Water walking is our favorite past time.
Kaylee and I woke up to the sound of coastal winds blowing from the gulf across the island. It was the beginning of day 2 of our Houston area trip to visit the three state parks that are immediately accessible from Houston. First park on the agenda was Galveston Island State Park. Just south of the city and close to Jamaica Beach, Galveston Island State Park expands across the entirety of the small strip of barrier island from gulf to bay. Unfortunately, the beach access within the state park grounds are temporarily closed for renovation until at least 2022. Obviously being on a beach, this puts a dent into what Galveston Island can offer from a state park’s perspective. But, like in every park thus far, that did not stop Kaylee and I from experiencing a new park and having fun while doing it.
The majority of the ‘Points of Interest’ marked on the trails map were bay access points for kayakers and fishermen/women (we don’t discriminate). Galveston Island has an extensive kayak paddling trail system. However, Kaylee and I do not have a kayak. So we resorted to what we know best, and that is taking pictures, acting goofy around each other, and wearing our Costa sunglasses. At each access point listed on the map, we would take in a view that has been unique to any other state park we have visited to this point. The mostly cloudy sky accented the horizon with gray as the water of Galveston Bay stretched out beyond sight. The flatlands of the coast boasted reeds and water grasses. The access points were a quick stay since they were directly off of the park roads and weren’t much of an adventure without having a kayak. The real journey started when we went to the observation towers.
There are two observation towers in Galveston Island State Park that extend above sea level to give seascape spectacles of Galveston Bay. The first one was just a short walk from the parking area and is only about 8-10 feet above the ground. We knew that the other one would give the same perspectives as this one and possibly even better ones since it was going to be taller. So Kaylee snapped a few photos and we were on our way.
The second of the observation towers was about a mile off of the main park road on a small cape that jutted out into the bayside. The trail that led to it consisted of two boardwalks that crossed over bayou sloughs and more wading through water than we could’ve thought. I suspect it was high tide when we were there since the marked trails we were using were overrun with the saltwater. At some points the water would be about knee deep on the trail. I felt like I was wade fishing again. Once we made it to the observation tower and climbed the steps to the top, we got to see all of what Galveston Island State Park offered. From the waves of the surf to the open expanse of flats that forged Galveston Bay, the observation tower gave way to the beauty the upper Texas Coast has to offer. This is where we took the majority of the pictures for that album. We got ring pictures, pictures of the landscape, couples pictures, and individuals. We took in the new view of being at a coastal state park and headed back down the flooded trails to the car.
Since we still had two stops left for the day (see Kaylee’s blog post about our overall journey down to H-Town), we had time left for one last trail. This one was close to the park headquarters and exit. It was a short grassy trail that ended in a wildlife viewing station on a freshwater pond. There aren’t too many freshwater ponds on barrier islands, so that was cool in and of itself. We had to get the show on the road, so we headed out of Galveston Island State Park after that and drove back to the mainland. Galveston may not be one of the most impressive or memorable state parks we have been to (our stay lasted less than an hour and half), but it was still distinct from any of the others. And for that reason, it will stick in the memory banks.
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