Bay Side.
Beach Side.
Galveston Island State Park is located on the western side of Galveston Island. It is located on the Gulf coast and has camping on both the beach and the Bay side of the island. The bay side has the lagoons and marshes and 20 RV sites in a semi-circle with a communal pavilion in the center. It had lovely views of the bay but feels very isolated. The nearest restrooms were about 200 yards away in the tent sites. There were no shortcuts, so it did feel like a bit of a hike to get there for a shower. The bigger Beach side offers 1.6 miles of the Gulf of Mexico beachfront and 60 RV sites We moved over to the beachside for our last night and the bathrooms were much closer. There was no beach view from the RV's, but it was a very short walk to the beach. All the sites had electric and water and there is a dump station on the beach side.
We took a ferry from Port Bolivar to Galveston Island across Galveston Bay, it was free and only about a 20-minute or 2.7 mile boat ride. The ferry runs 24 hours and more ferry's are added depending on how busy it is, although the website mentions the wait times can be up to 2 hours we only waited 20 minutes, It was very quick and organized to get all the vehicles onto the ferry. Each ferry can carry approximately 70 vehicles, 500 passengers and 6 crew members, only 8-eighteen wheelers may board at once and carry 80,000 lbs. each. You can drive your vehicle-on or walk-on depending on your plans. There is an upper observation area outside and a sitting area with a/c inside that's surrounded by windows, the view are amazing both inside and outside. You can get out of your vehicle once the ferry starts moving but unfortunately the ocean was very rough the day we went so I sat inside the R.V. while Dean braved the elements to go out and take some photos.
Waiting for the ferry.
Dean was brave and got out to take a photo.
I stayed in the R.V.
The ocean was very rough.
Hoping we didn't need this !
We saw lots of birds and even some dolphins.
It got extremely cold ! I didn't realize that the gulf coast of Texas could get below freezing. We really had to bundle up when we went outside.
Even Ella had to wear a jacket.
The wind made it feel even colder.
We still managed to go out for drinks.
The bar and restaurant.
Beautiful house on the water.
The hiking trails were under water.
Great White Egrets
Northern Harrier.
Great-tailed Grackle
Pelican.
