Surfside Beach Texas! Where is Surfside and what is it like? Read on to learn more.
Surfside Beach Texas is a good alternative to Galveston Island. You get the same beach and water, but the community is smaller.
Instead of driving down 45 to Galveston, take 288 directly south to Surfside. It's an easy drive from downtown Houston, past Sea Center Texas and several Buc-ee's.
Surfside Beach:
Surfside Beach is much much smaller than Galveston, with a population in the hundreds. There are a few restaurants, hotels/houses, Jetty Park and a long beach.
At the beach, you can park for free and walk in, or buy the season pass and drive on.
Drive On Beach vs Walk On Beach:
On our very first trip, we were going to drive on (like we do at our favorite West Beach), but at the main entrance (at the end of 332) the gate attended suggested a minivan go to another entrance with packed sand or walk on. (So check on the sand before you drive on!)
This was a very good tip for three reasons. First, when we parked and walked on, we saw giant trucks getting stuck in the soft sand. This is not always an issue, but since it had not rained in a while, the sand was not packed down.
Second, on the car side of the beach, vehicles were avoiding the soft sand and driving on the wet sand... which is where people were playing in the water... which looked really dangerous.
Third, even when there has been enough rain and the sand is hard, high tide is an issue. At high tide, there are parts of the beach that are really narrow. Cars have to navigate between people, water and driftwood. It's best for trucks and SUVs.
That said, there are times when driving on the beach is just fine. At low tide there is a lot more room. Also, when it's not a super busy weekend/holiday, there are more places for the non-trucks to drive and park. (For Surfside Beach driving rules, go HERE.)
Still, we've always walked onto the beach. We have either set up on the no-car side of the beach or from the Rock House Beach Rental dune bridge.
On the pedestrian beach, west of Highway 332, you can park for free, walk on and play in the water.
From the dune bridges, we just cross the bridge and walk over to a wider part of the beach (like in front of the Seahorse Bar and Grill), so we have room to play away from the cars.
Amenities at Surfside Beach:
Some things to note... The beach has portapotties but no restrooms (except for by Jetty Park).
Seahorse Bar and Grill is right on the water and has access from the beach. This is a great place for families to eat.
Also, since my kids and I are Buc-ee's fanatics, let me tell you about those. Between downtown Houston and Surfside, there are several Buc-ee's. I don't think any are as big as our favorite Texas City stop.... but the one in Surfside Beach Texas is really really small and is really really crowded. If you are obsessed with Buc-ee's, stop in Angelton or Lake Jackson instead. And if you think it's crazy to be obsessed with a gas station, just pretend like I didn't write this paragraph.
Staying in Surfside:
If you want to stay over night in Surfside, check out ROCK HOUSE. It's a family friendly, veteran owned and operated, beach house rental available on AirBNB and VRBO.
Surfside is a fun twist to our beach trips. It's especially good if you are also stopping by Sea Center Texas or driving along the beautiful Bluewater Highway (connecting Surfside and Galveston).
If you are looking for more beaches near Houston, go HERE!
Click the address for the map of Surfside: Surfside, Texas 77541
Christopher Nielson says
The corp of engineers ruined the surfing and the fishing in Galveston by filling in all that sand. I may have to start going to surfside