Tag Archive for: San Jacinto Bayou Greenway

New Bayou Greenway Now Connects Kingwood, Forest Cove

The Houston Parks Board’s newest leg of the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway is nearing completion. Construction started near River Grove Park in Kingwood and is working its way west toward Harris County Precinct 4’s new Edgewater Park at US59.

First Leg Now Concreted, Others Under Construction

The first leg of the concrete trail connects River Grove Park and the Kingwood Trail Network to Hamblen Road in Forest Cove. From there, the trail snakes through streets in the Northshore neighborhood, such as Northshore Drive and Sunrise Trail. It currently stops just north of the Forest Cove little league fields on Forest Cove Drive. However, the trail will continue west; that’s just the extent of current construction. At the ends of streets that don’t connect, the Parks Board is building connector trails for hikers and bikers.

The only portion of the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway completely concreted to date links Woodland Hills Drive and Hamblen. Other portions of the trail are partially concreted, and some are still being cleared. Construction fences are still up, even in the areas with concrete, as crews have not yet finished installing benches and planting grass.

Not Yet Quite Bike Ready

Net: Don’t take your bike through there yet. These pictures taken this afternoon show the current state of construction.

Looking west from the entrance to River Grove Park in Kingwood toward Hamblen Road in Forest Cove at the new San Jacinto Bayou Greenway trail.
Closer view of same trail in same direction. Note the limited landscaping to date.
Reverse angle looking east toward River Grove from the end of Hamblen Road in Forest Cove.
Another leg of trail, not yet complete, connecting Northshore Drive and Sunrise Trail. Looking SW from Northshore.
Where second leg of trail exits onto Sunrise Trail.
Current end of construction activity at Forest Cove Drive just north of Little League Fields.

Trail is actively being cleared farther to the east, but it’s not yet passable. The cleared portion currently terminates at Marina Drive near the Forest Cove Pool, behind the townhomes destroyed by Harvey.

Map courtesy of Houston Parks Board.

While th San Jacinto Bayou Greenway project will help to revitalize the area, some residents who survived the storm and rebuilt their homes lament the loss of seclusion. However, avid hikers and bikers will no doubt will love the trail which will connect to the Spring Creek Greenway and take people up to the Woodlands. It represents a vast expansion of connected trails in the area and will rival the largest urban trail networks in the country – if it won’t be the largest.

That will put Kingwood and Forest Cove back in the news again in an immensely positive way. It will also create a magnet that improves home values again and attracts younger couples with children trying take advantage of Humble ISD schools.

This project has been in the planning stages since shortly after Harvey. It was just last month that the first leg of the trail connecting River Grove and Hamblen was cleared. Crews have made considerable progress since then.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/19/2021

1298 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Trailblazing: Houston Parks Board Clears Path Between River Grove and Hamblen Road

The trailblazing Houston Parks Board has already begun the first leg of its San Jacinto Bayou Greenway. Last month, the Parks Board announced it was beginning construction of the new linear park. It will connect Edgewater Park – at the southeast corner of US59 and the San Jacinto West Fork – to River Grove Park in Kingwood. The first segment of the project runs through the woods between Woodland Hills Drive and the eastern end of Hamblen Road.

The $2.1 million project will take about a year to complete.

The Parks Board has not started pouring concrete yet, but they have blazed a trail through the woods.

Looking west from the Kingwood Greenbelt along Woodland Hills near the entrance to River Grove Park.
Reverse angle, looking east toward River Grove from the end of Hamblen in Forest Cove.

To learn more about the Bayou Greenway, click here. This project is in cooperation with Harris County Precinct 4 Parks.

Creating One of Longest Urban Trail Networks in North America

Eventually, this project will unify the 40 miles of trails along Spring Creek and the West Fork with 100+ mile trail network in Kingwood. That will create one of the longest urban trail networks in America. With a 160-foot long bridge across Caney Creek to Lake Houston Park, it could become even longer and create an unparalleled natural amenity. At 5000 acres, Lake Houston Park is already the largest urban nature park in North America.

We’re getting up into “Guiness Book of World Records” territory now. And to think it all started with a natural disaster called Harvey. Without Harvey, the path between US59 and Woodland Hills would have likely been blocked by unaffordable properties.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/21/2021

1272 Days since Hurricane Harvey