I've always been to Deussen park from my childhood age and I still go now. They have made such a…read moregreat improvement and it's still a great park spot. We like this dog spot for our puppy. I forgot to take the picture of the river area but it's a nice relaxing spot.

No one, and I mean no one (in my circles) has ever referred to this park by its full name. We…read morealways just refer to it as Deussen Park. That said, Alexander Deussen was an important geologist who basically donated the land on which this park is situated. What sets this park apart from most parks in the metropolis is the expansive acreage, dark green verdant scenery, forest-like quality and its proximity to Lake Houston. Most parks in Houston have the concrete jungle as a backdrop or, in the case of Memorial Park, are located near highways or major thoroughfares. However, Deussen Park is one of those parks you can kind of disappear into and get lost in away from the chaos and everyday randomness of urban life. I've been here for BBQs and other gatherings, but would like to attend a concert here one day. If you just want to escape the big city, this is one of the best places to go.

Really nice park to get in some laps and enjoy the view! I do wish that it was a mile one time…read morearound but other than that great park!

Good for photography and very clean and quiet. Sometimes packed , depending on the day.read more

Yes, my nephews had a graduation get together there. It was nice. It was clean and turned out well.read more

This park is closest to my house. But, every time we go we have a problem. Loose, stray or…read moreabandoned animals. Homeless. Got rushed by a pack of loose dogs before. Not cool. I won't go there anymore.

This is a wonderful local park with wide open paved walking/ hiking trails along with some smaller…read moredirt trails if you need to get "in there" a little more Walk down to the Spring Creek and fish or just bird watch - there are TONS!! Beautiful place, friendly workers and very well kept up!

Houston has the second most parks and recreation acreage of any large metro area with ~ 76,000…read moreacres! Over the last 20 years the maintenance & investment has improved dramatically including public / private work developing the Spring Creek Trail corridor which winds for ~ 30 miles from Montgomery County through Harris County including this great nature park near Bush Intercontinenetal Airport. This Jesse H Jones offers horsetrails, creek beaches, nature trails, play areas for kids, picnic areas, biking areas and dog friendly. This is a great four season park! Best in cooler months but the creek is great when it gets hot.

Considering this just an unassuming neighborhood park, it's a nice hidden gem if you want to stop…read moreand eat your lunch of have a picnic. I'm not sure if non-residents can come here too or not but I'm sure if you don't abuse it, nobody minds. I actually just found this place on Google after hiking at Lake Houston Wilderness park and that was a huge disappointment and wanted to at least go to a park that had a view of the Lake. It may not be the best view of the lake, especially with a dead half eaten Pelican on the shore, but it's still much better than the other park I mentioned!

Randomly came across this parking looking for a new walking trail. It's clean, peaceful, relaxing,…read moresmall private access controlled park, with beautiful views of Lake Houston. They have a new restroom area, with shaded picnic tables, a playground, and gazebo's over looking Lake Houston. They have a dock(no boat ramp)great for leisure kayaking, but be prepared walk a few hundred feet (200). Overall great experience on a week day was a wonderful peaceful experience....

I've been eying this park for some years now...thinking it would be a great location to get some…read moreearly morning walking in and some much needed exposure to the great outdoors. I FINALLY made good on making a stop my first day of Spring Break. I dragged out of bed really late Saturday morning when I decided to make a walk here...like 9 am...didnt get myself together until 11 to drive to the park which was less than 10 minutes away. From the freeway, less than 2 minutes and youre there! I do believe the local YMCA is housed here and the parking lot was available for visitors to park there, but I will probably park at the makeshift roadway at the west side of the park...just because its closer to the walking trail. I was quite impressed that the walking trails were walkable!!! Concrete smooth and not covered with water, so they've invested in a good drainage system to keep this park usable. If I had kids, I would definetly bring them here! Lots of playgrounds of various sizes and varieties. They have your typical treehouses and even a boat! They even feature gym like equipment to get your work out on (just no weight can be added--its all your body weight). Nice addition to combine some strength training with some cardio in one stop. The field area is a little small, but depending on what youre playing, it could work. On this particular Saturday, parents were gathered around to have their little ones play little league baseball (It was the cutest thing to see the kiddies in their uniforms and helmets running the bases). They had set up tents to stay cool as the weather got hot and were having tons of fun. Made me smile. There were some guys playing basketball on the court as well. No problems or arguments there either. For the 45 minutes I was taking my walk I saw and heard no issues and felt safe the entire time I was there. Of course, I wouldnt come at night by myself, but Ive been to parks in the daytime and felt unsafe, so always trust your intuition. Mine didnt go off at all and wished I had gotten up earlier to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Nice neighborhood park to take your family, get a nice leisurely walk in, or make some serious exercise strides if you live nearby.

I love walking the trail here. It's a 2 mile walk around and the park is always clean. The grass…read morestays cut and the nature atmosphere is great for getting physical activity. No one bothers you. Everyone is focused on their fitness journey.

The janitor Worker was so rude I parked on the side to pick up my items and kids and he got angry…read moresaying Theres a huge sign saying not to drive on that side. It was a small sign I didn't see. SMH could have handled it more professionally instead of the all crunk and rowdy, felt uncomfortable and unsafe.

Checked out Sheldon Lake State Park after seeing it nearby. It's not a fully developed park, rather…read moreit's a collection of former fish hatcheries that have been returned to nature + walking trails + wetlands. There is no entrance fee and you're able to fish from the shoreline without a fishing license. The park is open from 8am-5pm. There's only about 2 miles worth of easy, paved trails. The main attraction is their observation tower that has an elevator that took us to the top. Up there, we saw the Houston skyline, oil refineries, and the other areas of the park we can't get to by foot. There are occasionally some ranger programs that the park rangers host. Because this park is classified as a not for profit park, they don't sell any gifts or souvenirs. They do have a park stamp though if you're interested in adding to your Texas State Parks Passport stamp collection. Even though this place doesn't offer many of the bells and whistles of other parks, the free admission makes it accessible to anyone seeking to get away from the "busyness" of life.

This is one of the Texas State parks that is free without the TX State Park pass and doesn't allow…read moreindividual camping. They only have group camping onsite and the campsites are not private, but very close together. Located in an unincorporated community just right off of Beltway 8 and US-90 Highway is Sheldon, TX which isn't too far from East Houston. Sheldon Lake isn't as kept up as Brazos Bend State Park in Needville or Stephen F. Austin in San Felipe, TX (which are closer state parks near Houston worth checking out); I did notice that since the park is considered free, hooligans feel the need to vandalize educational outdated posters on the tower and carve their names into trees which serve no purpose. I had the pleasure of meeting one of the park rangers, Tori who mentioned that the park was special to her. She was going around the park to assessing things that needed to be completed and worked on. This is one of the underrated parks that is home to ecological habitats of wetlands, bottomland woods, and coastal prairies. Driving to the park on Garrett Road, to your right, you'll see Sheldon Reservior. Seeing the trees on the reservior reminded me of the bald cypress at Caddo Lakes State park in Karnack, TX. Big and sunken into the swampy waters. Climbing several stairs to get to the top of the 82-floor tower was exciting because the view was stunning. There are placemarkers on the floor that indicate at which area that you stand you can see the Houston Ship Channel, the San Jacinto Monument, Houston Skyline, bayous, and views of the park. The elevator looked to be out of commission for a while as it was boarded up. There were giant solar panels generating the Mitsubusi Generators behind the towers. The trails are flat and gravel based; they are easy to manever for able-bodied and handicapped accessible individuals. There aren't any traditional trail markers located through the park which can be a bit confusing if you have trouble with reading a maps or don't have a sense of direction due to a lack of spatial awareness, then you may get lost. Not to worry because the park is very small and each trail isn't too long. The main trails always lead back to the parking lot. Each trail at this park doesn't extend past 0.8 miles. Unlike many others TX State parks, the Civilian Conservation Corps didn't build anything on-site at Sheldon Lake. This is definitely not one of my favorite state parks within our state that I've visisted, but it isn't bad to come here for a quick hike and to relax. It wasn't very crowded like it would be at Enchanted Rock located in Fredricksburg, TX or even Inks Lake in Burnet, TX. The park is very simple and needs some extra work to make it shine like the other TPWD parks.