Cypress' paddle trail longest in state
Although Houston has earned the name the Bayou City, a majority of residents are unaware of the recreational opportunity flowing throughout Harris County.
Some of the bayous have been altered to account for necessary drainage systems and flood control, but many of these connected waterways can be used for canoeing and other activities. Cypress Creek bayou, which runs for 30 miles from Meyer Park to Jesse Jones Park, will be the longest paddle trail in the state upon completion, said Eric Ruckstuhl, executive director for Eyes on the Bayou, a program within the Bayou Preservation Association dedicated to rejuvenating Houston's bayou systems by removing trash, invasive plant species, harmful insects and, more recently, implementing man-made sluices to interconnect the waterways.
These sluices have helped make some of the bayou systems in Houston the longest stretches in the country with a total of more than 3,000 miles of waterways, Ruckstuhl said.
"We are trying to preserve and enhance the bayou system in Houston," he said. "Having the bayous in a wild state is key, as natural bends filter silt. Cypress Creek was channelized in the 1950s, but it has regrown to be about as wild as it can be."
