Sunrise over the sand and surf on Galveston Island
Beaches

Galveston beaches compared

Most beach parks charge $15 a car, a few are free, and East Beach is the only Park Board beach where you can drink. On the West End you can park on the sand. Here is each beach with its fees, lifeguards and rules.

Pick a beach
Checked October 29, 20268 beachesFees, rules, facilities

Galveston Island · Photo: Vashti Collins / Unsplash · Credits

The short answer

Which beach suits your day

  • Lifeguards and showers for the kidsStewart BeachA family beach park with lifeguards in season, showers and chair rentals. Check the flag on the day.$15 per car
  • A beer on the beachEast BeachThe one Park Board beach where you may drink.$15 per car
  • Your car next to your towelPocket Park #1You drive onto the beach and set up beside the car.$15 per car
  • A beach that costs nothingPocket Park #4Free parking on the far West End. Pocket Park #2 is free too.Free
  • Free driving on the sandJamaica BeachA small city of its own on the West End. It sets its own rules and has no lifeguards.Free
  • To walk from your hotelThe SeawallTen miles of sand below the wall. Four stretches of the boulevard have free parking.$2 an hour to park
  • Nature, not buildingsGalveston Island State ParkGulf beach, bay and trails, with no lifeguards. The park often fills up, so reserve a day pass.$5 per adult
All beaches

Fees, alcohol and lifeguards

"Yes" for lifeguards means towers staffed in season, not a guard on duty every hour the beach is open. Before you swim, check the flag, the water quality and where swimming is banned.

  1. Stewart BeachEast end, where Broadway reaches the SeawallCost$15 per car, good for one entryAlcoholBannedLifeguardsYes, in seasonHours6 am to 8 pm every day
  2. East Beach (R.A. Apffel Park)The island's eastern tip at 1923 Boddeker Rd, next to the ship channelCost$15 per car, good for one entryAlcoholAllowedLifeguardsYes, in seasonHours6 am to 8 pm every day
  3. Seawall beachesThe sand below the Seawall, roughly 10 miles from the east end westwardCostThe beach is freeAlcoholBannedLifeguardsSome towers along the Seawall have guards in summer, not all of themHoursParking fees apply from 10 am to 6 pm every day
  4. Pocket Park #1West End, 11102 Termini–San Luis Pass RdCost$15 per carAlcoholNot allowed (see the rules below)LifeguardsNo lifeguard towers on this stretchHours8 am to 7 pm every day
  5. Pocket Park #2West End, 11745 Termini–San Luis Pass Rd, next to the Tipsy TurtleCostFreeAlcoholNot allowed (see the rules below)LifeguardsNo lifeguard towers on this stretchHours8 am to 7 pm every day
  6. Pocket Park #3West End, 13315 Termini–San Luis Pass Rd, at the end of 12 Mile RdCost$15 to park on the beach, $10 in the lot, and 30 spaces are freeAlcoholNot allowed (see the rules below)LifeguardsNo lifeguard towers on this stretchHoursMon–Fri 9 am to 6 pm, Sat–Sun 8 am to 6 pm
  7. Pocket Park #4Far West End, 23200 Termini–San Luis Pass RdCostFreeAlcoholBannedLifeguardsNo lifeguard towers on this stretchHoursSunrise to sunset
  8. Galveston Island State ParkWest End, 14901 FM 3005Cost$5 per adultAlcoholBannedLifeguardsNoneHoursEvery day
Beach by beach

Fees, parking and facilities at each beach

East end, where Broadway reaches the Seawall

Stewart Beach

$15 per car, good for one entry

Best for Families with young children

Cost
$15 per car, good for one entry
Hours
6 am to 8 pm every day
Parking
You pay by license plate in the ParkMobile app, zone 60701. Leave and you pay again
Facilities
Restrooms, showers, changing rooms, volleyball courts and a food truck. Free beach wheelchairs. John's Beach Service rents sets of 2 chairs and an umbrella, about $20 to $40 a set for groups
Alcohol
Banned
Pets
Allowed on a leash
Full guide to Stewart Beach

Source: Park Board: Stewart Beach

The island's eastern tip at 1923 Boddeker Rd, next to the ship channel

East Beach (R.A. Apffel Park)

$15 per car, good for one entry

Best for Groups, anyone who wants a beer on the sand, and views of the ship channel and Big Reef

Cost
$15 per car, good for one entry
Hours
6 am to 8 pm every day
Parking
ParkMobile zone 60703. Leave and you pay again
Facilities
A pavilion with the East Beach Cantina, which has opened on weekends only since August 9, 2026. Restrooms, showers, volleyball courts, chair and umbrella rental and free beach wheelchairs
Alcohol
Allowed
Pets
Allowed on a leash

Sources: Park Board: East Beach, Park Board: beach rules

The sand below the Seawall, roughly 10 miles from the east end westward

Seawall beaches

The beach is free

Best for Walking down to the beach from a Seawall hotel

Cost
The beach is free. Parking on the boulevard is $2 an hour, with a 2-hour minimum and a $16 daily cap
Hours
Parking fees apply from 10 am to 6 pm every day
Parking
PayByPhone location 5004. Parking is free on the north side between 12th–19th, 33rd–39th, 53rd–61st and 85th–91st Streets
Facilities
Restrooms with outdoor showers on the beach side near 19th, 29th, 39th, 45th and 61st Street, open 7 am to 6 pm. Portable toilets near 12th, 24th, 35th, 48th, 57th, 74th and 86th. Restaurants, shops and rentals are across the boulevard
Alcohol
Banned
Pets
Allowed on a leash. No glass

You can pay in the PayByPhone app, at PayByPhone.com or by calling 1-866-234-7275, and each payment adds a fee. Plate readers check for a paid session, and fines arrive by mail.

Sources: City of Galveston: Seawall paid parking, City of Galveston: beach fees, Park Board: Seawall Urban Park

West End, 11102 Termini–San Luis Pass Rd

Pocket Park #1

$15 per car
West End, 11745 Termini–San Luis Pass Rd, next to the Tipsy Turtle

Pocket Park #2

Free

Best for Families who want showers and a deck on a quiet stretch of beach

Cost
Free
Hours
8 am to 7 pm every day
Parking
Paved lot
Facilities
Indoor restrooms and showers, a deck with picnic tables, chair and umbrella rental and a shop for beach supplies
Alcohol
Not allowed (see the rules below)
Pets
Allowed on a leash

Sources: City of Galveston: Pocket Park #2, Visit Galveston: pocket parks

West End, 13315 Termini–San Luis Pass Rd, at the end of 12 Mile Rd

Pocket Park #3

$15 to park on the beach, $10 in the lot, and 30 spaces are free

Best for Fishing and a quiet walk

Cost
$15 to park on the beach, $10 in the lot, and 30 spaces are free
Hours
Mon–Fri 9 am to 6 pm, Sat–Sun 8 am to 6 pm
Parking
The city limits parking on the beach to keep it from getting crowded
Facilities
Restrooms
Alcohol
Not allowed (see the rules below)
Pets
Allowed on a leash

Sources: City of Galveston: Pocket Park #3, City of Galveston: beach fees

Far West End, 23200 Termini–San Luis Pass Rd

Pocket Park #4

Free

Best for A free beach with few people on the far West End

Cost
Free
Hours
Sunrise to sunset
Parking
Free lot
Facilities
Beach access and free parking
Alcohol
Banned. The city code bans drinking from 16-Mile Road to San Luis Pass
Pets
Allowed on a leash

Source: City of Galveston: Pocket Park #4

West End, 14901 FM 3005

Galveston Island State Park

$5 per adult

Best for Nature, birding and a beach with no buildings on it

Cost
$5 per adult. Children 12 and under get in free
Hours
Every day
Parking
Included in the entry fee
Facilities
A Gulf beach and a bay side, trails and campsites you can book
Alcohol
Banned. State parks don't allow drinking or open containers in public
Pets
On a leash no longer than 6 feet, and not in swimming areas or buildings

The park often fills up. Reserve a day pass if you want to be sure of getting in.

Full guide to Galveston Island State Park

Sources: Texas Parks & Wildlife: entrance fees, Texas Parks & Wildlife: park rules

The beach below Seawall Boulevard
The sand below Seawall Boulevard.Seawall Boulevard beach · Photo: Yinan Chen / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Stay nearby

Wake up across from the sand

Staying more than a day? Book a Seawall hotel and you walk to the beach in minutes, with no parking fee at the beach parks and no hunt for a space. On the West End, rent a beach house and the pocket parks are a short drive away.

All beachfront hotels
  1. Homewood Suites by Hilton GalvestonEast end of the SeawallTo the sandStewart Beach 8 min on footPrices
  2. Grand Galvez ResortSeawall, east endTo the sandSeawall beach 2 min on footPrices
  3. DoubleTree by Hilton Galveston BeachSeawall, east endTo the sandBeach across Seawall BlvdPrices
  4. Beachfront Palms ResortSeawall, near 59th StreetTo the sandBeach 2 min on footPrices
  5. Hilton Galveston Island ResortSeawall, west of the Pleasure PierTo the sandBeach across Seawall BlvdPrices

West End beach houses on Vrbo

Paying to park

You pay by license plate

Beach parking in Galveston now works by license plate. At Stewart and East Beach you pay $15 through ParkMobile, in the app or with the QR code on the signs. You can also pay cash at The Islander (Stewart) or The Cantina (East Beach). On the Seawall you pay by the hour through PayByPhone, in the app, online or by phone, and each payment adds a fee. Plate readers check your plate, and if you haven't paid, the fine comes by mail.

The $15 at Stewart and East Beach is good for one entry. If you drive off for lunch, you pay again when you come back. Type your plate number carefully: a typo can bring a fine. If that happens, appeal with the QR code on the notice.

Cars with a disability plate or placard park free at Stewart and East Beach. You still have to register in ParkMobile, in zone 60702 at Stewart or 60704 at East Beach. The steps are on our Stewart Beach page.

For a longer stay, a $50 seasonal pass covers Stewart and East Beach for a year. The Seawall has its own $45 annual pass.

Rules

Alcohol, glass, fires and dogs

Alcohol
You can drink at East Beach. Drinking is banned at Stewart Beach, on the beach below the Seawall from 10th to 61st Street, from 16-Mile Road to San Luis Pass, and in the state park. The Park Board's beach rules ban it on every other public beach too, Pocket Parks 1 to 3 included, so East Beach is the place for a drink on the sand.
Glass
Banned on the Park Board beaches (Stewart, East Beach and the Seawall), at Pocket Parks 1 and 2, at San Luis Pass and in the state park's swimming areas. Bring cans instead.
Overnight
You can't camp on the city and Park Board beaches. The state park has campsites you can book. From Spring Break to Labor Day, the Leave No Trace ordinance applies: anything left on the sand overnight is taken away.
Fires
On Park Board beaches, use the BBQ pits only. Let hot coals cool and bury them, or put them in the bins.
Dunes
Keep off the dunes. They protect the island.
Dogs
Keep dogs on a leash on Park Board beaches, the Seawall and the pocket parks. In the state park the leash must be 6 feet or shorter, and dogs can't go in swimming areas. Pick up after them.
San Luis Pass
The currents are dangerous. Swimming or wading in the restricted area is a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $500.

Sources: Park Board: rules, Park Board guide (PDF), page 10, City of Galveston code, Sec. 4-5, Texas Parks & Wildlife: park rules, Brazoria County: San Luis Pass rules.

Often asked

Nude beaches, surfing, Padre Island and sleeping on the sand

Is there a nude beach in Galveston?

No. None of Galveston's beaches is clothing-optional. The one public place in Texas generally thought to allow nudity is Hippie Hollow, a county park on Lake Travis near Austin.

Can you sleep on the beach?

Not on the city and Park Board beaches, where camping isn't allowed. From Spring Break to Labor Day, anything left on the sand overnight is taken away. To sleep by the Gulf, book a beach campsite at Galveston Island State Park. On Bolivar camping on the beach is banned too. Jamaica Beach bans it.

Can you surf in Galveston?

Yes, mostly small waves. Surfers ride the breaks next to the Seawall jetties, at 37th, 47th, 51st and 61st Street, and around Pleasure Pier. The best days come just after a storm or a cold front passes through the Gulf; in spring and summer the surf is harder to predict. Strong rip currents form beside the jetties, so read beach safety before you paddle out. Surf shops on the Seawall and downtown sell and rent boards.

Padre Island or Galveston?

South Padre Island is about 370 miles from Houston by road; Galveston is about an hour away. Galveston's water is often brown from river silt, and its bluest days, Visit Galveston explains, come when bluer, saltier water from South Texas moves up the coast. So for clearer water, go south. For a weekend from Houston, a cruise, Victorian history, Moody Gardens and more hotels, Galveston is the easier trip. Why Galveston's water is brown.

Sources, read on October 31, 2026: Texas Standard on Hippie Hollow, Galveston.com: surfing, Visit Galveston: water color explained. Road distance routed with OpenStreetMap.

Seaweed

Sargassum season

From late spring into summer, brown sargassum seaweed washes up on Galveston's beaches. How much arrives changes a lot from week to week and from year to year. If seaweed-free sand matters most, look at autumn and early spring in the best time to visit Galveston.

Crews may only move it once the piles are at least 8 feet wide and 6 inches high. When they do, they push the seaweed back against the seawall or onto the dunes, where it dries and becomes part of the sand. Heavy equipment on the beach speeds up erosion and can damage sea turtle nests, so trained wildlife monitors work alongside the crews.

Before a beach day, look at the beach alerts and webcams on Visit Galveston's beach conditions page. Why the water turns brown and how to check water quality: beach safety.

Sources: Visit Galveston: beach conditions, The Daily News, May 19, 2026, Houston Public Media, April 30, 2026.