In early March Winter and I headed back out to Lake Houston Wilderness Park , one of my favorite spots to go hiking near Houston. The park has well maintained trails and is only 30 minutes from downtown Houston!
AmeriTrail
The AmeriTrail is the longest trail in the park, the in and back hike is almost 8 miles! The trail follows the bank of Peach Creek, which eventually joins with the San Jacinto River. There are primitive campsites about 2 miles in, on the bank of the creek. Plenty of overlooks with benches scatter the trail providing beautiful views of the creek. During the summer months there are even a few areas you could enjoy swimming and lounging the water. With temperatures in the high 40’s from a recent cold front, we opted to stay dry.
Overlooking Peach Creek 
The trail was a moderately difficult hike because of the distance and the mud we had to navigate due to the recent rains. Some areas had a few inches of standing water, which made me very thankful for my Merrell hiking boots! The entire trail has tree cover and there are a few steeper spots that were made quiet slippery by the mud. As the trail progresses, the scenery changes moving from drier wooded areas to marsh areas. We stopped at a wetland overlook for lunch about 3/4ths the way down the trail.
Lunch stop overlooking the wetlands along the Ameritrail
Because of all the mud we changed it up a bit on the way back, hiking along 5-mile road from the end of the Ameritrail back to the Nature Center. It was much less muddy, but not as scenic.
Hiking back on 5-mile road 
Lake Houston Wilderness Park
We added about 2 miles to our total distance by hiking part of Peach Creek Loop at the beginning of the day. In total we finished nearly 10 miles of hiking in about 4 hours, with a stop for snacks and lunch along the way.
Last time we hiked in Lake Houston Wilderness Park came across a few snakes. Luckily, this time we hiked snake free! If you do come across wildlife, including snakes, give them space and they should leave you alone.
Before You Go
The entrance fee for day use is $3. We usually park near the Nature Center/Park Headquarters and hike from there. You can head east on the Forest Trail, and South on Peach Creek Loop Trail or AmeriTrail. There is also a trail head for Logging Loop Trail nearby.
Houston Parks and Recreation Department has a little bit of information about Lake Houston Wilderness Park on their website, here. They do not have a lot of information about the trails.
Leave No Trace
The environmental activist in me comes out at the end of every post. If we want to keep being able to enjoy the great outdoors, we have to take care of it! I have a bag to put all my trash in that I carry in my day pack. Using a refillable and reusable water bottle or camelbak instead of using a plastic bottle from the convenience store is a must.
When I hike with dogs, who are lucky enough to have nature as their restroom, I always carry plenty of baggies to clean up after them. Most parks don’t have trash bins along trails, so be prepared to carry it out.
Look for more posts about hiking in Houston and around Texas here. For more dog friendly hiking and camping, check out my blogs on the All Things Winter page.
I want you to do this for Bill and I
I can definitely help!
I wish you could do this for Bill and I aunt susan
[…] and hike from there. You can head east on the Forest Trail, and South on Peach Creek Loop Trail or Ameri-Trail. There is also a trail head for Logging Loop Trail […]
[…] here countless times and even have several other blogs from various hiking trails within the park: Ameri-Trail and Forest Trail. On my most recent visit my friend and I took the dogs and explored the Peach […]
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