Where to run and ride

Flat, hot, and windy off the bay, which means early, shaded, and near the water. Here's where.

Running. - The Nature Center roads. Paved loops through the peninsula, no cars to speak of, herons for company. Three to five miles depending on how far out you go; the gate fee is a few dollars a person and worth every step. Dawn in summer; any time after October. No dogs — service animals only — so this is the solo run. - Evergreen Park. The long walk in town — 119 acres of trail, more shade than anywhere else, and a lot of dog walkers to say good morning to. The dog run, if you've got one. - Jenkins Park. The neighborhood loop: shaded, a track's worth of distance, the playground for the kids you brought, water fountains that work. - Bayland Park shoreline. Short and flat with the bay wind in your face one way and at your back the other. Sunset is the run here; the park's open till ten. - The Goose Creek trail. The bayou-side path where it exists — Goose Creek Park at 3 Price Street is the trailhead people use — and the trails page has the segments, surfaces and coordinates from the parks pass. - Town Square and Texas Avenue. The early-morning downtown loop before the town's up; Art Alley is the turnaround.

Riding. - The Nature Center again, for the same reasons — the only place in town you can ride a loop without a pickup behind you. Kids can ride here. - Business 146 to Bayland. The shoulder is wide enough for the confident; the sunset ride to the marina and back. Not for kids. - The bridge is not a ride. No bike lane, no shoulder worth the name, and it's not allowed. Cross on the ferry — bikes ride, and the ride is free like everything else on it — and ride the Highlands side or the Battleground roads, which are the best cycling near Baytown and almost nobody uses them. The Battleground loop is flat, quiet, and has the monument for a landmark. - Mont Belvieu's new subdivisions have the widest, emptiest streets in the area and the Eagle Pointe loop around the rec complex.

The rules. Heat: from May to September, done by nine or start after seven at night; the pavement radiates till midnight in August. Water every mile in August. Sunscreen doubles on the water. Mosquitoes at dusk near any bayou. A light on the bike even at dawn; the shift-change traffic isn't looking for you. And a norther in January is the best running weather of the year, for exactly two days.

Races and company. The Turkey Trot with the November Market, the Nurture Nature 5K some years, the school fun runs, the Crosby Fair's run in June — on the calendar as they're announced. The running and cycling groups, where they exist, are on the civic page; if there isn't one, the Nature Center lot at seven on Saturday is where you'd start one.

En español. Dónde correr y andar en bicicleta en Baytown: los caminos del Centro de Naturaleza (sin carros, sin perros), el parque Evergreen (119 acres, sombra, perros bienvenidos), Jenkins, la orilla de Bayland al atardecer, el sendero de Goose Creek desde el parque en Price Street. El puente no es para bicicletas; cruce en el ferry (gratis) y ruede del lado de Highlands o del campo de batalla. En verano, antes de las nueve o después de las siete.