PLEASE NOTE: The 2015 Precinct 4 GeoChallenge Series will END and all finds must be logged by midnight Saturday, April 30, 2016. No logs posted after April 30, 2015 will be counted. All 2015 GeoChallenge Series caches will be archived at that time so we can install and start the 2016 PRECINCT 4 GEOCHALLENGE SERIES! This new and exciting series will include over 100 geocaches, and include even more variable Difficulty and Terrain levels than the 2015 series. Mark your calendars and make plans to join the fun…the 2016 series will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday, May 28!!
Sponsored by Harris County Precinct 4, the 2015 Precinct 4 GeoChallenge features a series of 57 geocaches that participants can find for the opportunity to earn pathtags. The 21st geocache is located along the future proposed Cypress Creek Greenway.
Through the construction of an extensive trail system and additional parks, Precinct 4 is creating connectivity along Cypress and Little Cypress creeks. The Cypress Creek Greenway (CCG) will eventually connect a series of parks stretching from west of Hwy. 290 eastward to the Spring Creek Greenway (SCG) at Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center near Hwy. 59. As with the SCG, this greenway will create natural floodplain buffer zones, contiguous trail connectivity, and linear wildlife habitat.
Cypress Creek Greenway Map (PDF)
Greenway Construction
The first completed piece of the CCG is the Gourley Nature Trail, which is named in honor of Genevieve and Robert Gourley, who donated the easement. The trail connects Collins Park with Meyer Park, and is approximately 2,850 feet long and 10 feet wide. The Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition (CCFCC) provided funding for benches and signage located along the trail through a $10,000 grant they received from REI.
Gourley Nature Trail Map (PDF)
Precinct 4 partnered with the Greater Houston Off-Road Biking Association (GHORBA) to create Cypresswood Trail (see image on left side), a single-track, natural-surface mountain bike trail from east of Collins Park’s baseball fields to T. C. Jester Blvd. Mountain bicyclists have access to the trailhead parking lot, rest room, and water fountains in Collins Park.
Cypress Creek Greenway Trails Map
The precinct also worked with local leaders to secure property once owned by Hewlett-Packard off of Chasewood and SH 249 (north of Cypresswood and south of Louetta). The Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve is a pristine piece of parkland that features a 40-acre lake with natural-surface walking trails. The Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve is closed pending development.
Land acquisitions and future trail development will connect over 50 miles of equestrian trials* at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to the SCG via the future CCG trail system. As of April 2012, the SCG trail encompasses almost 10 linear miles of improved trail, 2,000 contiguous acres of preserved parkland, and a 14-foot-wide pedestrian/equestrian bridge across Cypress Creek just above its confluence with Spring Creek.
*The equestrian trails at IAH can only be accessed and used by certified Airport Rangers in the George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) Airport Rangers Program.
Parks Along the Future Greenway
The following parks will be linked through the Cypress Creek Greenway:
Precinct 3
Bud Hadfield Park (undeveloped)
Cypress Park (undeveloped)
Telge Park
Precinct 4
Collins Park
Fritsche Park
Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center
Little Cypress Creek Preserve
Mercer Botanic Gardens
Meyer Park
Funding
Project funding for the Cypress Creek Greenway is a partnership with Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition (CCFCC), Harris County Precinct 3, Harris County Precinct 4, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, municipal utility districts (MUDs), and other foundations.
Cypress Creek Greenway Brochure (PDF)
Geocaches are located throughout Precinct 4 from Greens Bayou Wetland Mitigation Bank in the east to Dyess Park in the west and Roy Campbell Burroughs Park in the north and Memorial Park in the south.
Each geocache contains unique collectible bottle caps and a unique code, either of which can be used to earn pathtags. Simply write down the code on your Precinct 4 GeoChallenge Series Passport and/or collect a bottle cap to prove that you have found the cache. Those who collect 20, 40, or all 57 unique codes/bottle caps can earn bronze, silver, or gold-level pathtags. Only one of each bottle cap is allowed per participant please. Please visit the Precinct 4 GeoChallenge Series web pages for more information or to download your passport.
About Harris County Precinct 4
Precinct 4 is one of four precincts located in Harris County, Texas and boasts a population of over 1.2 million people. With a population of 4.3 million, Harris County is the largest county in Texas and the third-largest in the United States. It encompasses the Houston area, the largest city in Texas and fourth largest city in the nation. Both its total area and land area are larger than the state of Rhode Island.
With an area over 390 square miles—3,800 acres of which is conveniently located parkland—Harris County Precinct 4 has plenty to explore and scores of 'gems' to find!