Memorial Park's West Side Is Under Construction Through Late 2027. What's Still Open for Your Fall Routine

The Memorial Park Conservancy's $50.5 million Memorial Groves project began construction in spring 2026, and completion is scheduled for late 2027. Part of the work moves about 0.7 miles, or 3,600 feet, of the Seymour Lieberman Trail farther from West Memorial Loop Drive. Cypress trees will be planted in the space it leaves. The project closed the western portion of the Outer Loop Trail and kept the Seymour Lieberman Trail open, so the loop you use most is changing while you use it, and for this fall and next, much of the park's activity has moved east.

The trail that closed, and the one that didn't

The project sits on a narrow strip of land that runs north to south, mostly between the Union Pacific rail line and West Memorial Loop Drive. Anyone who uses that side of the park is affected. The Conservancy's trail status page gives the current state:

• Outer Loop Trail, western portion: closed until 2027 for Memorial Groves construction. The page gives no detour and no reopening date more specific than that.
• Seymour Lieberman Trail: open at all times during construction. When the work is done it will still be a loop of about three miles.
• Water fountains along the trail: staying on. If one has to go offline, the Conservancy says it will be off as briefly as possible.
• Benches and fitness stations: some are closed during construction. New, expanded fitness areas are part of the project.
• Free parking along West Memorial Loop Drive: still available.

The parking point is newer than it may sound. When the Conservancy first unveiled plans for Memorial Groves in April 2025, it expected several West Memorial Loop Drive spaces to close during early site work. Its April 2026 construction update says that free parking will stay available. If you stopped parking on the west side because of the earlier plan, the newer guidance says you can park there again.

One closure has nothing to do with the project. The Running Complex and Picnic Loop lots close every night from 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Their automatic gates still let anyone inside drive out after closing.

Why moving the trail is the real change

Moving the trail is the first step in rebuilding that whole stretch of the park.

The Conservancy says the trail is being moved so trees can go in between the path and the road. As they grow, the route will become more scenic and shaded. Grass strips called the Camp Logan Historic Street Lawns will cross the road at regular intervals, giving you places to gather, stretch or rest next to the new fitness stations. The Conservancy has done this before. It made similar trail changes in the Eastern Glades and Land Bridge projects.

The site has history in the ground. Memorial Park covers about 1,500 acres of what was once the 7,600-acre Camp Logan, a World War I Army training camp. The Groves strip was chosen because it holds more archaeological remains of Camp Logan buildings than any other part of the park. In August 2025, before construction started, the Houston Chronicle reported that crews preparing the site found a fragment that archaeologists identified as a World War I artillery shell.

Community Impact covered the groundbreaking on March 5, 2026, and described a 100-acre project. In that report, Conservancy CEO Chris Ballard called it a defining moment for the park and pointed to its mix of history, recreation, reflection and learning.

Where the park's activity has moved

With the west side under construction, the Conservancy's own guidance keeps pointing people elsewhere. Its alert for this month's Chord Energy Houston Corporate 5K warned of heavy traffic on the Seymour Lieberman Trail and suggested the southside natural-surface trails and the Picnic Loop as better options. The 5K is over, but that advice still works on any busy morning.

Clay Family Eastern Glades is where much of the fall calendar now meets. The Star Parties, the bird surveys and the weekday food trucks all start there. Per the Conservancy's fall guide, a rotating lineup of trucks parks at Live Oak Court in Eastern Glades on weekdays and at the Tennis Courts on weekends. The food truck calendar lists El Deleite, Coffee Fellows, Casita Coffee Co. and Joyful Drink Experience on dates through December 27. The trucks rotate, so check the calendar before you plan a coffee stop around one.

If you'd rather sit down to eat, the fall guide names Beck's Prime by the golf course and Vibrant Cafe. It suggests pumpkin pancakes or a golden latte this time of year.

The park itself is changing color in the open, away from the construction. The Conservancy's guide says sweetgums start turning and muhly grass turns pink in October and November, and prairie grasses go copper in November and December. You'll also see more running groups. Training season for January's Chevron Houston Marathon has started, and the race route passes through the Kinder Land Bridge tunnels.

Dates to put on the calendar, Halloween through early December

These are the park listings after this post goes live. Event dates can change, so confirm on the Conservancy's event calendar before you go.

The two GHORBA Saturdays matter most if you ride. On those mornings, plan for part of Bayou Wilds to be off-limits until 1 p.m., and use the Picnic Loop, which the Conservancy names as a road-cycling favorite. The bird survey is a free way to get to know the park's eastern edge at 7:30 on a Monday morning. The November 14 Star Party starts early enough for an after-dinner outing with kids.

What the west side becomes in late 2027

Construction is the reason for this year's detours. Here's what the Conservancy says will be there when it's done.

The main feature is a grid of nearly 3,000 bald cypress trees, planted to suggest soldiers standing in formation. They will cover 20 continuous acres on both sides of West Memorial Loop Drive, broken up at regular intervals by open lawns that mark where Camp Logan's streets ran. Because bald cypress change color with the seasons, the west side should eventually have the kind of fall color the park now gets mostly from its sweetgums. The project will also protect an existing prairie and restore a 20-acre savanna.

At the north end, a visitor center designed by Moody Nolan will hold exhibits and the Conservancy's offices. At the south end, a picnic pavilion, lawn and playground will sit next to a new parking lot. Both ends get new restrooms. Earthscape, a custom playground company, is building play pieces based on camp life: oversized soldiers' helmets and army crates to climb, a giant loaf of "hard bread," and a tipped-over bugle that doubles as a talk tube. The Texas Historical Commission will add new Camp Logan markers at selected entrances to the Groves and the park.

When the western Outer Loop reopens, it will run past a cypress grove, a history center and a new south-end playground with its own parking. Until then, the Seymour Lieberman Trail stays open the whole way around, and the Conservancy's trail status page is the place to check before a west-side run.

Living near Memorial Park is part of what makes a Memorial Area home valuable, and a project on the scale of Memorial Groves is worth following if you plan to sell in the next year or two. If you're wondering how a park this close to your street affects what your home is worth, Holly Campbell Minter would be glad to walk you through it. Request a Home Valuation or Let's Connect to Discuss Your Property.