About this tour
On the northeast edge of Houston, Sheldon Lake State Park spreads across some 2,800 acres of lake, marsh, and prairie — a free, easygoing wetland park that doubles as an environmental learning center. The lake began life as a World War II-era reservoir, and dozens of old fish-hatchery ponds have since been handed back to nature as thriving wetlands. The star attraction is an 82-foot observation tower, the tallest structure in any Texas state park, with a view that takes in Houston's distant skyline over a foreground of marsh. This tour drives and walks the park's ponds, prairie, and boardwalks and climbs the tower. Bring water and bug spray, watch for alligators in the ponds, and go early or late when the birds and light are best.