100 Acre Wood Preserve Houston TX

Houston · Cypresswood Dr / Jones Rd · 77070

The 100 Acre Wood Preserve is the forest Cy-Fair almost forgot it had — roughly 100 acres of woods, pocket prairie, and wetland on the south bank of Cypress Creek, donated to Harris County by Houston Endowment and opened in 2013, with a Bayou Land Conservancy conservation easement keeping it wild for good. It hides at the north end of a Norchester residential street, which is why plenty of people who’ve lived in 77070 for decades still haven’t been.

What you’ll find at 100 Acre Wood Preserve

A one-mile ADA-accessible paved trail runs up the preserve’s spine, with a couple more miles of natural-surface paths threading off it through post oaks, river birch, and sycamore. The dirt side is the not-so-secret draw: this is the heart of the rider-built Cypress Creek singletrack network — Trailforks maps some 30 trails and 13 miles through the corridor, with named runs like 100 Acre Wood North and South — and mountain-bike skills clinics regularly use its log obstacles, roll-downs, and water crossings. Now operated by Harris County Precinct 3, the preserve got a proper parking lot and shade canopy at the north end of W Cypress Forest Drive; you can also walk in from the D. Bradley McWilliams YMCA next door off Hwy 249. Facilities stay deliberately minimal — a portable restroom at the lot and not much else, so pack your own water. Leashed dogs are welcome. It’s open daily, roughly dawn to dusk; the Bayou Land Conservancy posts downloadable preserve maps.

What’s new at 100 Acre Wood Preserve

The big one: in January 2024, Precinct 3 opened a new connector park at 20022 TX-249 with a Cypress Creek boardwalk and a paved trail that passes under Hwy 249 — linking 100 Acre Wood to the YMCA and on to Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve and Marshall Lake on the far side. What our original write-up could only describe as a plan is now a walk you can take. Both preserves are building blocks of the county’s long-range Cypress Creek Greenway along the creek corridor.

Photo gallery of the 100 Acre Wood Preserve

We have put together a complete photo gallery of the 100 Acre Wood Preserve with descriptions of where the photos were taken and what they depict.

This article was authored by and all photos were taken by the staff of Houston Prime Realty.

Living near 100 Acre Wood Preserve

Norchester literally holds the front door — the preserve’s entrance street is inside the neighborhood, off Cypresswood Drive — with Prestonwood Forest nearby and Lakewood Forest across Jones Road, all classic 1970s-and-80s Cy-Fair streets with the mature trees to match. Browse my Houston neighborhood guides or search Houston homes for sale — and if backing up to a permanent nature preserve is the dream, call or text me, Kevan Pewitt, at (281) 500-7077 — I’ll show you which streets get you closest to the trailhead.

100 Acre Wood Preserve: quick answers

Is it really 100 acres?

Just about — the county’s figure is roughly 98 acres, and the name honors the size of the tract Houston Endowment donated along with the commitment to keep it a nature sanctuary. The conservation easement means it stays a preserve, not a future ballfield complex.

Can you mountain bike there?

Yes — it’s one of the best-known singletrack spots in northwest Houston, with rider-maintained dirt trails that are mostly beginner-and-intermediate friendly. Hikers share the same paths, so call your passes.

What facilities does it have?

Almost none, on purpose — a parking lot with a shade canopy, a portable restroom, and trails. The playground and picnic tables live at the connector park by Hwy 249; the preserve itself is for walking, riding, and birding.

Last updated: July 2026. Trail conditions change with Cypress Creek — verify current details with Harris County Precinct 3 before visiting.