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Brays Bayou Hike & Bike Trail

Type: Trail

Length: 17.90 Miles

Elevation Gain: N/A

Cost: Free

Rating:

(1.00)3

Difficulty: 1point5stars

(1.83)

Solitude:

(1.00)

ADA Accessible: N/A

Bikes Allowed: Yes

Dogs Allowed: Yes

Interpretive Guide: No

Address: 5120 Calhoun Road

City: Houston

County: Harris

More Information: More Info

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Map

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Photos

Panoramic shot of the trail. (Photo by Blaze)

The trail goes along the bank(s) of the Brays Bayou. (Photo by Blaze)

The trail takes you under the 610 Loop. (Photo by Blaze)

The trail takes you across or under the railroad tracks. (Photo by Blaze)

This is one of the many signs posted along Brays Bayou. (Photo by Blaze)

This is the South Fwy overpass. There is an option to take the trail right down to the water's edge or pass above it. (Photo by Blaze)

There are several bridges spanning Brays Bayou. This one takes you to Herman Park. (Photo by Blaze)

The trail runs past the Houston Medical Center. (Photo by Blaze)

The concrete trail runs along the bank of Brays Bayou for many miles. (Photo by Blaze)

Log Entries

LSD Hike
By Blaze on 7/3/2015
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 15.10 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 57 minutes

My girlfriend is awesome! In preparation for our upcoming Colorado backpacking trip, we did some endurance training or what I like to call LSD (Long, Slow Distance) hiking. We walked along Braes Bayou on a very hot, humid day. My GPS odometer read 15.5 miles, but the track file only captured 15.1. Anyways, my girlfriend completed the hike in good shape. I was proud of her since this was her all-time longest hike to date.

Brays Bayou - Part 2 of 2 (Western Half)
By Blaze on 2/8/2014
Rating: 1star

Difficulty: 1star

Solitude:

Distance: 16.40 Miles Duration: 5 hours, 5 minutes

I went back to Brays Bayou to finish the western half of the trail. It completes the hike I did a few days earlier on the eastern half of Brays Bayou. You can read my log of that hike here.

I started this hike at Buffalo Speedway (the point where I turned around from my previous hike) and hiked west along the northern bank. The hike took me past Hwy 610 and ended just beyond Braeburn Glen Park near Hwy 59. I returned along the southern bank of Brays Bayou.

The signage on this half of the trail is better than the eastern half. There are a few "Brays Bayou Hike & Bike" trail signs posted whereas I did not see any of those on the eastern half. The official trail is a pave concrete walkway that jumps from one side of the bayou to the other, but the non-paved side of the bayou is easily passable so I decided to stick to one side of the bayou in each direction to provide some more variety. The only downside is I had to long jump some drainage gullies occassionally. Fortunately, the water level was not very high.

I started this hike late (2pm) so I ended up finishing the last hour of this hike in the dark. Hiking along the bayou at night is an interesting experience.

Brays Bayou - Part 1 of 2 (Eastern Half)
By Blaze on 2/3/2014
Rating: 1star

Difficulty: 2stars

Solitude:

Distance: 14.90 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 35 minutes

I took a long walk along Brays Bayou. I walked down to MacGregor Park, went around the park and then headed back. I passed by the renown Medical Center, University of Texas - Houston, and turned around at Buffalo Speedway. I would have gone farther, but I got a late start and ran short on daylight. Besides, it was a little chilly (mid 40s).

The hike and bike trail is a wide concrete walkway that runs along the bank of Brays Bayou. In some sections, the trail runs on both sides of the bayou, but in other sections, it only runs on one side. The trail is well-maintained and easy to walk, but the signage is poor. There are no distance markers, direction signs, or even signs that tell you that you are walking on the Brays Bayou Hike & Bike Trail.

The scenery is a little monotonous (as most bayou and drainage gully hikes are). The biggest issue, however, is the total lack of bathrooms along the trail. The City of Houston needs to place a porta-potty ever couple of miles, but there are none. Ridiculous! It may not be a big issue for fast moving bikers, but it does create problems if you're hiking for several hours.

I hope to return soon and finish the remaining part of the Brays Bayou Hike & Bike Trail west of Buffalo Speedway.