Things to Do in Bellaire

Bellaire covers 3.6 square miles, and most of what there is to do is close together. The city runs the parks, the recreation center, the pool and the library, and a conservancy runs the showpiece park.

The city lists thirteen parks inside 3.6 square miles, which is a lot of green for a city that small. This guide sorts the rest by what you feel like doing, and it goes a little past the city line, because the neighbors have good ideas too.

Evelyn's Park

Start here. Evelyn's Park sits at 4400 Bellaire Boulevard on five acres that were once Teas Nursery, and it is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 7 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday. City ordinance keeps dogs out. Betsy's, the park's cafe, is on the grounds, and so are an event center and a pavilion.

The park's history and its calendar have their own page: see our Evelyn's Park guide. For a first visit, the simple plan is to walk the grounds and stop at Betsy's.

Russ Pitman Park and the Nature Discovery Center

At 7112 Newcastle, Russ Pitman Park is a nature park with trails, a playground and picnic areas, and it is open every day from 5 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The Nature Discovery Center shares the grounds. Its Discovery Rooms are open during the school year Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In summer, June through August, they are open on Saturday and Sunday only, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The center does not list an admission price on its visit page, so call ahead if that matters to you.

The rest of the parks

The ones worth knowing, with the amenities the city's Park Information page gives:

- Evergreen Park, 4500 Evergreen St.: a barbecue pit, a neighborhood pool, open green space, picnic tables and a playground. - Lafayette Park, 4337 Lafayette: home of the Officer Lucy Dog Park, plus a youth soccer field, a picnic shelter and a playground. - Feld Park, 6406 Avenue B: an adult softball field, a tennis court, a youth soccer field and picnic tables. - Mulberry Park, 700 Mulberry: a tennis court, a youth softball field and a picnic shelter. - Ware Family Park, 6200 Jacquet: open green space, picnic tables and a playground. - Paseo Park, 4800 to 5000 Bellaire Boulevard: an improved-surface trail, with no curfew because the sidewalk system gives pedestrians a safe route. - Vic Driscoll Park, 4500 Locust Street: an improved-surface trail. - Loftin Park: a barbecue pit, an improved-surface trail, open green space, picnic tables and a playground. - Bellaire-Zindler Park: a gazebo, a Little League field, a tennis court, a pavilion and open green space.

Curfews vary by park. The city code sets 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. as the general rule, and several parks, among them Lafayette, Ware Family and Russ Pitman, close at 9:30 p.m. Check the posted signs and the Park Information page before an evening visit.

Indoors

The Bellaire Recreation Center, at 7008 Fifth Street, is open Monday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m. It has a fitness room, open gym, pickleball and youth and adult programs. The fitness room is for members and guests of members, aged 16 and older. Resident memberships for 2026 are $108 a year for an individual, $150 for a couple, $228 for a family and $77 for a senior, and a visitor day pass is $8 for residents and $11 for non-residents.

The city lists thirteen parks inside 3.6 square miles, which is a lot of green for a city that small.

The Bellaire City Library, at 5111 Jessamine, opened in 1951. It is open Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Sunday. It offers databases, Libby e-books, WiFi and a book drop.

Swimming

The Bellaire Town Square Family Aquatic Center, at 7001 Fifth Street, has a leisure pool with zero-depth entry and a big slide, a dive well and one- and three-meter boards. The pool season runs in summer; dates and daily rates are set for the season on the city's Aquatics pages, so start at bellairetx.gov/720/Aquatics and bellairetx.gov/865/Aquatics-Pricing-and-Membership.

The rest of the year the competition pool is open for lap swimming only, and the hours are subject to change: Monday 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday 7 to 1 and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Friday 7 to 1; Saturday 10 to 1; Sunday 3 to 6 p.m. Off-season daily admission, through May 15, is $6 for residents and $12 for non-residents aged 3 to 59, $5 and $10 for ages 60 and up, and no charge for ages 0 to 2. The therapy pool at Evergreen Park, 4500 Evergreen St., is open daily on the same hours.

Next door

West University Place's recreation center, at 4210 Bellaire Boulevard, has cardio and weights, a pool, racquetball and squash courts and classes. It is open Monday through Friday 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and an adult day pass is $5 for West U residents and $10 for everyone else. West U's parks open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m., and they do not allow alcohol, tobacco or pets. Colonial Park, at 4130 Byron, has a large open greenspace, a playground, a pavilion, a little free library and a jogging and walking track. Judson Park, at 4201 Judson, has a lighted tennis court, a picnic deck, barbecue grills and a GaGa ball pit.

Rice Village, the retail and dining district at Kirby and University in Houston, is close enough for dinner. Merchant hours vary, so check the shop you are headed to.

Sources

- Evelyn's Park Conservancy, Park Information: https://evelynspark.org/park-information - Nature Discovery Center, Visit: https://naturediscoverycenter.org/visit/ - City of Bellaire, Park Information: https://bellairetx.gov/737/Park-Information - City of Bellaire, Loftin Park: https://bellairetx.gov/1712/Loftin-Park - City of Bellaire, Recreation Center: https://bellairetx.gov/740/Recreation-Center - City of Bellaire, Library hours and location: https://bellairetx.gov/659/Hours-and-Location - City of Bellaire, Aquatics: https://www.bellairetx.gov/720/Aquatics - City of Bellaire, Aquatics Pricing and Membership: https://www.bellairetx.gov/865/Aquatics-Pricing-and-Membership - City of West University Place, Recreation Center: https://www.westutx.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Colonial-Park-Pool-2 - City of West University Place, Parks: https://www.westutx.gov/301/Parks - Rice Village, Trick or Treat at Rice Village (district address): https://rice-village.com/event/trick-or-treat-at-rice-village/

En español

Bellaire tiene trece parques en 3.6 millas cuadradas. Evelyn's Park, en 4400 Bellaire Boulevard, abre de 7 a.m. a 11 p.m. de domingo a jueves y hasta la medianoche viernes y sábado; no se permiten perros. En 7112 Newcastle, Russ Pitman Park y el Nature Discovery Center abren todos los días. El Bellaire Recreation Center (7008 Fifth Street) y la biblioteca (5111 Jessamine) están abiertos de lunes a sábado. La piscina del Town Square Family Aquatic Center funciona en verano; el resto del año ofrece natación de carriles. Al lado están el centro recreativo de West University Place y Rice Village.