The 5 Best Outdoor Party Venues in Houston

Grab a shady spot at this tree-lined neighborhood park featuring an elaborate playground with a railroad theme and Victorian-era turrets for climbing in and around and belting out Shakespeare – or maybe not. Whatever literature your kid likes, or if they just want to pretend to be a knight rescuing a damsel in distress, this park can work for the ultimate chill or drama show.

Dylan Park’s features are developed to engage children who are sight impaired, hearing impaired, autistic or wheelchair-bound and hosts multiple playgrounds, picnic tables, a butterfly garden and rubberized fall-zone surfaces.

This ginormous waterpark is a splash world to get lost in – and you just might, so keep an eye out! – and can host epic kids birthday parties. The available party package includes 9 admission tickets, including the birthday child, a reserved birthday cabana for 90 minutes, pizza, drinks and a special t-shirt for the birthday child. Or if you want to DIY and just let them run free, you can do that too.

Houston Zoo not only allows for amazing animal encounters, but they also host a small water park as well as a wildlife carousel ride that are free with your zoo admission. They have the Cypress Circle Café or Twiga Café, which have lovely outdoor seating and great kids food options, as well as eat-as-you-go food trucks.

This laid-back restaurant serves casual pub fare in a funky setting, complete with fairy lights and bicycles hanging from the ceiling. Their spacious outdoor patio is a great place for family birthday fun. There’s a backyard patio, side patio, parking lot side patio or creek side patio. Gotta try their chicken wangs.