Parks and places
Terry Hershey Park with your dog
Energy Corridor and Memorial dogs walk Terry Hershey daily, and the park sorts them fast: the ones that heel past a peloton and the ones that lunge at it. The first kind was trained; the second kind is why we get the call.
Last reviewed September 11, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
The park
Miles of bayou trail from the Beltway to Highway 6, shared and leashed.
Terry Hershey runs along Buffalo Bayou through the Energy Corridor and Memorial, a Precinct 3 park with paved trail for bikes and runners, dirt paths under the trees for walkers, bridges, playgrounds and a lot of access points from the neighborhoods either side. Dogs are welcome on leash; Precinct 3 posts the rules and closures, and the low sections flood when the bayou rises, which in storm season is often.
The mix of users is the training value. In an hour a dog meets bikes at speed, runners coming up from behind, strollers, other dogs on leash and a few off it, and the smells of a bayou. That is the Houston distraction set in one place.
- Paved trail for bikes, dirt paths for walkers
- Leashed dogs; no off-leash areas
- Floods when the bayou rises
- Precinct 3 posts rules and closures
What it asks of a dog
A loose leash past bikes and runners, and neutrality to dogs on a narrow path.
The paved trail is where bikes pass at speed, and a dog that lunges at bikes is a danger to the cyclist and itself. The dirt paths are narrower and busier with dogs, which asks for neutrality at close range. A Terry Hershey dog needs a structured walk that stays slack when something fast passes, a habit of moving to the side and sitting when the path is crowded, and no on-leash greetings with strange dogs, however friendly they look.
Those skills are built at a distance first, on the quieter stretches at the off hours, and closed in over days. It is standard Platinum field-trip work for Energy Corridor and Memorial dogs, and the go-home session for those families usually includes a stretch of this trail.
- A slack leash when a bike passes at speed
- Step aside and sit when the path is crowded
- No on-leash greetings with strange dogs
- Distance first, closing over days
Using it well
The dirt paths, the off hours and the long line in the open.
Walk the dirt paths under the trees rather than the paved trail, at least until the dog is neutral to bikes; the dirt is cooler, quieter and softer on the pads. Go early on weekdays, when the trail belongs to a few runners and dog walkers. Use the open grass areas for recall on a long line, with the line short near the bayou. And end every walk before the dog is tired enough to stop listening, because a tired dog on a busy trail is where the lunge happens.
The playgrounds and picnic areas are good for a settle: place beside the path while the world goes by.
Dirt paths first, paved trail later
Weekday mornings before the bikes
Long line in the open grass for recall
Place beside the path for the settle
Home before the dog is tired enough to stop listening
The bayou
Water to walk beside, never to swim in.
Buffalo Bayou runs the length of the park and looks inviting to a Lab in July. It is not a swimming spot: the current and debris after rain are dangerous, the water carries whatever the city sends down it, and alligators live in it from spring through fall. Texas Parks and Wildlife's guidance is to keep dogs leashed and back from the bank; the park's leash rule does the same job. Walk the bank side yourself, keep the long line short near the water, and treat the dusk hours as alligator hours.
After heavy rain the low trails are mud, debris and standing water; wait a few days, and check paws afterwards.
- No swimming in the bayou, ever
- Leashed and back from the bank
- Dusk is alligator hours from spring
- Wait a few days after heavy rain
Heat
Shade on the dirt, sun on the pavement.
The dirt paths under the trees are usable into a summer morning; the paved trail is a heat strip by nine from May to September, and the pavement test decides whether the dog walks on it at all. Water in the car, water on the trail at the fountains where they work, and a hard stop when the dog pants hard in the shade. The AVMA's heat guidance lists the signs of heat stroke; a runner's dog that has kept pace for three miles in August is the classic case on this trail.
The programs
Programs for a Terry Hershey dog.
Platinum builds the neutrality to bikes and dogs; Gold builds the walk; lessons at home for Energy Corridor and Memorial families use the trail.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
Are dogs allowed off leash at Terry Hershey Park?
No. The whole park is leashed, and with bikes at speed, runners and the bayou beside the trail, the leash is also the safe choice. Precinct 3 posts the rules; the low trails close when the bayou floods.
My dog lunges at bikes on the paved trail. What do I do?
Move to the dirt paths, work neutrality to bikes at a distance the dog can hold at the quiet hours, and close the distance over days. It is reactivity to movement, and it is standard Platinum work; lessons on the trail afterwards keep it.
Can my dog swim in the bayou?
No. Current, debris after rain, whatever the city sends down it, and alligators from spring through fall. Keep the dog leashed and back from the bank, and swim in a pool or a sanctioned pond.
Do you train dogs on this trail?
Yes. It is a regular Platinum and VIP field trip for Energy Corridor and Memorial dogs, and the go-home session for those families often includes a stretch of it, because it is where the dog will walk every day.
Keep reading
Free consultation · 10% off this fall
Walk Terry Hershey with a trained dog.
Tell our team what your dog does when a bike passes. The free phone consultation is a direct call, and the Energy Corridor is half an hour from the training home.