Memorial Park: Your Guide to the Eastern Glades
Visiting the Eastern Glades can be just the break you need from cleaning your apartment and all the other chores of daily life. This easy-to-follow guide will help you get the most out of your visit to the Eastern Glades at Memorial Park.
What are the Eastern Glades at Memorial Park?
The Eastern Glades is a new 100-acre park space that was designed to honor the park’s 1930s master plan while also emphasizing science-driven resilience and conservation of sustainability.
Additionally, Eastern Glades preserves the area’s history, which hosted Camp Logan. This World War I military training site is commemorated in Memorial Park.
A former entrance to Camp Logan has been re-established with a breathtaking view of the west side wetlands over 1,500 feet away. There are several picnic areas on the park’s southern side, and multiple pavilions offer gathering space for groups.
In Live Oak Court, just steps from the lakefront, you can find taco trucks and social events under dangling lights. Of course, there are plenty of dragonflies, birds, sunflowers, bushes of plump beauty berries, and hundreds of native plants.
Notable Features of Eastern Glades
Eastern Glades Amenities
- 100 acres of open space
- Beautiful sunset views from the 5-acre Hines Lake and wetlands
- A total of three pavilions and four picnic areas
- 25 miles of new trails, including boardwalks along the lake and wetlands
- Five-acre Central Lawn
- Oval Promenade
- Concessions and events at Live Oak Court
- Additional parking
- Dark sky lighting
- Water fountains for people and dogs
- Benches and bike racks
What makes Eastern Glades different from other parts of Memorial Park?
While Eastern Glades preserves the existing habitat in Memorial Park, it also introduces more native habitats suitable for wildlife and landscapes in Houston.
The diversity of the Eastern Glades provides visitors with more opportunities to observe and interact with nature.
Central Lawn
A defining feature of Eastern Glades is the central lawn, which guests encounter from the parking lot. Its oval-shaped grounds are covered with thick, lush grass that gives the area its shape and serves as natural landscaping for visitors and wildlife.
This shady, secluded spot makes an ideal place to relax and rest for park-goers. Savannas in this park give the meandering areas of the lawn a sense of privacy, allowing visitors to find their own space without crowding.
Moreover, a series of concrete benches line the western side of the Oval Promenade, allowing visitors to relax and enjoy Hines Lake’s sunsets.
The area also features influences of 1930s architecture as well as an inscribed concrete ribbon with personal quotes from more than 50 Houstonians about the meaning of Memorial Park.
Upland Forest
The pine-hardwood forests look very different without invasive thickets. Instead of an impenetrable mass, they are filled with light and air between the trees with occasional groups of shrubs and a low, native understory.
Both people and wildlife can benefit from these areas within Eastern Glades. It is an ideal habitat for birds to nest in the canopy of mature trees.
The understory and midstory of a restored forest provide wildlife with better habitats and food. Select areas within the forest are accessible through different trails throughout Memorial Park and the Eastern Glades.
Prairie
Houston’s prairie habitats are rapidly disappearing. The Eastern Glades have increased the number of prairie habitats in Houston and made it more accessible to the public.
A diverse collection of wildflowers and wildlife can be found in Eastern Glades’ natural grassland portions.
Bioswales
A vital element of the Eastern Glades design is collecting and directing rainfall runoff. Bioswales in the Eastern Glades parking lot divert and slow runoff into Buffalo Bayou.
The bioswales may appear overgrown, but they are regularly maintained by removing non-native weeds and promoting native wetland plants. Before water flows into Hines Lake and Buffalo Bayou, plants and soil filter it.
Wetlands
Houston’s wetlands are essential to holding and directing the fifty inches of rain that fall annually here.
Located on Hines Lake’s west side, the Faultline Wetland is the park’s largest wetland. Many species of birds and insects can be seen in and around these preserved natural wetlands.
A boardwalk through natural wetlands and pine-hardwood forests in Eastern Glades provides park visitors with easier access to the natural scenery.
As the boardwalk passes through the park’s wetlands, visitors see a thicket of scattered trees high above their heads and lying on the ground around them. The landscape is accented by the purple hues of American beautyberry bushes and native flowers.
As an echo of fallen trees, the boardwalk features branches that branch out in different directions. Ensuring that guests can step away from other park-goers and enjoy the tangled landscape on their own.
Hines Lake
With its 5 acres of ponds, frogs, turtles, fish, and water birds, Hines Lake is the crown jewel of the Eastern Glades, creating new wildlife habitats for turtles, fish, frogs, and water birds.
In addition to the North and South Lakeside Pavilions, Hines Lake is surrounded by boardwalks and walking paths.
Besides its cosmetic appeal, the lake also serves functional purposes for wildlife by improving water quality and irrigating trees in drought conditions.
FAQs
When should I come to the Eastern Glades?
You should come to the Eastern Glades in autumn (September to November) and in the spring (February to April). The cooler temperatures in these seasons allow you to spend the day at the Eastern Glades without sweating through your clothes.
If you come to the Eastern Glades in spring, all the wildflowers are fully blooming throughout the park. On the other hand, in autumn, the leaves of the trees change colors, and you’ll be able to spot wildlife preparing for the winter.
Whether you come to the Eastern Glades in spring or autumn, the Eastern Glades is a beautiful sight to behold.
As an extra tip, we recommend going to the Eastern Glades in the evening because you can admire the sunset and ditch the Houston heat if it’s not autumn or spring. You may even spot the bats flying over Hines Lake if you’re lucky.
Where can I park for the Eastern Glades at Memorial Park?
Parking at the Eastern Glades is at the Eastern Glades Parking Lot on East Memorial Loop Drive. Further north, you will find free parking at the park and playground.
Can I ride my bike throughout the Eastern Glades?
You cannot ride your bike in the Eastern Glades. Unfortunately, the paths at the Eastern Glades were not designed for bikes.
If you bring a bike, you can chain it up to the bike rack. Make sure not to lose your lock key, or you may have to call a locksmith.
Are pets allowed at the Eastern Glades?
Pets are allowed at the Eastern Glades. Your loveable pets can come with you to the Eastern Glades. Be careful not to let them near any water features throughout the park—it is not allowed.
