Houston may be flat, but its adventure palette is robust. Presenting eight ways to get outside in this surprisingly active city.
Pull Some Plastic
Boulders are scarce around here, so get your send on at the听, then sign up for the two- day outdoor skills clinic so you鈥檙e primed for a weekend of cragging in nearby Austin.听
听
High Mileage听
Terry Hershey Park and its mixed-use trail are for going long. 鈥淲e use it for marathon training,鈥 says Mark Coleman, president of the Houston Striders. 鈥淚t鈥檚 30 miles out and back. No matter what you鈥檙e preparing for, you can get your distance.鈥澨
Trail Mix
Some 10,000 people run in Memorial Park every day, and it鈥檚 easy to see why: the 2.9-mile loop is a Strava test piece, there鈥檚 a track for speed work, and trails allow you to escape asphalt. Bonus: it鈥檚 not just for runners. Many of the trails are mountain-bike legal.听
Breakfast
Bakeries don鈥檛 typically have a chef who trained at El听Bulli, but听听isn鈥檛 a normal bakery. There鈥檚 a yogurt parfait if you鈥檙e feeling virtuous, and the duck breast with a soft-boiled egg on rye is great after a long run in Memorial Park.听
听
Lunch
听opened in 1972, but the OG health-food spot has expanded its clientele beyond Middle Earth crunchies. (Paleos: the menu added meat in 鈥78.) It鈥檚 now a local classic. Try the Smaug鈥檚 Delight, a turkey and avocado melt.听
Dinner听
Houston is still full of steakhouses where oil barons wheel and deal while gnawing on cigars. But you can eat well without the artery impact, too. The best restaurant in town, ,听offers a six-course vegetable tasting menu infused with Indian and Japanese flavors.听
Rubber Side Down
With espresso machines and fridges full of beer,听听feels more like a clubhouse than a bike shop, but you can still get a brightly colored听Cinelli听or a cough-syrup-themed water bottle (a nod to the local rap scene).听
听
Swamp Thing听
Houston is a maze of 2,500 miles of jungle-like waterways, and the folks at , in Buffalo Bayou Park, will rent you a SUP or kayak to explore them. If there are waves in Galveston, they鈥檒l also hook you up with a surfboard.听