As a barrier island near Houston, Galveston offers plenty of long and lovely beaches for residents and visitors like to enjoy. Whether you prefer busy beaches with plenty of people and facilities or more distant beaches where it’s just you, the sand, and the waves, you can find a spot to enjoy near Galveston this summer.
East Beach
East Beach is a long stretch of sand that includes most of the east end of the island. The beach is fully built up, with a boardwalk area, a pavilion and stage for live music and other special events, showers and restrooms, concessions, and rentals for beach chairs and umbrellas. Thanks to the nearby beach patrol, you can drink alcohol in non-glass containers on East Beach, which isn’t true for any other Galveston beach. Walking to the beach is free, but parking costs between $10-$15 depending on the season.
Crystal Beach
Crystal Beach is across the strait from Galveston on the Bolivar Peninsula. As a resort community, Crystal Beach offers plenty of vacation rental homes and RV parks along with local restaurants and fishing shops with chartered boats. Something that sets this community apart from the rest of the Texas Gulf Coast is the fact that you can drive your truck or RV right onto the beach if you like, at least in the areas that allow RV parking. You should also check out the Point Bolivar Lighthouse while you’re in the area.
Matagorda Bay Nature Park
Keep heading southwest of Galveston along the coast and you’ll reach the Matagorda Bay Nature Park. The park takes up 1,600 acres and has a more natural feel to it, but it still has dozens of camping sites including spots where you can hook up an RV for water, electricity, and sewage. The park offers horseback riding and a large hall you can rent out for special occasions, and all kinds of bird species pass through the area on migrations, making it one of the best spots in the nation for birdwatching.
Galveston Island State Park
You don’t have to drive for two hours to find a quiet beach when you start in Galveston. While the Galveston Island State Park has plenty of amenities, camp sites, and cabins, it skips the boardwalk and noisy music shows to preserve the natural state of the Gulf Coast environment. As a state park, you can fish from shore without a license on both the bay and ocean sides of the park, or you can bring your own sports equipment to go mountain biking, canoeing, or kayaking along the park’s paved and paddling trails.
From the classic built-up beaches that attract tourists by the thousands to the wild beaches that show that nature still has plenty to offer, Galveston and its surrounding communities have plenty of lovely beaches for visitors to enjoy. Whether you live in the area and can stop by every day or you’re only in the neighborhood for a weekend or a summer vacation, you won’t be disappointed by what you find.
This photo, “The Luther Hotel, Palacios, Texas 1706031132,” by Patrick Feller used under CC BY 2.0. “The Luther Hotel, Palacios, Texas 1706031132” is licensed under CC BY 2.0 by Gay Family Kia.
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