Help Whitehouse TX to galveston tx then Corpus Christi

Scubawise · 10-01-2021, 10:57 PM

We will be in Whitehouse Texas. Need help from my fellow Texas campers.
see maps of routes we see. Looking for State parks, boondocking in these area?

Thanks ScubaWise

Scubawise · 10-01-2021, 11:13 PM

anyone camp here? We do not have 4x4 and 26 foot motorhome

Address
Port Bolivar, Texas
GPS: 29.383223, -94.72345
Elevation: 6'
Get Directions
Management
Public - County Park (Unofficial)
Website
The road in is Dirt. Bolivar Beach Flats is open year-round. There are 30 or more campsites at this location and the maximum RV length is any.

Scubawise · 10-01-2021, 11:15 PM

anyone ever done this?

The beach closest to the Free Ferry (Galveston) is not close to any homes. To the left of the port a potty is the free beach where you can camp for 3 nights. To the right is the parking pass beach where you can stay for up to 14 nights.

To get the pass for $5 from Jan 7 to Feb. 28 you must send a S.A.S.E. to the address on the website. After that it is $10. They are good thru Dec. 31st You can get them at The Big Store at a register beginning in March. What they don't tell you is Jan and Feb you can only get them at the Big Store Thurs thru Sat until 3pm.

The beach is packed sand and easy to drive on. I would stay close to the dunes as crazy people drive at night and it is very dark to see.

Enjoyed riding the ferry, watching ships,... To windy and cold this time of year to swim. Didn't have our Salt Water stamp to fish but according to the birds fishing was good. There is a bird sanctuary in the dunes and around this end of Bolivar, a old lighthouse you can see but not visit. Great donut shop called Dannay's. Pizza at The Big Store. Plenty of bars and a few restaurants including Subway all on 87. Patrolled by Galveston Sheriffs office. Showers available at Fort Travis in Restrooms.

Stayed here with a passenger vehicle and a tent. localgringosj would stay here again.

Lt Keefer · 10-01-2021, 11:19 PM

I would suggest you stay off I 45 and remember that Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. There is no way to avoid traffic. Texas allows for overnighting in roadside rest areas, so that may be an option for you. I'm not a fan of our state parks but the COE facilities are nice. I am hesitant to mention my favorites, but if you qualify, the FamCamp at NAS Corpus is nice and you can always camp on the beach at Padre Island.

Scubawise · 10-02-2021, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

I would suggest you stay off I 45 and remember that Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. There is no way to avoid traffic. Texas allows for overnighting in roadside rest areas, so that may be an option for you. I'm not a fan of our state parks but the COE facilities are nice. I am hesitant to mention my favorites, but if you qualify, the FamCamp at NAS Corpus is nice and you can always camp on the beach at Padre Island.

Great will deep dive

Pabs4 · 10-02-2021, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scubawise

anyone ever done this?

The beach closest to the Free Ferry (Galveston) is not close to any homes. To the left of the port a potty is the free beach where you can camp for 3 nights. To the right is the parking pass beach where you can stay for up to 14 nights.

To get the pass for $5 from Jan 7 to Feb. 28 you must send a S.A.S.E. to the address on the website. After that it is $10. They are good thru Dec. 31st You can get them at The Big Store at a register beginning in March. What they don't tell you is Jan and Feb you can only get them at the Big Store Thurs thru Sat until 3pm.

The beach is packed sand and easy to drive on. I would stay close to the dunes as crazy people drive at night and it is very dark to see.

Enjoyed riding the ferry, watching ships,... To windy and cold this time of year to swim. Didn't have our Salt Water stamp to fish but according to the birds fishing was good. There is a bird sanctuary in the dunes and around this end of Bolivar, a old lighthouse you can see but not visit. Great donut shop called Dannay's. Pizza at The Big Store. Plenty of bars and a few restaurants including Subway all on 87. Patrolled by Galveston Sheriffs office. Showers available at Fort Travis in Restrooms.

Stayed here with a passenger vehicle and a tent. localgringosj would stay here again.

When the free ferry is mentioned I am assuming they mean the ferry between the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston. We have a home on the Bolivar Peninsula. There are many homes on Bolivar. The ferry landing just appears to be desolate, but we have restaurants, several RV Parks, and you can drive on the beach and camp on the beach as long as you pay for a parking pass that costs $10.00. With that said, I wouldn’t advise camping on the beach at this time of year. If you do, make certain you do so down on the west end of the peninsula nearer the ferry. There is more distance between the water and the dunes. This time of year the water tends to come up closer to the dunes than at other times. We have seen RVs and vehicles being swamped because people were sleeping and the water came in in the middle of the night. That doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

It will be difficult for you to avoid traveling on 45. It’s the main route to Galveston. I will say that if you time your travels correctly, the traffic won’t be terrible on all of it. It will be backed up north of Houston traveling south in the mornings. By mid morning it should be better. In the afternoon it will be busy south of Houston traveling South, and on Friday afternoons you can be prepared to be in stand still traffic around 610 and 45 traveling South.

There is a fairly new RV park in Galveston. https://www.stellamarervresort.com/ I have no personal experience with it, but it appears to be really nice. If you have never been to Galveston, you really should visit. If you have some time tour the Bishop’s Palace. There are also many other beautiful homes and structures you can tour. The Strand is a great little shopping experience. It’s mostly souvenir places with some restaurants. There are several antique shops scattered on the surrounding streets on the Strand.

For some great Mexican Food visit the Original Mexican Cafe. It’s on Market and 14th. The Sunflower Bakery and Cafe has a great breakfast, but get there early!

I love the Bolivar Peninsula. We live in Beaumont so it’s less than an hour for us to travel to our beach house. The ferry, especially in the summer, can have a 2-3 hour wait. You can drive your vehicle on it and spend about 20 minutes traveling across the ship channel. Most of us who live down there avoid the ferry for that reason. The great thing is you can park your vehicle in the lot on either side and walk onto the ferry. You can ride it across, stay on while they unload and reload, and then ride it back to the side you boarded. It’s a fun trip and you just might get to see dolphins frolicking and feeding along the way. You can also bring some bread slices to feed the seagulls. Just make certain to feed them from the back of the ferry! If you visit Crystalbeach.com you can find a link to the ferry wait times and also live cameras. If the wait isn’t long take a trip over to Bolivar, have lunch or dinner at Stingaree Restaurant right on the intracoastal, and don’t leave without visiting the Big Store aka Gulf Coast Market.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions. Also I should now get emails from the forum if you post again on this thread.

Happy Travels!

Pam

Scubawise · 10-03-2021, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pabs4

When the free ferry is mentioned I am assuming they mean the ferry between the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston. We have a home on the Bolivar Peninsula. There are many homes on Bolivar. The ferry landing just appears to be desolate, but we have restaurants, several RV Parks, and you can drive on the beach and camp on the beach as long as you pay for a parking pass that costs $10.00. With that said, I wouldn’t advise camping on the beach at this time of year. If you do, make certain you do so down on the west end of the peninsula nearer the ferry. There is more distance between the water and the dunes. This time of year the water tends to come up closer to the dunes than at other times. We have seen RVs and vehicles being swamped because people were sleeping and the water came in in the middle of the night. That doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

It will be difficult for you to avoid traveling on 45. It’s the main route to Galveston. I will say that if you time your travels correctly, the traffic won’t be terrible on all of it. It will be backed up north of Houston traveling south in the mornings. By mid morning it should be better. In the afternoon it will be busy south of Houston traveling South, and on Friday afternoons you can be prepared to be in stand still traffic around 610 and 45 traveling South.

There is a fairly new RV park in Galveston. https://www.stellamarervresort.com/ I have no personal experience with it, but it appears to be really nice. If you have never been to Galveston, you really should visit. If you have some time tour the Bishop’s Palace. There are also many other beautiful homes and structures you can tour. The Strand is a great little shopping experience. It’s mostly souvenir places with some restaurants. There are several antique shops scattered on the surrounding streets on the Strand.

For some great Mexican Food visit the Original Mexican Cafe. It’s on Market and 14th. The Sunflower Bakery and Cafe has a great breakfast, but get there early!

I love the Bolivar Peninsula. We live in Beaumont so it’s less than an hour for us to travel to our beach house. The ferry, especially in the summer, can have a 2-3 hour wait. You can drive your vehicle on it and spend about 20 minutes traveling across the ship channel. Most of us who live down there avoid the ferry for that reason. The great thing is you can park your vehicle in the lot on either side and walk onto the ferry. You can ride it across, stay on while they unload and reload, and then ride it back to the side you boarded. It’s a fun trip and you just might get to see dolphins frolicking and feeding along the way. You can also bring some bread slices to feed the seagulls. Just make certain to feed them from the back of the ferry! If you visit Crystalbeach.com you can find a link to the ferry wait times and also live cameras. If the wait isn’t long take a trip over to Bolivar, have lunch or dinner at Stingaree Restaurant right on the intracoastal, and don’t leave without visiting the Big Store aka Gulf Coast Market.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions. Also I should now get emails from the forum if you post again on this thread.

Happy Travels!

Pam

Great really appreciate! Lora is thrilled and loves Mexican

For some great Mexican Food visit the Original Mexican Cafe. It’s on Market and 14th. The Sunflower Bakery and Cafe has a great breakfast, but get there early!

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