Streamway Park

Wow! This place was not what I expected after reading a 5-star review on Yelp. The City of Mission should be ashamed of the condition of this park. Tree limbs are down all over the place, and it looks like more litter makes it on the ground than garbage makes it in the trash cans.My first impression...creepy. There are little side trails that run off into isolation where calls for help would likely be drowned out by the noisy highway intersection of I-35 and I-635 (which the park overlooks). I also came across little areas with evidence that teenagers come down into the park and drink beer. lt's a perfect location for that kind of activity at night. I would never be comfortable with my girlfriend coming here alone with our dog. I talked to a couple of ladies who were walking the trail, and I asked if they felt like this park was safe. They gave me this PC response, "We never come here alone.". One lady added that she carries something on her to fend off an attacker if such a situation were to come up. Someone took the time to bring sidewalk chalk to the park and write on the blacktop trail "venomous snake alert". Doesn't that seem like something the city should post on brightly colored warning signs?The random garbage everywhere and the littered areas run afoul with beer cans and bottles are a turn off. This park seems more like a cool place for kids to build forts and get into kid mischief than it does a place for the community to use as safe neighborhood recreation, and I'm sure that's what it is after dark on the weekends.

The good: it's not too popular, the path varies enough to not feel like you're going in a circle, it's heavily shaded, the path is wide and well paved. The not so good: the path feels too short, the isolation makes it a little sketchy, it's hard to find, and not super well maintained. I'll go back because it's close and convenient, and feels like a small piece of nature in the middle of a high traffic area.

Impossible to find. I was hiking around through debris and bushes next to the highway for like 20 minutes before I gave up.

Streamway Park is a hard to find, small park located next to Value Place Hotel and behind a few apartment buildings on Foxridge Drive. The entrance is marked by a pretty large sign and the road takes you behind the apartments and to a small parking lot. Streamway Park offers a shelter for picnics, a bbq, and doggy bags to pick up waste. The walking trail is .4 miles around and you'll often find young families with strollers, college-aged joggers, and dog walkers when you come. The trail (and most of the park itself) is completely shaded with trees- this is my favorite part. It definitely makes for some cooler temperatures when jogging during the summer! Because Streamway Park is so much in the back woods, you get the feel of wondering around in a forest while still having a paved trail to let you on. The trail isn't completely flat either- there are small hills which gives variety- something I appreciate. And since the trail is shaded by trees, it doesn't really feel like you are running in a circle since you can't see most of the track. Streamway Park also offers markers of significant and common local plants and trees from around the area, if you are interested in learning what is growing around you. It is overall a very peaceful park and I love to come here on afternoons to walk my dog.