The Park Board runs this beach park at the end of Broadway. It has lifeguards, showers, changing rooms and volleyball courts, plus chair rentals and free beach wheelchairs in season, and you pay for parking by license plate.
Fees and hoursGalveston beach · Photo: Abigail Kaucher / Unsplash · Credits
Broadway, the main road onto the island, reaches the Gulf here. Lifeguards and good facilities make it an easy pick for families. The water changes from day to day, so check the flag and the water quality before you swim: beach safety.
The park has restrooms, showers and changing rooms, several beach volleyball courts, a food truck and concessions, beach supplies and lifeguards. John's Beach Service rents chairs and umbrellas on a first-come basis and takes cash or card. Rentals ended for the 2026 season on November 2.
As a guide, a set of 2 chairs and an umbrella is about $40 for small groups (up to 10 sets) and drops to about $30, $25 and $20 a set for bigger groups. A chair on its own, a body board or a float is about $10. For a single set on the day, ask at the stand or call (409) 370-1957. John's Beach Service flyer.
The whole parking lot is sand. The only marked spaces are veteran parking near the beach entrance and the special use area. From Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend, Mobi-Mat decking is laid out every day; the rest of the year it is taken up. The ADA restrooms have a ramp. The showers and changing rooms stand on a platform about 6 inches off the ground.
Beach wheelchairs are free in the normal season. Ask at the Islander shop and leave your driver's license there until you bring the chair back. There are only a few, and you can't reserve one. Non-swimmers need a life jacket in the floating chair.
The special use area is half a mile of beach you can drive onto, entered at the southeast corner of the lot. It is open to vehicles with disabled veteran plates or with plates or placards showing the access symbol. You can also drive in if someone in the car has a valid fishing license and fishing gear, or if you bring a surfboard, paddleboard or kayak.
Source: Park Board: park accessibility. That page still says to tell the gate attendant for free entry. Since plate payment started, you register in ParkMobile zone 60702 instead (Park Board parking FAQ).
Alcohol and glass are banned. You can put up a tent or a tarp, but you can't camp. Fires go in the BBQ pits only, and the dunes are off limits. From Spring Break to Labor Day, the Leave No Trace ordinance applies: anything left on the sand overnight is taken away. ATVs and dirt bikes are banned.
Drive a few minutes east to East Beach, the Park Board beach where alcohol is allowed. The $50 annual pass covers both beaches.
Since May 1, 2026, cameras read license plates on the way in and out, from 6 am to 8 pm all year. Pay before you leave. If you don't, the car's owner gets a bill for the parking fee plus a $30 collection fee, and late fees can follow.
If you have no phone or the app fails, pay cash at The Islander shop in the park. If you paid and still got a notice, for example because of a typo in the plate, appeal with the QR code on the notice. The Park Board may accept small errors such as one wrong letter or digit. For questions about the fee, call the Parks Manager at 409-797-5111.
Homewood Suites (110 Seawall Blvd) is the only hotel in our guides that is an easy walk away: about 0.4 mi, or 8 minutes. On foot, the DoubleTree (1702 Seawall Blvd) is about 1.4 mi away and the Grand Galvez (2024 Seawall Blvd) about 1.6 mi.
Walking distances to Stewart Beach routed with OpenStreetMap.
Our beachfront hotels guide compares the DoubleTree and Grand Galvez with other Seawall hotels. For other beaches, see all Galveston beaches.