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SStart your trip in Hermann Park, a 445-
acre green space just south of downtown.
Te park is just a short bike ride on the
multi-use Brays Bayou Trail from the
southern end of the Columbia Tap Rail-
Trail and ofers a convenient and scenic
place to begin your Houston excursion.
Te Columbia Tap railroad opened
in 1856. In its early years the line was an
important route for moving crops and
people into the heart of Houston from
plantations and ports to the south. Te
rail line eventually became part of Union
Pacifc’s network but then fell into dis-
use. Te four-mile section from Dixie
Drive to Dowling Street was converted
into a rail-trail and opened in 2009.
Today, the 10-foot-wide concrete
trail cuts a line through Houston’s Tird
Ward, the historical heart of the city’s
African-American community. Along
the way, it passes through neighbor-
hoods of small homes and apartment
buildings, dotted with churches, schools
and playgrounds.
About a mile north from the south-
ern trailhead, the Columbia Tap slices
through Texas Southern University—a
150-acre expanse of red-brick buildings,
grassy felds and walkways criss-crossed
by book-toting students.
Leaving the campus, the trail moves
through one of the poorest sections of the
neighborhood, then runs under a busy
highway and emerges into a warehouse
district. From here, the Columbia Tap
curves northwest and spills out onto
downtown streets only blocks from major
destinations, including Minute Maid
Park, where the Houston Astros play.
But it’s time for a break and you’re
hungry for some of the city’s famous
Tex-Mex. So instead of following the
trail as it curves into downtown, head
north to Navigation Boulevard, where
you’ll fnd Villa Arcos (see “Where to
Eat,” right). Sit at a table on the front
deck and bask in Houston’s pleasant
winter weather.
Don’t get too comfortable, though,
because there’s plenty of rail-trail left.
Head east on Navigation and Commerce
streets, and you’ll arrive at the trailhead
for the Harrisburg and Sunset rail-trails.
Tese companion trails, completed
within the last decade, are built over
the tracks of the oldest railroad in
Texas. Te Bufalo Bayou, Brazos and
Colorado Railway Company, char-
tered in 1850, originally connected the
towns of Harrisburg (a settlement on
Bufalo Bayou that predated Houston
and even served as the capital of Texas
in the 1830s) and Alleyton. After the
Civil War, this line became the frst part
of the Southern Pacifc Transportation
Company. Te company adopted the slo-
gan “Te Sunset Route” for trains head-
ing west from Houston, a moniker the
city applied to a section of this rail-trail.
Te Harrisburg and Sunset trails,
connected by a short stretch of on-street
cycling, take you out of an industrial
district and quickly into a quiet Hispanic
neighborhood east of downtown. Several
large cofee-roasting facilities are based in
this part of Houston, flling the air with
the stimulating fragrance of fresh java.
From the end of the Harrisburg and
Sunset trails, head west to the intersec-
tion of Runnels and McKee streets,
where you’ll fnd the start of the Houston
Heritage Corridor bike path, which will
eventually lead to the MKT/SP rail-trail.
As of this writing, parts of the Heritage
trail were still under construction, so you
may need to make a detour over White
Oak Bayou to reach the MKT/SP.
Tis trail’s acronym comes from
the Missouri-Kansas-Texas/Southern
Pacifc railroad, a line built in the 1890s.
You’ll usually hear it referred to as the
Heights Trail, after the afuent north
Houston neighborhood through which
it runs. Tis is a neighborhood of tree-
lined streets, attractive homes, tony
stores, trendy cafes and hip art galleries.
Perhaps the most intriguing in the latter
category is the Art Car Museum. Tis
unique institution—a sheet-metal-and-
chrome building dubbed the “Garage
Mahal”—houses a collection of vehicles
transformed into rolling lizards, rabbits,
high-heeled shoes and insects. Whether
this collection fts your defnition of fne
art or not, it’s worth a visit.
Returning to the trail, it’s less than a
mile west before the MKT/SP ends next
to a small neighborhood park, where
you’ll need to turn around and retrace
your path back into town. Te ride back
has a unique reward: stunning views of
downtown Houston’s skyline.
From the downtown area, it’s just a
short ride south to Hermann Park. Tese
last miles will go quickly because you,
like Houston, are On A Roll.
rails to trails u winter.12 28
destination
A cyclist rides
on a restored
wooden trestle
over one of
the city’s many
bayous.
The MKT/SP trail offers
impressive views of
Houston’s skyline as
it heads east from the
Heights neighborhood.