Living within the inner loop of a city has many benefits. In Houston, one of those is a plethora of urban parks with miles of walking, running, and biking trails. Buffalo Bayou Park, between Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive, is just one of the many parks that offer outdoor recreation!
An entire weekend of fresh air is exactly what the doctor ordered. Just an hour and a half northeast of Houston, Lake Livingston State Park is an amazing destination for an easy weekend of camping. The park has hiking trails, archery, and loads of lake activities to keep you entertained.
It is no secret, Kayaking is my absolute favorite outdoor activity! I go as often as I can, and look for new paddling trails all the time. In June, my Dad, Winter, and I traveled about an hour west of Downtown Houston, to the Columbus Paddling Trail, on the Colorado River.
On the trail we came across two copperheads! These little guys blended in so well with the leaves on the trail a few of us walked right past them without even noticing!
Pace Bend Park is located in the Texas Hill Country north of Austin, TX, on Lake Travis about 3 hours from Houston. It provides an easy going feel for camping and has about 15 miles of hiking and biking trails in the parks interior.
Kayaking is probably one of my all time favorite outdoor activities, though it is not always the easiest thing to do on your own. Fortunately, I have a great paddling partner in my Dad.
The trail follows the river and offers spectacular views of the cliff faces on the opposite side of the river bank. On our side of the river there were enormous Cypress trees along the water edge.
What would a girls trip be with stopping in at a Winery!
The Lake Raven Dam and Spillway was our next stop, about 3 miles down the trail. At the Spillway there is a pond area at the bottom feeding into Prairie Branch Creek. We decided to go off trail a little to let the dogs swim and cool off here. Man did they LOVE that! And they got to meet a few other dogs that were playing in the water as well.