Throughout our relationship, Neil and I discovered that we shared three particular loves: international travel, walking, and exploring. A few years ago, we decided to combine all these things into one. We called this urban hiking. The idea came about because we realized when we traveled abroad, we didn’t mind walking several miles over the course of a day. We’d walk all over to see new sites and explore museums and eat fun foods. Why can’t we do the same thing in Houston? Houston boasts being an international city, and if you live inside the loop, you have access to lots of culture and arts and good food. So we started planning urban hikes throughout Houston, spending 5-6 hours on foot, stopping at sites along the way. And we love it.

So what exactly do we do on urban hikes? Here’s a rundown of our most recent escapade:

We started by walking to our neighborhood B-cycle station to rent some bikes (we consider this portion “urban biking”). We live in Montrose so the B-cycle stations are pretty prevalent.

From there we mosied to Hermann Park and rode around looking at the lush nature.

We parked our bikes at the Houston Zoo and walked through pretty Rice University where we got to look at all the fun outdoor art installations they have. From there, we ended up at Rice Village where we stopped for fuel at one of our favorite lunch spots: Jason’s Deli – free ice cream, y’all. Then we explored the shops, (we especially love peeking around Half Price Books).

Then we walked down Bissonett to the Museum of Fine Art, where we took a bathroom break, looked at the art in the lobby, and pick up our bikes at the neighboring B-cycle station. Then we rode home, but not after taking a quick spin around our neighborhood.

At the end of the hike, we spent around six hours in the beautiful weather, walked about five miles and biked around six.

It may seem like a lot of walking (and it is). But it’s also a great opportunity to explore our city, get some exercise, and spend some quality time with each other. We usually do an urban hike every month or so, weather permitting. Who wants to come with us next time?