Houston calls itself the Bayou City, and this 2.3-mile stretch between Shepherd Drive and Sabine Street is where the name makes sense. Reopened in 2015 after a major renovation, Buffalo Bayou Park threads trails, native landscaping, the Johnny Steele Dog Park (temporarily closed after storm damage) and a skate park along the water, with downtown towers rising at the east end. Along Harmony Walk near the Rosemont Bridge stand the seven figures of Jaume Plensa's Tolerance. Then go underground. The Cistern was built in 1926 to hold the city's drinking water, was decommissioned in 2007 after an irreparable leak, and was rediscovered by Buffalo Bayou Partnership in 2010. Today you walk a railed ledge around the edge while 221 concrete columns, each 25 feet tall, march off into the dark. Clap once and listen: the echo lasts about 17 seconds. Through January 24, 2027 it hosts Undercurrents, an interactive voice-and-light installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.
What to expect
- The Cistern is dim and windowless; the tour walks about a quarter mile on a railed path.
- If walking is hard, ask staff at check-in for a seated or stationary Cistern tour.
- No strollers, food, drinks or gum in the Cistern; photos are fine, but no tripods.
- Allen Parkway spaces cost $1 for three hours; City Lot H on Memorial Drive is paid too.
- Restrooms are at The Water Works and at Lost Lake (3422 Allen Parkway).
What to do
- Take the 30-minute guided Cistern History Tour and test the 17-second echo
- See Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's Undercurrents in the Cistern (on view through January 24, 2027)
- Walk or bike the bayou trails to Jaume Plensa's Tolerance figures on Harmony Walk
- 160 acres, 2.3 miles longPark
- 1926; opened to public May 2016Cistern built
- 221, each 25 ft tallColumns
- about 17 secondsEcho