Grab Your Camera: Where to View Bluebonnets In and Around Houston

Grab Your Camera: Where to View Bluebonnets In and Around Houston

Bluebonnets at Buffalo Bayou Park (photo by Kelli Durham)

NATURE’S VISUAL SPLENDOR has pushed up from the soil and pretty petals are on display around Texas through April. You don’t have to travel far to catch the beauty while getting fresh air and celebrating spring. Pack up the car with perhaps a picnic and hit the road!


Buffalo Bayou Park

Take a walk on the wild side of this paved trail with gentle hills and views of the bayou. Bluebonnets can usually be seen in patched across its entire property, along the trails and past the first bridge.

Memorial Park

Things are getting quite colorful in this sprawling, beautified park. Spring wild flowers have been planted throughout; look for photo-worthy spots in the Eastern Glades near the parking lot.

Houston Botanic Garden

Located along Sims Bayou in the southeast part of the city, this oasis flaunts bluebonnets in mid-February and the property fills in with blooms through April or early May.

Terry Hershey Park

Houston's west side is home to an incredible collection of hike-and-bike trails, with patches of bluebonnets and other beautiful blooms all over. The best place to park is off Memorial Drive just past Eldridge.

White Oak Bayou

Hit the trails of this green space on the edge of the Heights for a variety of spring flowers. The best spot is just south of 11th and along TC Jester.

Willow Waterhole

Spot bluebonnets in this green space in Westbury. You’ll find parking off Dryad Drive — and seek out the water retention ponds where the flowers are planted.

Wine & Wildflower Journey 

If you need an excuse more than fields blanketed in wildflowers, head west to the Hill Country for more scenic beauty and a little Texas vino. The annual Wine & Wildflower Journey lasts through April 28, and you can choose one day of winery visits or buy a multi-day pass if you want to meander.

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Located in Austin, this delightful center offers an educational and immersive experience for bluebonnet enthusiasts. Explore the gardens showcasing native Texas plants including bluebonnets and learn about conservation efforts to preserve these natural treasures.

Burnet Bluebonnet Festival

Small town Burnet boasts fields of bluebonnets that attract visitors from all over. Its annual Bluebonnet Festival, April 12-14, celebrates these annual bloomers with live music, food vendors, and arts and crafts.

Art + Entertainment

WHAT TO DO when a beautiful botanical garden is overgrown with green briars, poison ivy, ragweed, and other undesirable plant species that prevent the growth of new trees? Call in the goats! Specifically, about 120 super cute goats from Rent-a-Ruminant Texas, who return to the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center on Tuesday, June 4, to partake in a week-long banquet of invasive vegetation, effectively clearing three acres south of the meadow between the South Meadow Trail and the Muscadine Trail along the Outer Loop.

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places

John and Carly Whitehurst and Claudia and Brad Freels

THE FIRST-EVER Wish Ball was held at The Post Oak Hotel this month, benefiting the Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana chapter.

Keep Reading Show less
Parties