Hiking at Galveston Island State Park, 1/08/2018

Galveston Island State Park is located west of Galveston and east of Jamaica Beach, so a short distance from the RV park where we are staying. This is our first visit to the park. I never realized there was so much to see and do here!

Our first stop was the headquarters building where we paid the daily fee ($5/adults) and picked up a couple of maps of the park. 

The park has beachfront property along the Gulf of Mexico as well as a larger tract of land with hiking and paddling trails on the opposite side of San Luis Pass Road (bay side).

We explored the Gulf side first. There are 36 campsites (electric and water) and a dump station. A large picnic area (for day use visitors) is located near the beach access path. 

Since we came here to hike, we hopped back in the car and drove to the bay side of the park. There are 4 miles of hiking trails.

Our first stop was the short (.3 mile) interpretive Duck Lake Trail. A Nature Center is located here, but it was not open when we visited. The trail leads to Duck Lake, a freshwater pond that is a critical component of the coastal prairie. 

Next we drove to the parking area near the Clapper Rail Trail (.5 mile) where we saw the wetlands restoration work that has been underway here. Along the way we met a lovely couple, the Wilsons, from Michigan who were enjoying the beautiful coastal weather of Texas. An observation deck provides great views of the area. The Intracoastal Waterway can be seen in the distance.

We learned that Margin Wilson is a breast cancer survivor and has written/published a book about her journey, It’s Not the End of the World: Life Lessons of a Breast Cancer Survivor. It can be purchased from Amazon. It’s always so interesting meeting new people during our travels!

Crossing the bridge, we continued our hike onto the Heron’s Walk Trail (1.4 miles out and back) through marshes and salt flats to another observation tower. We saw lots of crabs in the shallow water of the bayou and shorebird footprints everywhere.

There were great views of the wetlands from there tower. 

We made our return hike to the Clapper Rail Trail on the Egret Loop (.5 miles) where we saw prickly pears (have not seen many here), hawks, and more.

Our last stop at the park was the access point to Como Lake (where there is a boat launch). We saw lots of shorebirds (great blue heron, white heron, white heron in flight and roseate spoonbill in flight).

We never realized there were so many hiking trails at Galveston Island State Park. It is a great place to visit if you enjoy learning more about this coastal environment, hiking (or paddling) trails, and birdwatching. For additional information, go to tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/galveston-island.