Happy Friday, friends. I made it through a wildly busy week. I can’t say much about this yet, but we have a huge project coming up at work, and things are amping up very quickly. On top of that, Aaron and I do have a trip planned to St. Louis at the end of the month for business – and pleasure. The last time we were in St. Lous was this exact time last year, and needless to say, it’s been too long. I’m here today to talk about a Houston hidden gem: Brazos Bend State Park.
This weekend will be fun, because my in laws are coming in for the weekend, and we have some fun activities planned. Both my mother and father-in law are super active, so we always try to do something outdoorsy when they are in town. Which leads me to the topic of this post: Brazos Bend State Park. You can learn about other ways Aaron and I have been exploring Houston throughout the pandemic here. But today, I want to talk about Brazos Bend.
Brazos Bend is located about half an hour south of Houston. It has nature trails, hike and bike trails, and….. Gators! Yep, you heard me right: alligators are common in some areas of the park, which was both super intriguing and a bit scary. For a California-born girl like me, I didn’t know that Texas lakes/rivers were alligator habitats until several years ago. And I learned that lesson the hard way: on a kayak, which is a story for another day.
My in laws were in town last January, and we decided to get out to explore Brazos Bend. Aaron and I had been before, and we knew they would love it.
It was very cold when we took them, but we still saw some neat wildlife. There is a lake as soon as you enter park, with trails right next to the water!
There are docks that jut out over the water so you can look for fish, birds and gators.
The park has 37-miles of hiking trails, so we barely scratched the surface. Can ya tell my husband and his dad are related? Both are veterans: Aaron was in the Marines and his dad, who was in the Army, is a Vietnam veteran. He made me the hiking stick that I have, and it sure did come in handy when we hiked Big Bend State Park, which I will absolutely have to recap for you on day soon.
I was worried we wouldn’t spot any gators because it was so cold the day we went. Gators brumate during the winter, which means that their metabolic rate slows down – so the gators slow down considerably. But, I spotted one to the side of one of the trails!
Brazos Bend State Park also has lookout towers, which offer a panoramic view of the park. If you are visiting Houston – or live in Houston – this park is a great place to visit. Take the bikes, slip on a pair of hiking shoes and head south!
Enjoy the long, three-day weekend ahead! I’ll share our adventures next week.
