Things To Do

Things to Do in Sharpstown and Gulfton, Houston

Date Published

Illustration for things to do in Sharpstown Houston: lanterns, storefronts, freeway and golf flag at night

At a glance

  • Where: Southwest Houston along I-69/US-59, between Beltway 8, the Westpark Tollway, Brays Bayou and the city of Bellaire
  • Distance: Roughly 10 miles southwest of downtown Houston
  • Cost: Free to explore; parks are free, shops and restaurants priced individually
  • Parking: Free surface lots at most plazas; covered garages at Dun Huang Plaza
  • Time needed: Half a day for the loop; a full day with a park and a long lunch
  • Good for: Food explorers, shoppers, golfers, families, out-of-town visitors

Most visitors meet southwest Houston at 60 miles an hour on the Southwest Freeway. Pull off at Hillcroft, Bellaire Boulevard or Harwin and the drive turns into a trip: 22-karat gold showrooms, biryani on Hillcroft, Chinatown plazas with their own parking garages, Houston's first air-conditioned mall reborn as a mercado, and a county park with a tai chi court shaped like a yin-yang.

Sharpstown and Gulfton aren't polished tourist districts. They're working neighborhoods where much of Houston comes to shop, eat and celebrate, and that's exactly why they're worth the trip.

The one-liner: in Sharpstown you can buy 22-karat gold, shop a mercado and play a round of golf without leaving the 77036 ZIP code.

Where Sharpstown and Gulfton are

We use the City of Houston's super neighborhood lines. Sharpstown (Super Neighborhood 26) is the big trapezoid bounded by Beltway 8 on the west, the Westpark Tollway on the north, the Southwest Freeway (I-69/US-59) on the east and Brays Bayou on the south. That puts the Mahatma Gandhi District on Hillcroft, the Harwin shopping strip and much of Houston's Chinatown inside it. Gulfton (Super Neighborhood 27) sits across the freeway: the dense wedge south of I-69, just outside the 610 Loop and north of the city of Bellaire, roughly 10 miles southwest of downtown.

Five things even locals don't know

  • The freeway was a gift. Developer Frank Sharp donated land through his development for the Southwest Freeway, giving the new suburb a straight shot downtown. He announced Sharpstown on March 13, 1955, as Houston's first large-scale, master-planned, car-centric suburb.
  • Houston's first air-conditioned enclosed mall is still open. Sharpstown Center opened in September 1961. Today it's PlazAmericas.
  • Gulfton is packed. City planning figures put it at roughly 16,900 people per square mile, nearly five times the citywide average of about 3,400.
  • The Gandhi District's signs came from the community. The Mahatma Gandhi District street toppers along Hillcroft and Harwin were a community-driven effort, unveiled when the district was formally named on January 16, 2010.
  • A park doubles as a reservoir. Arthur Storey Park's stormwater basin can hold about 1.15 billion gallons, protecting homes and businesses along Brays Bayou.

Things to do in Sharpstown and Gulfton

1. Walk the Mahatma Gandhi District on Hillcroft

The stretch of Hillcroft Avenue (and neighboring Harwin Drive) between the Southwest Freeway and the Westpark Tollway is Houston's South Asian shopping street. It took shape in the 1980s, when an Indian grocer moved here from Rice Village and one of the city's early Indian sweet shops, Raja Sweets, opened soon after. Mayor Annise Parker led the naming ceremony in 2010. Expect sari and kurta boutiques, gold jewelers, spice-scented grocers and sweet shops. Park once and walk the plaza you land in; the storefronts change fast, and browsing is the point.

2. Eat at Himalaya Restaurant

Himalaya, on the Southwest Freeway at Hillcroft, is the Pakistani and Indian kitchen we'd send a first-timer to. It's typically open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. and closed Mondays; the dining room switches to takeout only for the last half hour each night, so don't cut it close. Check hours on the official site.

3. Browse 22-karat gold at Karat 22

Karat 22 Jewelers, at 5623 Hillcroft Ave., has served Houston since 1983, making it one of the first businesses in what became the Gandhi District. Even if you aren't buying, the bridal sets and 22K gold are worth a look. The store also runs an old-gold exchange, taking pieces from any jeweler toward something new. Karat 22.

4. Bargain-hunt on Harwin Drive

Harwin, running between the Southwest Freeway and Beltway 8, is the city's unofficial bargain mile: wholesale showrooms, fashion, jewelry, party supplies and imports, mostly run by immigrant entrepreneurs who started opening shops here in the 1980s. Some showrooms sell in bulk, so ask before you fill a basket. Our tip: it's the place to kit out a party or a quinceañera on a budget.

5. Eat your way down Bellaire Boulevard's Chinatown

Houston's newer Chinatown began along Bellaire Boulevard around 1983 and now covers roughly six square miles, from Gessner to Beltway 8 and from Westpark to Beechnut, according to the Southwest Management District. It's built for cars, not strolling: plaza after plaza of bakeries, dim sum, hot pot, bubble tea, herbal shops and supermarkets, with Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Japanese and Malaysian businesses alongside Chinese ones. For where to eat, use our Houston Chinatown guide.

6. Make Dun Huang Plaza your Chinatown base

Dun Huang Plaza, at 9889 Bellaire Blvd., calls itself the largest commercial condominium in Houston's Chinatown. Inside you'll find restaurants, a bakery, karaoke lounges, gift shops, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and a long list of everyday businesses. The practical win: two large covered parking garages, which matter on a Houston summer afternoon. Dun Huang Plaza.

7. See PlazAmericas, Houston's first air-conditioned mall

Sharpstown Center opened in 1961 as Houston's first fully air-conditioned enclosed mall. After decades of decline, a 2010 renovation remade it as PlazAmericas, aimed at Houston's Latino shoppers. Today it has more than 150 stores, a cinema and an 83,000-square-foot mercado of small vendors. It's at 201 Sharpstown Center and is typically open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. PlazAmericas.

8. Play a round at Sharpstown Park Golf Course

The City of Houston's golf page calls Sharpstown one of Houston's most popular and most walkable courses. It's an 18-hole, par-70 layout with four sets of tees, 6,660 yards from the back, a driving cage, putting and chipping greens, a pro shop and a café, at 6600 Harbor Town Drive, a block north of Bellaire Boulevard. It's run by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department and markets itself as a golfing value, so it's a good round on a budget. Tee times can be booked online or by phone; see the course page.

9. Try the tai chi court at Arthur Storey Park

Harris County's 175-acre Arthur Storey Park, at 7400 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. South on Sharpstown's southwest corner, wraps two lakes with more than 3 miles of paved trails. Look for the yin-yang tai chi court, the gazebos over the water and the fishing spots. It's typically open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Arthur Storey Park.

10. Run, swing or picnic at Bayland Park

Bayland Park, at 6400 Bissonnet St., is a 68-acre Harris County park with 12 baseball and softball fields, football and soccer fields, four tennis courts, a jogging trail, two playgrounds, 75 picnic tables and a running track designed for people with visual impairments. It's typically open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Bayland Park.

11. Catch a pickup game at Burnett Bayland Park

Gulfton's big green space, at 6200 Chimney Rock Rd., is a soccer park first: it includes a pair of hard-surfaced pitches donated by the Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash. Harris County Precinct 4 is rebuilding it in three phases planned to run to about 2030: first an elite soccer field with a pavilion, new trees and pedestrian bridges; later sports courts and fitness areas; and finally an inclusive playground, an outdoor amphitheater and a splash pad. Parts may be fenced off while work continues, so check the precinct's park page before you go.

12. Drive mid-century Sharpstown

Frank Sharp's plan zoned homes, schools, parks and shopping together, and thousands of post-war homes went up in the late 1950s. A slow drive through the residential streets off Bellaire Boulevard shows the mid-century houses and mature trees of a suburb that drew national attention. Finish at the golf course, which first opened in the 1950s as the Sharpstown Country Club course.

13. Time your visit for a festival

Southwest Houston celebrates Lunar New Year, Diwali, Eid and Día de los Muertos, and the Southwest Management District says these celebrations are open to the public. Dates and venues move each year, so check the district's events calendar and our Houston festivals hub.

Save this: the southwest Houston half-day loop

Screenshot it. It runs roughly west to east and ends with dinner.

  1. Morning loop around the lakes at Arthur Storey Park, with a stop at the tai chi court.
  2. A bakery stop or early lunch at Dun Huang Plaza; park in the covered garage.
  3. Cruise the Bellaire Boulevard plazas for bubble tea and a supermarket haul.
  4. Walk the mercado at PlazAmericas, Houston's first air-conditioned mall.
  5. Bargain-hunt on Harwin Drive.
  6. Browse 22-karat gold at Karat 22 and pick up sweets on Hillcroft.
  7. Dinner at Himalaya (any day but Monday).

Tips for visiting

  • Go in the morning for parks, when Houston heat is kinder. The Harris County parks here typically close on Thanksgiving, Dec. 24 and 25 and Jan. 1.
  • Plan around Mondays if Himalaya is on your list.
  • Think in plazas, not blocks. Most stops are strip centers with their own lots. Park once per plaza and walk it.
  • Bring an appetite and a cooler if you plan to shop the supermarkets and sweet shops.
  • Hours change. Everything listed here was checked on official sites, but verify before you go.

Getting there and parking

From downtown, take I-69/US-59 south (the Southwest Freeway). Exits at Hillcroft, Bellaire Boulevard, Fondren and Gessner put you in the middle of things. Beltway 8 runs along Sharpstown's western edge, and the Westpark Tollway, a toll road, marks its northern edge. Parking is mostly free surface lots at each plaza; Dun Huang Plaza has covered garages. METRO local buses serve the main corridors; plan a trip with METRO.

Food nearby

You won't go hungry. For Chinatown and the Bellaire Boulevard plazas, start with the best restaurants in Bellaire and Chinatown. For a broader food crawl, Beyond BBQ maps more of Houston's international districts.

Nearby attractions

Next door, things to do in Bellaire covers the small city just south of Gulfton, and things to do in Westchase covers the business district a short drive northwest. For more green space across town, see our Houston parks guide, or browse everything on our things to do hub.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sharpstown known for?

Sharpstown, announced in 1955, was Houston's first large master-planned, car-centered community. It's home to PlazAmericas (originally Sharpstown Center, Houston's first air-conditioned enclosed mall), the Mahatma Gandhi District on Hillcroft, Harwin Drive's bargain shops and much of Houston's Chinatown.

Where is the Mahatma Gandhi District in Houston?

It runs along Hillcroft Avenue and Harwin Drive between the Southwest Freeway (I-69/US-59) and the Westpark Tollway in southwest Houston. It was formally designated on January 16, 2010.

Where is Gulfton in Houston?

Gulfton is a dense neighborhood in southwest Houston, just outside the 610 Loop, south of I-69/US-59 and north of the city of Bellaire, about 10 miles southwest of downtown.

Is Houston's Chinatown in Sharpstown?

Much of it is. The Southwest Management District describes Chinatown as covering roughly six square miles from Gessner to Beltway 8 and from Westpark to Beechnut, which overlaps part of the Sharpstown super neighborhood.

What was Sharpstown Mall?

Sharpstown Center opened in September 1961 as Houston's first fully air-conditioned enclosed mall. A 2010 renovation remade it as PlazAmericas, with a large mercado of small vendors.

Are there parks in Sharpstown and Gulfton?

Yes. Harris County runs Bayland Park (68 acres), Burnett Bayland Park in Gulfton and the 175-acre Arthur Storey Park, and the city runs the 18-hole Sharpstown Park Golf Course.