Paul Carr Jogging Trail

Introduction: In the Heights, inside the 610 loop, in Houston, Texas is a neat neighborhood jogging/walking path called the Paul Carr Jogging Trail. It is 1.5 miles long and meanders down the center of Heights Boulevard esplanade.

Location: The trail is located in the esplanade of Heights Boulevard starting just North of the Katy Freeway (I-10) and ending at 20th. It is located in the historical Heights neighborhood which is just northwest of downtown Houston.

Scoring: Walking = 3.5, Nature = 3
Walking: the trail loses points lack of water or bathrooms and sufficient lighting at night. The biggest drawback is having to cross the intersections along the way although the streets are not that busy.
Nature: It is after all on a noisy, busy city street, has beautiful large trees and landscaping, but is still a city street.

Background: The trail was named in honor of Paul Carr, long time resident of the Houston Heights and and also the coordinator of the trail project.

Coolest Thing About Park: There is a WWII Memorial at 14th adjacent to the trail and lots of benches. Cool old houses line both sides of the trail.

Trails: The trail has gentle curves and nestles among large trees and pleasant landscaping. It is level and of crushed cinder, wide enough for foot traffic both ways. Most of the trail is in shade. The biggest drawback is that you must cross streets if you want to walk the entire 1.5 miles.

Other things you'll want to know:

1. There are street lights along the way, but they are on the residence side, not on the esplanade. There are two lampposts actually on the trail, but not really sufficient for safe night walking (in my opinion).
2. No water fountains or bathrooms along the way, so go prepared.
3. Take your cell phone and ID always when you walk.
4. There is no parking lot for this walk. Park on any of the intersection side streets, but watch for no parking signs.

All blog content is copyrighted, all rights reserved, Mary Anne Fields and Life Unfolds, 2006

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