the Triangle trail will lead you under two street bridges and end at the intersection of the Hogg Woods Trail.

The Hogg Woods Trail is an oval loop.  The west side of the loop passes very close to Highway 610 and provides no solitude.  The scenery is not all that great, either, but it's still a decent hike.

If you do not want to take The Triangle back, you can cross under a street bridge and catch the TxDOT Hike & Bike Trail along Woodway Drive.

Color Coded Trails In Memorial Park
By Blaze on 2/26/2013
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 9.50 Miles Duration: 3 hours, 10 minutes

Memorial Park is a very large city park "inside the loop" in West Houston.  It offers many amenities, too numerous to list here.  I would, however, like to try and give an overview of the trails in the park and to put some of the previous log entries into perspective.

First, there are jogging trails.  Lots of them.  The most popular seems to be the Seymour Lieberman Exercise Trail, which is a long (2.93 mile) loop that goes around the Memorial Park Golf Course.  It is a wide gravel trail and lots of people jog there.  This is the trail that texasgrape describes in his/her log entry on 10/4/2003.

In addition to the Seymour Lieberman Exercise Trail, there are other linear trails that run throughout the park.  I estimate these to be approximately 3.5 miles in total length, but that's a pure guess.

Second, there are hiking/biking trails.  Lots of them.  One cluster on the south side of Memorial Drive is a "tangled mess" of color coded trails.  The Purple Trail is basically a perimeter trail that can be hiked all the way around, but bikers are not allowed on the back stretch near Buffalo Bayou.  Within the perimeter defined by the Purple Trail, there are Red, Orange, Yellow and Blue Trails that run throughout the wooded area and along creek beds.  These are the trails that are described in wesley's log on 4/23/2006.  I estimate the total length of the Purple, Red, Orange, Yellow and Blue Trails to be approximately 7 miles (6 of which can be hiked/biked, and 1 mile of the Purple Trail which can only be hiked).

In addition, there is a Green Trail.  It is separate from the "tangled mess" and the trailhead is fairly difficult to find.  I estimate the length of that trail to be approximately 1.5 miles, but it starts at one point along Memorial Drive and ends at a different point along Memorial Drive about a mile down the road.  So, it's about a 2.5 mile loop.  I am speculating, but based on the distance this may have been the hike that korinne1229 logged on 8/1/2010.  Then again, she may have just hiked a portion of the "tangled mess".

Finally, the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center calls Memorial Park home at there is another "tangled mess" of trails there.  I will discuss those trails when I log my hike at that location since this website treats it as a separate location.

OK, now that I've described the layout of Memorial Park, the rest of this log describes my hike of the color coded trails only.  Future hikes of the other trails will be logged separately.

When you first drive into the park, after you pass under the bridge, you can bear right onto Picnic Drive.  There is a parking lot on the right hand side of the road, adjacent to the railroad track that runs north-south through the park.  If you park there, you can catch the Purple Trail.  It runs south along the railroad track under the high voltage power lines and, if you're lucky, you'll see the train pass by.  Just before you get to Buffalo Bayou, the trail turns left (east).  This part of the Purple Trail can only be hiked.  Bikes are not allowed.  The trail is fairly wide, but it does get constricted in places, especially in the section where the trail turns left again (north) as it heads back in.

As I mentioned in my overview, there are other color coded trails (red, orange, yellow and blue) that wind and wiggle throughout the interior of the perimeter defined by the Purple Trail.  These trails are much more scenic and fun to hike, but beware of bikers.  There are a lot of blind corners, so hike defensively since there won't be a lot of reaction time.

The Green Trail is a separate trail and the one I liked the least, primarily because it offers very little solitude.  At times, it is only 50 yards from Memorial Drive, which is a busy road so you constantly hear the sound of cars roaring by.  There are places where the trail heads back into the woods and gives you a little more solitude, but not for long.

For all the aforementioned trails, the signage is very good.  Display maps and direction markers are placed at key intersections throughout the park so you will always know where you are.  Sadly, some of the display maps and direction markers have been damaged or vandalized with graffiti, but most of them are in good condition.

In summary, I recommend the color coded trails as a place to hike.  It is in a very busy part of Houston, but at times you don't even realize you're in the city.  It's a nice escape and "nature break" if you don't want to drive out of the city.  If you go on a weekend, holiday or at a time when school/work is out, then watch out for bikers.

Scenic Hiking Trails In Memorial Park
By wesley on 4/23/2006
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 8.50 Miles Duration: N/A
The trails in Memorial Park where extremely crowded, we hiked about 8.5 miles around a lot of the trails and had to constantly dodge people on bikes (even thou park rules say that bikers are supposed to yield right of way to pedestrians) and at one point had to wait for about 12 – 16 people on bikes to pass and let us get back on the trail. It got pretty annoying to just get a good rhythm and hear “rider” coming from in front of or behind you… but that is better than the people who don’t say anything and almost run you over. And even thou some trails said “No Bikes” people where still biking the trail. Not the place to go for good hiking but I guess if you are in the city and want to get off the beaten path it would be a nice little walk that shoulders the bayou in some parts.