Hermann Park Trail

This is my new local favorite! Has just about everything I need like a golf course & driving range, 2mile & 1 mile trail, and plenty of exercise equipment! There are shade trees everywhere & and shower for after your run. Its close to the zoo, the medical district and all of the colleges. I attend TSU so its really close. The Mosaic is in walking distance and more condos/​apartments are on the way.

Do you happen to be in the area? Are you feeling like it’s time to reconnect with nature when surrounded by all the concrete? Well you found yourself a great park/​trail! It’s great for strolling, either by yourself, with a friend, or a significant other. No matter which you choose, no one will give you any funny looks. This is great for an outdoor walk or a break from the hospital (if you happen to work there or have someone dear there). Definitely recommend checking it out.

Convenient, safe and scenic. Good crowd, but not crowded and all people with dogs have them on leashes.

Now that I’m all health conscious and stuff, I more cognizant of where I go to walk — for safety and sanity. The Hermann Park Trail, also known as the Hermann Park Conservancy, is a really nice and varied trail. There are so many options and so much scenery that you’ll never get bored. There seems to always seems to be someone here, either walking, running, bike riding, playing golf, and checking out the sites.
It is surrounded by the Centennial and Japanese Gardens, the zoo, the train, the pedal boots, Miller Outdoor Theater, the Urban Forest, the reflection pool, and many other amenities. They also have a B-​Cycle station. The greatest bonus is going on an evening when there’s a show at the theater. After walking, I usually pop up on the hill and enjoy the show.
My personal cons: Some of the pathways are narrow, which leaves the potential to get run over by discourteous runners and bike riders (make some noise already). It’s lighted at night; I don’t think it’s great lighting, but I’m scary, so check it out for yourself.

Beautiful trail to bike, run, or walk!
Cons: Sidewalk around certain parts of the trail is in horrible shape — popped my bike tire yesterday. Not fun. Gets way too crowded with big groups of people and groups with kids at certain times of the day on the weekend. HINT: Do not try to ride your bike on the trail in the afternoon on Saturday or Sunday when the weather is vaguely pleasant — it will be too crowded. I got yelled at yesterday by a woman who thought that I should walk my bike rather than riding it, because apparently it’s not a trail for biking, but for walking kids. Grrrr. Still annoyed. If you’re serious about running or biking, definitely go before or after the crowds.

Went running here yesterday and I loved it! There was a police officer patrolling when we went at 7:30 pm. Not as many bikers as the Brays Bayou trail which was great!
I believe the hours are 6:00am –11:00 pm. There is plenty of parking available. This will definitely be my regular trail.
Cons:
— There are restrooms available, but they were locked during park hours.
— I wouldn’t recommend running at night, the lighting sucks.

Nice trail, but not so well lit at night. I’m not much for jogging, but it seems to be pretty popular. I’m not a big fan of the little rocks that keep getting stuck in my shoes, but I guess its easier on your feet than concrete?

Nice little park in the middle of the med center. Nice trails and decent amount of trees. Only issue are the bums that sit across from the hospital. They’re pretty close to all the kids and picnic area. If these bums weren’t there, the park would easily be five stars.
At least they don’t bother anyone.

The Kite festival was awesome! Wasn’t expecting the crowd, so note to self to to byob and food next time haha

Great walking park! Many different elements including golf, walking/​running paths, Houston zoo and monuments/​statues. I walked around with my headphone jammin’ for about an hour and loved everywhere I turned. It was beautiful and very relaxing. Can imagine this place gets VERY busy in the summer, however on this 60 degree February day it was just perfect.
Would recommend to anyone interested in a tranquil walk.

This is a beautiful trail. It is wide, well maintained and shaded for most of the area.
If you’re running the outside circuit, you get to see the zoo, golf course and museums.
If you want to step up your workout, you can run the hill by the amphitheater. When I ran it on a Sunday morning, there were plenty of people out and about so I didn’t feel unsafe.
However, if you park in the lot by Hermann Drive and Crawford Street, you need to be careful. My friend had her car broken into at 9:30 on a Sunday morning. There were plenty of people around and numerous cars in the free parking lot there so even though it looks nice, you should take care for your personal safety as there are obviously some shady characters roaming around.
That’s the only reason I can’t give it five stars.

I’ve never been a big fan of H-​Town, but after discovering the Museum District and this trail, I have discovered even Houston has its gems!
I did not walk the entire thing as it appears to be extensive, but because of a serendipitous parking situation, I parked about ¾mi from the HMNS without realizing I was that far and ended up walking the park trail to get there from my parking area.
I ended up passing sculptures, a little water walkway, a japanese garden, the Miller Theater, and just some nice stretches of greenery.
It was an above average heat index day, but with the slight breeze, the trek to the HMNS was enjoyable! I will definitely «get lost» again the next time I am in downtown Houston to explore more of the Trail and hopefully make some more fantastic discoveries hidden in this concrete jungle of a city!

I love this trail for many reasons:
1. It’s extremely close to my residence.
2. Free parking in a lot on almeda and by the golf club house (probably other places too but I just haven’t ventured to find them)
3. You can run on pavement around the bayou or on gravel if you do the paths along the golf course and next to the zoo and natural science museum.
4. There isn’t just 1 big loop: there are plenty of little paths that you can go on, and that helps me from getting bored.
5. In the evenings, you’re bound to see lots of bunnies running around. Cute baby animals make exercise more fun!
6. The wildflowers and bluebonnets along the bayou in the spring are INSANE. It’s so beautiful!!! Hats off to the Hermann park conservancy for keeping it so nice! I’m enjoying watching the new baby trees they planted grow up.

This trail is nice, has multiple things to keep your mind occupied while utilizing it. You come across the zoo, Herman Park, The Miller Outdoor Theater, Musuem of Natural Science, and the soon to be renovated Conservancy (when it’s done and I can’t wait!!). This is pretty much a solid trail for people who live or work in the area, but not sure if I’ll make the voyage out anytime soon for a run though.

Lol, ok so maybe I was a bit critical of this trail back when I first reviewed it. Now that it’s summer and the sun is out for a million hours each day, there’s plenty of daylight for an early morning run or even a late evening one. I still wouldn’t run this loop after sundown since I’m pretty sure the trail is closed AND there’s tons of sketchy people around the Fannin/​MacGregor corner of the park.
That being said, the trail is pretty nice, it’s grown on me, it probably has to do with the fact that I’m not embarrassingly out of shape like I used to be when I ran this trail and had to stop every 500 feet to walk (ok that’s an exaggeration), but you get the idea.
I like the fact that you can run along the Bayou and catch some hills if you want, or even run up the hills on Miller Outdoor Theater. It’s fun to people watch too while you’re hitting the trails since they’re are always people playing with their dogs, throwing a frisbee, or chilling with some yoga in the park.
Maybe I’m blind when I run this trail, but I still have no idea where the water fountains are so that’s a bit of a bust now that it’s getting hot again.

Hermann Park Trail has a beautiful pedestrian bridge over Brays Bayou with bayou trails, picnic areas, and small wooded paths. It’s just across the street from the Marquis Lofts at Hermann Park. It’s my bridge to the park, zoo, concerts and walking trails in Hermann Park. The bridge is a piece of art that I transverse every day when I go walking and cycling in the park. Standing mid-​span, one can look down into the bayou and see schools of giant catfish swimming in place as with waters flow towards the sea. It’s beautiful at night and during the day. Visit and enjoy the view. The bridge crosses from Almeda and leads to a tunnel that passes underneath MacGreggor ending adjacent to the Hermann Park Golf Course.

As a cheenager (child + teenager), I avoided going outside as if there were (pick one): (1) flying bands of harpies ready to carry me away, (2) ravenous wolves, or (3) the Plague ready to infect me. I know you’re asking «What, no zombies?» and the answer to that question is that this was decades ago when zombies weren’t as hot as they are now.
Okay, now that I’m all grown up, I’m much better about going outside and hitting the trail. I don’t even mind ending up drenched in sweat. Yup, I said it. An odd quirk is that I love being outdoors for my walks while the thought of a rainy day workout on a treadmill is simply dreadful. As a man, I’m very visual — and this extends to my exercise: I don’t want to be on a treadmill staring at the same wall.
My usual haunt is a section of the Braes Bayou hike-​and-​bike trail but I do like to mix it up and visit this trail. Memorial Park gets a lot of love, the Rice running trail has its fans, but I prefer Hermann Park since it is more central and has more stuff in it.*
Park for free near the Hermann Park Conservancy building (next to the golf course: 2 hour time limit), then up to the Marvin Taylor exercise trail, through the underground pedestrian tunnel to the Bill Coats bridge, cross the bayou to the east side, over the Cambridge bridge, then rejoin the crushed granite path to arrive back at the parking lot. A very nice 3-​mile loop. You can make it longer or shorter as you see fit. And, I sometimes throw in a jaunt through the Japanese Garden, when the spirit moves me.
After reading my path, you can tell that there is a lot of stuff that gets seen along the way: golfers, the zoo entrance, Miller Outdoor theater, the reconstruction work at the Houston Garden Center and pagoda, the bayou, various botanical stands, and some bridges. It makes the time fly but it also helps me center my thoughts while getting some cardio.
All in all a good outcome for someone who was fearful that Mother Nature would be Mommie Dearest. If you see me on the trail, feel free to say «hi» — I may even give you a sweaty hug. But, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
*If you need a pee break, there is a restroom by the golf course (near the path shortcut), several at the Miller Outdoor Theatre, and one just inside the Japanese Garden. You may laugh but these are important things — unless you’re wearing your Depends undergarments.

This used to be a pretty scary part of town, but when I visited there to see the new bridge, I saw families and young looking professionals using the trails even after dark. There is very little shelter unless you go to Hermann Park proper, but at least in the cool months of the year that won’t be a problem. In the summer, you will roast.
They do have a bathroom too which is probably where the homeless go to shower and such, but at least it’s there and it’s not horrible. I saw a group of possible homeless or possibly hippies starting a sizable fire in a fire pit and drink tea and stuff while laying back in fancy middle eastern looking pillows. It WAS Christmas eve too so maybe they were reenactors. I expect that sort of weirdness from Menil Park.
If I lived in the area I’d be able to give you a more solid vote of confidence in the neighborhood but for now, maybe carry pepper spray with you just to be sure, but at least the afternoon/​evening I was there taking pictures of the bridge, everybody behaved.

Since I’m living in the medical center, and I am in walking distance to Hermann Park, this has become my go to running trail. I used to really hate running outside, but somehow I’m becoming more and more inclined to it. I love that I can choose to half the trail if I don’t want to run the 3 miles that I’m pretty sure it goes. Since I’ve just picked up running a few months ago, I’m still trying to get in shape.
When compared to the Rice trail, I like this one because it has fewer people. In the mornings (8:30 am on the weekends), it’s not crowded. Rice tends to get pretty crowded at all times of the day. Sure, there is less tree coverage here, but I kind of like running and finding the shade. It kind of sets goals — must get to the shade before I walk — which keeps it interesting for me.

What, I say, what is the best cure for homesickness??? The homeopathic, all-​natural, organic, home-​brewed dose of Hermann Park will fix ya every time! Whether heading out for a brisk walk (ME) or a nice run (YOU), one can really enjoy a truly scenic route. Fresh air is always the best. I saw a lot of couples spending some QT here with picnic baskets, holding hands… awwwwww… The energized senior citizens will put the young folks here to shame, because they are definitely taking advantage of what the city has to offer. I’ve always been proud of this beautiful park, and I would recommend the trail for a few stolen moments of R&R. Wildlife in abundance, flora and fauna, fountains, statues, beautiful people frolicking about… this is the life.
Cue music: «Juicy» by Notorious B.I.G. … «and if you don’t know, now you know…»