Keith-Weiss Pond Loop

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Lake

The ponds in Keith-Weiss Park are all man-made water retention ponds to help mitigate flooding, but were designed to look as natural as possible. The designers certainly succeeded, and now Houston has a lovely park that mixes meadows, forest, and water. The park is quite a bit quieter than Memorial Park, aside from some aircraft noise from IAH.

This trail highlights and encircles the central water retention pond. There are two ways to get to it via paved paths—from the Western Path, which starts from the park's main parking area, or via the Eastern Path, which begins from a very small roadside parking area in the northeast.

The trail is paved and wide making it easy to navigate on and be passed by bikes. The eastern edge of the path follows the water's edge fairly closely and includes a short section of rocks that allow direct access to the water's edge. The northern part of the path is perhaps the best—it is a boardwalk that crosses the pond. It results in nice views and intimacy with the ecosystem thanks in part to its lack of railings. The western part of the trail heads toward the edge of the forest and provides a different perspective of the water. Finally, on the southern edge of the pond you'll find a little pier that juts out into the water.