Free things to do in Baytown

Ranked by how much you'll actually enjoy them, not by how free they are.

1. The Lynchburg Ferry. Free, a few minutes across — under three by the historical commission's count, up to ten in wind and traffic — the whole county in one look. Weekdays from 4:30, weekends from eleven; closed the major holidays. 2. The Nature Center — nearly free; four dollars an adult and one for a kid at the gate, and the best morning in town. The boardwalk, the herons, the bridge across the water. The fee is on its page. 3. Art Alley, Texas Avenue. Ten minutes of murals, lit at night. Free forever, and the photo everyone takes. 4. The Market at Town Square. Third Saturday, ten to two, through November. Free to walk; the kolaches will cost you. 5. Driving the Fred Hartman at dusk. Costs gas. Worth more than most things that cost money. No stopping on the bridge. 6. Sterling Municipal Library. The children's floor, the story times (most weekday mornings), the air conditioning, the quiet. Monday to Thursday until eight; closed Sunday. 7. Bayland Park at sunset. A bench, the bay, the boats coming in, the bridge to your left. Open till ten. 8. Jenkins Park. The best playground in the city and the shade to survive it. Roseland for the bayou; Evergreen for the long walk. 9. The San Jacinto Battleground — across the ferry, the grounds and the marsh trails are free; the monument elevator isn't, and it's worth it. 10. The Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center. Free exhibits, live animals, the rainy-day hour with kids. Weekdays and Saturday; closed Sunday. 11. High school football. Not free, but a few dollars, and the best show in town from September to November. 12. Grito Fest, Nurture Nature, and the Christmas parade. Free to attend, expensive to park badly; read the standing guides. 13. The listening tours and council meetings. Free, and where the town's decisions get made. On the calendar; the fall listening tour stops in every district. 14. A cold front. The morning after one, anywhere on the water. Free, rare, perfect. 15. The plants at night from the Hyatt terrace. Technically you should buy a drink. Nobody's checked.

By season. - Spring: the Nature Center in migration, the Market. - Summer: the ferry at dawn, the library at noon, Bayland at sunset. Nothing in between. - Fall: all fifteen, all at once. - Winter: Birding Week in late November, the cold-front morning, the Christmas lights at Town Square, the ducks on the bay.

En español. Cosas gratis en Baytown: el ferry de Lynchburg, Art Alley en Texas Avenue, el mercado del tercer sábado en Town Square, la biblioteca Sterling, el parque Bayland al atardecer, el parque Jenkins, el Centro de Humedales Eddie V. Gray, el campo de batalla de San Jacinto, el Grito Fest y el desfile de Navidad. El Centro de Naturaleza cobra unos dólares por carro y los vale.