At Reliant through Jan. 15

Lake levels may be low but enthusiasm is high at Houston Boat Show

Photo via Houston Boat Show/Facebook
Race boat
Photo by Caroline Gallay
Fish-o-Rama
Photo by Caroline Gallay
Discounts
Photo by Caroline Gallay
$425K
Photo by Caroline Gallay

Lake levels may be low in Texas, but the crowd on opening day of the 2012 Houston Boat Show Friday was anything but.

Tens of millions of dollars worth of merchandise, from $400,000 yachts all the way down to $30,000 flat-bottom skiffs and saltwater kayaks (not to mention custom seat upholstery, water-resistant cookware, pet accessories, food, clothes and more sunglasses than you could shake a polarized lens at), filled the 650,000 square feet of exhibit space at Reliant Center.

After a one-day hiatus — the boat show closed Saturday for the first time in its 56-year history to accommodate the Texans game next door at Reliant Stadium — the show is open through Jan. 15, with extended hours until 9:30 p.m. Jan. 11-13.

Despite the overwhelming number of boat-related items condensed in one place, there were plenty of free trailer offers and deep discounts, with one 2011 Cobalt 262 we spotted discounted $25,000 with the trailer included — a sign that, although Texas' leisure economy has fared better than other states' during the recession, it hasn't gone unaffected.

Dealers in the state's interior are struggling due to the summer drought that lowered lake levels, not because of the lagging leisure economy.

A dealer's take on Texas

Dave Foulkrod of Ron Hoover RV and Marine tells CultureMap that the summer drought that lowered lake levels — not the lagging leisure economy — is the main reason many dealers in the state's interior are struggling. Dealers nearer the coast, however, have held relatively steady sales and seen gradual growth since 2010.

"2011 was considerably better than 2010, and in anticipation of a good year, we have pretty good stocking levels," Foulkrod says.

Foulkrod works out of Ron Hoover's La Marque dealership, where he benefits from coastal access. One of the company's other four Texas dealerships, however, in Boerne (near San Antonio), where the drought hit hard, saw a pull back on stocking boats.

Something for everyone

Whether you're already a boating enthusiast or not sure you're even in the market, there's plenty to do and see at the Boat Show. From the Comic Bot robots to Fish-O-Rama, where kids can fish from a pre-stocked pond, to the wide selection of RVs, there's something for nearly everyone.

One of our favorite finds was a racing boat (one of two we saw on the floor) that managed to reach more than 102 miles per hour using only a conventional outboard motor. And if you (like me) tend towards the snazzy looking sport boats, Axis has a range of wakeboard boats to make you drool over your press pass.

For more information about the Houston Boat Show, including hours and admission, click here.

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room for improvement

Houston has work to do on ranking of America's fittest cities for 2026

Photo by Gabin Vallet on Unsplash

About 74 percent of Houstonians have exercised in the past month.

Houstonians are more fit than they used to be, but the city still needs to hit the gym. The Bayou City ranks in the middle of the pack in a ranking of America's fittest cities.

This year’s American Fitness Index puts Houston at No. 44 among the country’s 100 most populated cities, up from 49th place last year. Houston ranks 26th in the personal health category and a disappointing 64th in the community and environment category.

The index shows 74 percent of Houston residents had exercised in the previous month, 57 percent had met aerobic activity guidelines, and 33 percent had met aerobic and strength activity guidelines. The first two of those numbers are below the 100-city averages.

The Elevance Health Foundation and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) produce the annual index, which they say combines measures of personal health behavior, chronic disease outcomes, community infrastructure, and environmental factors “to provide a comprehensive picture of how well cities promote fitness and well-being.”

Arlington, Virginia, tops the index, followed by Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis; Seattle; and Denver. The Dallas suburb of Plano takes the top Texas spot at No. 12 nationally.

“The cities that consistently rank at the top aren’t succeeding because of one program or one investment,” Stella Volpe, past president of ACSM and chair of the Fitness Index Advisory Board, says in a press release. “They’ve built systems that support healthier living over time. They are the ones creating environments where physical activity can easily become a part of everyday routines.”

One thing helping Houston is its strong network of parks. In May, Houston landed at No. 10 in Texas and 69th in the U.S. in the annual ParkScore Index. That was down slightly from 2025.

Every year, land conservation nonprofit The Trust for Public Land rates park systems in the 100 biggest American cities on accessibility, equity, acreage, investment, and amenities.

Among other Texas cities appearing in the American Fitness index are:

No. 28 Austin, down from No. 21 last year.
No. 43 Dallas, up from 46th last year.
No. 69 Fort Worth, up from 80th last year.
No. 80 San Antonio, up from No. 94 last year.

“Where you live increasingly determines how healthy you are,” Volpe says. “The healthiest cities don’t just encourage exercise — they make movement part of daily life through infrastructure, transportation, and community design.”

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