San Jacinto Loop

More information:

• Baytown Chamber of Commerce
  (281) 422-8359
  www.ci.baytown.tx.us/index.html

UTC 039 Baytown Nature Center

Suggested Seasons to visit: All Seasons

Site open for day use only.

From the intersection of TX 146 and I-10, go west on I-10 to Crosby-Lynchburg Road and Spur 330. Go east on Spur 330 to Bayway Drive, south on Bayway Drive to Shreck, and then west on Shreck to Baytown Nature Center. This interpretive center, still in development, encompasses a former housing subdivision abandoned because of land subsidence. With the dwellings now removed, the area is metamorphosing into a mosaic of uplands and wetlands.

UTC 040 Eddie V. Gray Goose Creek Wetlands Education Center

Suggested Seasons to visit: All Seasons

Site open for day use only.

Return to Bayway, and continue south to Market Street and the Goose Creek Wetland Center (281-420-7128). Recently opened, the Goose Creek Wetland Center staff is available to direct birders to local areas of interest. Look for Black-crowned Night-Herons and various shorebirds in the wetlands behind the center.

UTC 041 San Jacinto Battleground/ Monument SHP

Suggested Seasons to visit: Migrations, Winter

Site open for day use only.

From Baytown, go south on TX 146 (which can be reached by returning east on Market Street from the Goose Creek Wetland Center) to TX 225. Atkinson Island WMA is located in the bay to the east, but is only accessible by boat. Go east on TX 225 to TX 134 (Battleground Road), and then travel north on TX 134 to PR 1836 and the San Jacinto Battleground/Monument SHP. Local birders recommend the south end of the park. Wood Storks are often present in late summer and fall, and Hooded Mergansers and Greater Scaup have been seen during winter.