FIRST THE VIEW THEN THE EXPLANATION
Here is our closest beach access. It's about 1300 feet, 400 meters.
Looking to the east from our access point. You have a twelve mile walk east.
Looking west from our access point. You have an eighteen mile walk west.
The beaches in Galveston
Beaches in other areas have light, fluffy sand. Walking in such sand is like walking on Cotton. The Outer Banks of North Carolina has such sand. Walking is difficult. Driving requires special precautions.
Not so in Galveston. The beaches in Galveston are hard-packed sand. You'll see cars, trucks, bikes and all sorts of other vehicles on the Galveston beaches. Mini Coopers, Harleys, all sorts can drive where allowed and when conditions permit.
Driving is limited in high occupancy areas. You can't drive by Pleasure Pier or the seawall. Out west, there are two types of beaches that allow driving. One is a pocket park. They are normally about a half mile long. Most are free. Some charge.
Overall there are forty-one beach access points.
Getting to the beach
There are two ways to get to the beach: You can walk or drive.
There are two types of beaches
There are two types of beaches: Beaches that charge an admission and free beaches.
THE beach closest to the house
The beach closest to the house is about a quarter of a mile away. That's like 1300 feet or 400 meters.
It is an easy walk and the beach is free to pedestrians. That being said, you must cross the four lane San Luis Pass Road. This is easy at any time of the day. Be patient and large breaks in traffic will allow an easy crossing. Children should be accompanied. The speed limit is 50 mph but in Texas that's just a suggestion.
You
can drive to this beach but during the peak
season they charge you per entry.
As of this writing, the fee is $15.00 per car or $30.00 per RV or a car with a trailer.
You can't leave and return without paying another fee.
There's a season pass for $50.00. That would pay for itself in four trips.
Most other access points that allow beach driving are close and free.
Our local beach to the east
To the east is a half mile of beach where beach driving is allowed. East of that is another half mile of pedestrian-only beach. Then you hit the seawall.
So you have a mile of sand to the seawall. Once at the seawall, you have another twelve miles on the seawall to the east end of the island.
Our local beach to the WEST
There is about eighteen mile of beach to the west. You will have pedestrian only for two miles then a mix of auto and pedestrian for the remaining beach.
A few miles west is Galveston State Park which is an interesting visit. There is an admission fee.
Beach safety
PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO ON RIP CURRENTS
If you bring a police scanner during the busy summer season the number of people who drown or are saved from drowning will scare you. PLEASE understand rip currents.
Please consider watching the below video on rip currents. Each year more and more swimmers die in the Gulf of Mexico.
Quentin Turku's rip current video