Kemah Boardwalk is 40 minutes up the coast from the Pleasure Pier and belongs to the same company. Walking in is free, a ride pass costs $29.99, and on weekdays parking is free too. If you plan both piers on one weekend, a combined pass can save adults about $11.
Which pass to buyGalveston Causeway · Photo: Patrick Feller / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · Credits
A waterfront strip of restaurants and rides on 60 acres, opened in 1998 and run by Landry's, which also owns Galveston's Pleasure Pier. If you only want one, the Pleasure Pier is closer; Kemah has more restaurants, a wooden roller coaster and free weekday parking.
Sources: Kemah Boardwalk, its rides and know before you go pages, read on November 1, 2026. Opening year and size from Wikipedia.
26.8 miles from the Pleasure Pier and 26.6 miles from the Strand, about 40 minutes each way without traffic.
Driving times without traffic.
The Weekend Adventure Pass covers rides at both Landry's piers and the Downtown Aquarium in Houston, but only on the weekend you buy it. It's valid Friday to Sunday.
Prices from Kemah's rides page and Weekend Adventure Pass page and the Pleasure Pier ticket page, read on November 1, 2026. Neither pass covers the Boardwalk Beast, the zip line, the stingray tank, midway games or the arcade. More about the Galveston pier in our Pleasure Pier guide.
Height sets both the ride pass price and which rides your child can take. Pick your child's height to see what's open to them, on their own or with an adult.
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Heights from Kemah's ride list, Boardwalk Bullet and Boardwalk Beast pages, read on November 1, 2026. Kemah counts 13 rides in the pass; Landry's elsewhere says 15.
Come on a weekday and you park free next to the Boardwalk. On weekends the Boardwalk lots charge, card only, and don't post their price online; the city lot on 6th Street costs at most $10 a day. There are ATMs in front of Saltgrass and in the garage, but you won't need cash.
Sources: Kemah's know before you go page and the City of Kemah's parking page, read on November 1, 2026. Kemah's page also lists a shuttle boat on December 13 and 31; the 2026 Boat Parade is on December 12, so that note may be out of date.
From late November the Boardwalk turns to Christmas. Kemah also sells a Thanksgiving Weekend Pass for November 26 to 29 and a Polar Pass for December 25 to January 1, both for all three Landry's parks.
From Kemah's events page, read on November 1, 2026.
You can't bring food or drinks, so plan to eat there. Choices run from the Aquarium Restaurant, with fish tanks floor to ceiling, to Landry's Seafood, Joe's Crab Shack, Saltgrass Steak House and Bubba Gump, plus pizza, funnel cakes, ice cream and a Starbucks that opens at 7 am. Inside the Aquarium Restaurant, Stingray Reef lets kids touch and feed stingrays for $6.99, or $8.50 with fish food. Alcohol bought on site can't leave the property.
The Boardwalk Inn sits on the Boardwalk itself (281-334-9880). Most visitors from Galveston drive back the same evening; for hotels near the Pleasure Pier, see our list.
From Kemah's dining, Stingray Reef, know before you go and visitor information pages, read on November 1, 2026.
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