Introduction to the East End of Sam Houston National Forest

Saturday, May 10, 2025, 9 am, the Houston Sierra Club will hike in Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF) to provide an “Introduction to the East End of Sam Houston National Forest”.

This is a great way to “get acquainted with SHNF; have fun; learn about SHNF; find out what you can see and where you can see it; see its beauty; find out why it’s important; and hear about some of the issues/concerns that your national forest has.

We will see Winters Bayou Scenic Area, Lone Star Hiking Trail, East Fork of the San Jacinto River, a Longleaf Pine Forest, Seepage Creek Wetlands, and Big Creek Scenic Area. After we finish our hike, we’ll have lunch in the forest so bring your lunch and plenty of water.

The link below has the Sierra Club participant sign-in agreement (liability waiver). Please read this before the outing so you know what it says. We’ll sign-in quickly at the scenic area and then proceed with the outing. [Sign-Up Sheet 2-2020.pdf (sierraclub.org)](https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/sce/range-of-light-group/PDFs/Sign-Up%20Sheet%202-2020.pdf)

If anyone has COVID symptoms or is sick don’t come! We want everyone to be safe. Don’t come if you feel ill! By going on this outing we'll potentially hike with individuals who are vaccinated/unvaccinated. It’s each person’s choice to participate on this outing.

We recommend that you take a day-pack, hat, 3 qts water, insect repellent, sunscreen, snacks, lunch, binoculars, hiking shoes, hat, camera, and field guides. Long pants are recommended to protect against briars, chiggers, and ticks. It’ll be warm so be sure to bring lots of water. We will take regular rest breaks.

The tour will take about 5 hours and will consist of a car caravan with short stops and hikes where we’ll view different points of interest. Hikes are rated as moderate to easy and will be 0.5 to 1.5 miles apiece.

For those who want to carpool/caravan we’ll meet at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot W. of Starbucks, 4700 block of Beechnut, in Meyerland Plaza. Look for a steel-colored Honda Accord hybrid. Sign-up for this outing on the Houston Sierra Club Outings Meet-Up site. To contact your leader, Brandt Mannchen, call 281-570-7212 or email brandt_mannchen@comcast.net.

For those who want to meet in SHNF at 9 am, we’ll be at the Winters Bayou Scenic Area parking lot on FM 1725, 5 m. N. of Cleveland, in San Jacinto County, Tx.

Directions: N. on I-69 to SH 105 in Cleveland, Tx; 1 m. W. on SH 105 to FM 1725; N. on FM 1725 about 5 m.; parking lot is on the rt. just S. of Montegue Church.