Galveston Island State Park is a 2013 acre park that spans the width of Galveston Island from the Gulf of Mexico to West Galveston bay. In 2008, Hurricane Ike almost leveled the park destroying a majority of the campsites, washed away several yards of beach, sand some buildings, covered some sites in sand, and dramatically altered the landscape. Over time the Park is slowly recovering and in 2017 there were 69 sites in operation. Additional camping and day use facilities construction will begin on the beach side of the park in 2018.
All the sites on the Gulf of Mexico side are a very short walk across the berm to the beach. From some sites you can see the Gulf and you can hear the waves from all the sites. The Park is about 15 miles from downtown Galveston. The terrain is flat and treeless and you camp here to enjoy Galveston and the beach.
We come to Galveston State Park over Thanksgiving to enjoy the good weather and the beach. Typically, we'll spend one day on the beach, enjoying the water, flying kites, playing frisbee golf and bocce ball, and riding bikes along the beach. After a full day of sand blasting, Turkey Day is spent playing games, watching the Cowboy game, and feeding charcoal to the grill smoking the turkey. There is nothing better than enjoying a turkey dinner with all the fixings outdoors with friends and family while listing to the waves breaking in the background.
We also like to bike along the Galveston seawall and hit a couple of the bars and restaurants; bike or hike the 4 miles of trails on the bay side of the park; bike along the beach and head over the berms and bike through some of the unique housing developments; and spend some time walking and biking the Strand and historical district. You can read more about our Thanksgiving trip to Galveston in the Galveston Thank God For Weekends.
And of course we need to spend a day on the links. Moody Gardens Golf Course is a fun and challenging 18 holes that is 5 minutes from the State Park.
Near By:
Galveston offers a lot of things to do -- here is a link to our Galveston Page and Fun Things to Do Page. Some of our recommendations to keep you busy include:
Golf on the Island or between Galveston and Houston -- click here to find a course
Moody Gardens has plenty to keep you busy for a day or more
SchlitterbahnWaterpark is new to Galveston in 2006 and is the best water park in Texas and has an indoor portion that is open year round
the Strand, which is downtown Galveston, has lots of shops, and nearby restaurants (on the bay) and bars plus a Tall Ship (Elissa) and The Ocean Star Museum to explore
along the seawall are some excellent restaurants, fun bars, Pleasure Pier with lots of rides, bike rentals, miles of new beach, fishing piers, and more
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