Non-ACA participants will need to pay a fee. See below for details
Let's meet at the boat ramp at 2:30 p.m. and put in at 3 p.m. to finish up around 5:30. This will be an easy (level 1) short Sunday afternoon paddle to see the young nesting birds and their parents on Sheldon Lake in northeast Houston. The boat ramp is 17 miles from downtown Houston. The trip is suitable for beginners and for most any type of kayak, canoe, galvanized washtub, or plastic bottle raft. Every spring there are birds nesting in the trees in the lake, including egrets, herons, ibis, spoonbills, and many others. I believe they will be there for our visit. Our paddling will be a leisurely 4 - 5 miles.
Driving directions to our put-in, the boat ramp on Pineland Road at the southwest corner of the lake: The ramp is directly across Pineland Road from Sheldon Park.
Heading northbound on Beltway 8 from I-10 East, proceed under the overpass of U.S. 90 (Crosby Freeway) for 0.25 miles and take the US 90 (Business) exit. Turn right on Business 90 (Beaumont Highway) and head east for 0.75 miles to Pineland Road. Turn left and proceed 0.2 miles to the boat ramp on the right.
Heading southbound on Beltway 8 from US 59N, Exit for Garrett Road, turn left and head east on Garrett Rd. for 0.5 miles to Fauna. Turn right and head south on Fauna, which will become Pineland. Sheldon Lake levee will be on your left. After 2.5 miles, before you come to US 90 Business, you will see the boat ramp parking area on your left.
You can almost get to this put-in on public transportation but not quite (5 miles). Alas, Metro so far refuses to install kayak racks on their buses.
The boat ramp is located at:
Latitude N: 29.8510028 deg
Longitude W: 95.1743638 deg
Hazards: Busy parking lot, maybe slippery concrete boat ramp, beau coup alligators, bird droppings, fishhooks, fire ants, mosquitos.
I don't think there are any facilities at the boat ramp. The Environmental Learning Center about a mile east on US 90 Business is open until 7 p.m. and has facilities as well as lots of educational stuff. You might even want to go there earlier in the day and look around before our paddle.