Buffalo Bayou is Houston’s most significant natural resource. Historically, the banks of Buffalo Bayou were the site of the Allen Brothers’ founding of the city and the lower portions of the bayou were utilized to develop the Houston Ship Channel and the Port of Houston. Today, the 32-mile Buffalo Bayou provides some of the city’s most remarkable topography running west through downtown and out to the Katy Prairie. The bayou’s green and gracefully curving banks serve as a destination for joggers, dog walkers, birders and bat watchers, while the waters draw canoeing and kayaking enthusiasts.
Inspired by Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s Sabine Promenade project and the organization’s 2002 Master Plan, the Kinder Foundation approached Buffalo Bayou Partnership in 2010 to serve as the catalyst funder with a grant of $30 million, one of the largest gifts to Houston’s park system, for improvements to the existing 160-acre, 2.3 mile stretch of the bayou from Shepherd Drive to Sabine Street. The project goal was to restore the area to a more natural and self-sustaining state, reintroduce native landscapes, and add amenities to enhance safety and convenience for visitors.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership led the effort and worked collaboratively with the City of Houston and the Harris County Flood Control District. Construction began in summer 2012 and the park improvements were completed in October 2015. Read more about the opening of the park.buffalobayoupark.org