KB Home in Katy

You'll find Katy, Texas, just west of Houston in a landscape dotted with parks and outdoor recreation. Enjoy the city's mild 60-degree winters in places like Mary Jo Peckham Park, with its quaint fishing pond and walking trails, and Paul D. Rushing Park, with a wetlands habitat, tree farm, and dog park. When you're ready for a little time indoors, the following sites might tempt you:

• Katy Heritage Park. The local Historical Society preserved this site which features the 1898 Featherstone House, a pre-1920 Post Office, the Craftsman-style 1916 Stockdick House, the Railroad Park/Tourist Center (see below), the 1942 Humble Oil Gas Plant Mess Hall (now a museum), and a Historic Texas Cemetery. All homes are open for free tours, and you can enjoy free community concerts held in the park's bandstand.
• The Railroad Park/Tourist Center. This information center is tucked inside Heritage Park in what used to be the historic Missouri-Kansas-Texas Depot (built in 1898). You'll also find the Katy Heritage Society Railroad Museum at this site, with exhibits that illustrate local railroad history, as well as a little red caboose (circa 1910-1917).

The warm summer months are the perfect time to dive into adventure at Typhoon Texas, a seasonal water park that features Tidal Wave Bay, splash pads, the Lazy T River, and a water ride/video game that lets you shoot at targets as you slide. Now that's how you beat the heat in Texas!