Cullinan Park — Attraction in Sugar Land

Living in a large metropolitan area like Houston, most of your weekly entertainment involves something in the city; a restaurant, a festival, a concert, sports, etc. If you want to see anything natural, you need to get in your car and drive. And one of the natural attractions not too far from the urban center is Cullinan Park, near Sugar Land.

I discovered Cullinan Park one day when I was looking for places to take a hike and found that a local organization was having a hike there. I’m not far from Sugar Land and I never knew this little gem existed. Driving to it, you will find that the entrance is easy to miss, since it is right off highway 6 and isn’t the type of place you would expect to find a park like this.

Just over one square mile in size, Cullinan Park has a small parking lot that can usually accommodate, but it’s not that big so if you arrive during a popular time of the day, you may have to look elsewhere for a space or keep driving around until someone leaves. They have restaurants and water available and the pathways for walking/hiking are right there, just steps from your car. The paths are mostly dirt, but there are some wooden walkways built out over the water and even a small tower you can climb up, for better views.

What will you see in Cullinan Park? Well, this is a warm, subtropical part of the country and that means reptiles are in abundance. Many people come here for that reason- they want to see alligators in their natural habitat. The last time I was here, a snake crossed my path. It was too quick for me to capture in a photo but it did get my attention! There are a large number of birds, too.

White Lake is a small lake within the park and it’s popular for fishing. If you decide to bring your dog along, be sure you keep it on a leash, since you don’t want to take a chance on an alligator grabbing your pup for a quick snack. If you need to rest while you walk, there are occasional benches.

Parks offer a nice respite from the sounds of the big city. Cullinan Park is within a short drive of much of the Houston metropolitan area and it’s a good place for a reasonably quiet stroll while you enjoy the wildlife. I recommend it for anyone in the Houston area who needs a nature fix and doesn’t want to drive too...

A nice little getaway in the middle of a rather busy area. A bit louder than you’d like for a nature preserve, being next to a major highway and an airport, it nonetheless has plenty of nature and is quieter than the rest of the area. A large lake (compared to what you’d expect) with a pier and viewing tower sits at the entrance. Trails wind through the dense forest area southwest of the parking area; they wind a lot, so it can be a bit easy to get lost, though you’ll find your way out eventually, just keep moving forward (or towards the sound of traffic). They are currently renovating the park and improving the trails, so you may reach some dead ends; don’t go around the barriers, they are closed for a reason, especially after Harvey caused flooding in the park. Be aware (but not scared) of alligators in the park, as it is located along a creek (read: swamp), so this is their natural habitat and it is a nature preserve as well. Signs remind you not to feed them either; they’re more scared of you than you are of them, but feeding them removes that fear, making them more likely to approach humans. Alligators approaching humans = dead alligator (call park officials if alligators are approaching you, at that point they become dangerous and you need to avoid them). So long as you’re aware of your surroundings, you’ll be fine, able to relax and...

This park... this park is my personal favorite for relaxing and walking and thinking about life for a while... definitely #1 for me. My ideal day there is walking most if not all trails, the pecan tree is a must, the cemetery is also a must and the loop around the lake as well... haha a lot of it is super dope. But ideally, finishing the day at the watchtower on the lake to take in the sunset... mmm that there is definitely a perfect day, especially if you have kids or other loved ones to share it with you. I took my kids there, (almost 4 year old boy and a 5yr old girl) and honestly, I was surprised at how much of it they took in. All these trail walks and park outings with the kids are paying off. They're starting to love and respect nature the way that I do. We saw a gator, we saw countless awesome birds, saw an armadillo, we walked a small trail, looked for butterflies. By the end of the day, even though we were all tired cos we went to 3 parks that day, they didn't wanna leave. Love it when I can enjoy nature with my kids. Beautiful day today honestly, we had a blast. I cannot recommend this...