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I spent the last 5 days in South Padre, for the first time.. and I loved it! I had been longing for the beaches of the East Coast for quite some time and had the opportunity to go down to Padre with a friend who has a condo facing the water, it is beautiful!
Now by no means is it Myrtle Beach, the Outer Banks, or even Jersey Shore beaches.. but it was relaxing, and good enough to give me my beach fix. I'm curious to know why people talk about it like it's not much better than Galveston. I've been to Galveston once, and I have zero intentions of ever returning. Dirty, murky water, sand was mixed with rocks.. I could go on. I went to Padre thinking it wouldn't be much better, but was pleasantly surprised. Nothing like Galveston, unless I am missing something. My only complaint was that there is no boardwalk, which I knew. Can't have a beach without a boardwalk - that is the best part! Had some really good seafood, and great breakfast on the main land just across the bridge.
I enjoyed it, can't wait to go back next month without the Spring Breakers
Yes, you are right, the beach on South Padre Island isn't like those beaches on the East Coast; it absolutely lords over them.
I will tell you the worst beach in Texas, and that was Port Lavaca. No offense but it seemed the whole place looked ghetto. I'll take Galveston anyday over Port Lavaca.
I will tell you the worst beach in Texas, and that was Port Lavaca. No offense but it seemed the whole place looked ghetto. I'll take Galveston anyday over Port Lavaca.
Port Lavaca is way inland on the NW end of Matagorda Bay, it has no beach, just a small city park on the edge of the bay. I can't imagine why you thought you would find a beach there.
And yes if you know anything about the history of pollution there from the Alcoa Aluminum plant, just East across the bay, you would never to swimming there or eat any fish out of that end of the bay.
Port Lavaca is way inland on the NW end of Matagorda Bay, it has no beach, just a small city park on the edge of the bay. I can't imagine why you thought you would find a beach there.
And yes if you know anything about the history of pollution there from the Alcoa Aluminum plant, just East across the bay, you would never to swimming there or eat any fish out of that end of the bay.
It was recommend by a friend who lives out in Victoria. I looked up Port Lavaca on the web prior before going and thought it looked decent, but boy was I wrong. But I can say the people where nice, but they recommend me to go to Corpus Christi but I didn't have enough time since I was on a deadline.
Galveston beaches proper are almost non-existent, due to the seawall (mainly). Stewart beach(sp?) is okay for entertainment and still has some beach. As you head west on Galveston Island, though, some of the beaches are not that bad and are much closer than SPI. Granted, it is not as nice as SPI, but still better than the 'downtown' beaches in Galveston.
Yes, the beaches of southern Galveston Island (West End) are actually quite decent, and dispel many of the notions people have about the beaches of Galveston. Many tourists to Galveston only visit the beaches near the Sea Wall, as they are the ones closest to the city, and the establishments, and thus, never get to see how much better the beaches of West End Galveston are, a huge factor in regards to a lot of the negativity concerning Galveston beaches.
“Wow! Were We In Galveston?”
5 of 5 starsReviewed July 22, 2014 Let's just say this is our new, favorite place in Galveston! We go on quick trips to Galveston throughout the year, but have never stayed on this end of the island. Wow! Have we been missing out! We loved our stay at Pointe West and will definitely be returning in the near future. The beaches are THE BEST we have ever been on in Galveston. Wide with lots of sand to play....and they were CLEAN!!! No yucky seaweed or smell!! They cleaned the beaches several times while we were there, leaving fresh clean sand. The beach area was never crowded. Even during the peak time of summer, it felt like we had the beach to ourselves. You can't drive on the beaches in front of Pointe West, but there were plenty of boardwalks or you can drive north or south of the resort and find public beach access you can drive on. We stayed on the Bay side and the Sunset views were amazing! It was much quieter on that side as well. There are two pools, one by the Beach Club and the other on the Bay side. Both pools were very nice. The Beach club pool was an infinity type pool overlooking the ocean. Great view!! There is a small kiddie pool there, along with tables/chairs and grills. A small game room for the kids to play is also located by the Beach Club. They do have a restaurant, but we did not eat there. The Sunset Pool on the bay side was smaller, but very nice. There was more shade at this pool and the landscaping around it was beautiful. There was a hot tub there, plenty of seating and tables and grills. It was a great spot in the evening to relax and watch the sunset. The Pointe West grounds are well kept. Plenty of golf cart/walking paths to get out and enjoy nature. There were stickers around the area where we stayed, so don't go barefoot! They have fishing/crabbing ponds on the bay side too. Didn't get to try them out, but heard there was plenty of crabs to catch! The mosquitoes were fierce while we were there, so make sure to take bug spray. Everyone we met was very friendly. The staff at the Beach club were very helpful and accommodating. We rented our condo from an individual and had a great experience with no problems. Pointe West is on the far end of the island, about 20 minutes from Galveston. That was not an issue for us, but could be for some. It is much more quiet and relaxing then the past places we have stayed at on the Sea Wall. We enjoyed being "away from it all" and didn't mind the short drive....it was great site-seeing. There is a nice little store in Sea Isle, which is about 10 min away, in case you do need to run and pick something up. (They also have good BBQ sandwiches.) Once you arrive at Pointe West, you really don't have to go anywhere else. It is a vacation in itself. We all had a great time and can't wait to go back!
“Best Resort in Galveston”
5 of 5 starsReviewed August 7, 2014
I just spent one week at Pointe West with a group of twelve ladies. It was a glorious week for all of us. My group has stayed at Pointe West on previous trips, and I'm sure we'll travel there again. This place just has so much to offer for a stress-free vacation.
One of Pointe West's strongest attractions is the remote location. If you're looking to party hearty in a high-noise zone, you should vacation elsewhere. But if you're seeking a quiet, restful retreat, this resort is perfect. The beaches and grounds are lovely and uncrowded, making you feel like you've traveled far away to a tropical resort - without ever leaving Texas.
Pointe West is located on the far west end of Galveston island, which means a long drive if you want to go into "town". You can get to the main section of the Seawall (past 61st Street) in about twenty minutes. We drove there several times, because the restaurants and shopping are so much better on the eastern side of Galveston. You can have the best of both worlds - a quiet, peaceful resort when you feel like relaxing, and a lively beach town nearby, when you're ready for a night out.
The beach access at Pointe West is the easiest of any resort or hotel on the island. You just walk out of your condo, step over the boardwalk, and there you are. No streets to cross, no traffic to worry about. The beaches are private and meticulously maintained by the resort staff. You'll be amazed at how clean and beautiful this part of the island is, compared with the eastern side of Galveston. The difference is night and day! No lifeguards here, so be safe and careful.
Current dynamics are what makes the upper coast beaches what they are. 31 states and 2 Canadian provinces dump their sediment into the Mississippi River which in turn flows into the Gulf of Mexico about 50 miles south of New Orleans. Although the turbidity of the water is greatly influenced, the further from the Mississippi River outflow obviously more sediment has settled resulting in cleared water.
This sat map, from near space, shows the sediment and how if flows westward onto places like Bolivar and Galveston.
All this setiment supports immense populations of sea life. Do you like shrimp, do you like relatively inexpensive wild caught Gulf shrimp, oysters, crab, fish?
The East Coast has nothing like this. They do have cold-azz ocean water though.
All you Yankees need a bit of education from time to time.
One thing to keep in mind though, is that the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf the way is does due to the levee system in place at the mouth; this cuts off the supply of sediment that builds the Louisiana delta wetlands, as such sediment is wasted out to the Gulf... where currents take effect to direct such sediment to the Texas coast.
Quote:
An extensive levee system aided by locks and dams has been developed in the waterways of the lower Mississippi River. The levees, designed to prevent flooding along the waterways, direct drainage water directly into the Gulf of Mexico and where silt is directed from its mouth directly into the Gulf of Mexico. With no new accretion and with steady subsidence, the wetlands slowly are replaced by open water. As a result of this engineering, large areas of marsh are being lost to the ocean. Since 1930 water has consumed more than 1,900 square miles (4,900 km2) of the state's land. This loss equates to the disappearance of 25 square miles (65 km2) of wetlands each year or a football field sized area every 30 minutes. This loss can be reversed, at least in some areas, but only with large scale restoration, including the removal of levees to allow the Mississippi River to carry silt into these areas.
I spent the last 5 days in South Padre, for the first time.. and I loved it! I had been longing for the beaches of the East Coast for quite some time and had the opportunity to go down to Padre with a friend who has a condo facing the water, it is beautiful!
Now by no means is it Myrtle Beach, the Outer Banks, or even Jersey Shore beaches.. but it was relaxing, and good enough to give me my beach fix. I'm curious to know why people talk about it like it's not much better than Galveston. I've been to Galveston once, and I have zero intentions of ever returning. Dirty, murky water, sand was mixed with rocks.. I could go on. I went to Padre thinking it wouldn't be much better, but was pleasantly surprised. Nothing like Galveston, unless I am missing something. My only complaint was that there is no boardwalk, which I knew. Can't have a beach without a boardwalk - that is the best part! Had some really good seafood, and great breakfast on the main land just across the bridge.
I enjoyed it, can't wait to go back next month without the Spring Breakers
South Padre Island, along with the other beaches of South Texas, are legitimately beautiful, and have fine quality sand with nice blue waters; I'd put them on par with many beaches in Florida, and above the East Coast beaches you named in regards to water and sand quality. In addition, South Padre, like much of the Texas coast up to as far north as even Galveston, retains a mild climate during winter, with winter minimums not even getting to freezing often times; this mildness allows for the growth of superfluous tropical flora along the Texas Coast, and thus a large variety of landscaping options available to the beaches of Texas. For instance, South Padre Island, along with certain parts of South Texas, constitute the only locations in the mainland US outside of peninsular Florida where healthy coconut palms can be grown outdoors. In addition, the tropical mangrove plants are able to grow naturally along much of the Texas coastline.
So with the combination of lush tropical flora, along with decent sand and water quality, the beaches of South Texas, and even up the coast as far north as southern Galveston Island are, in many ways, closer to the typical idea beach often dreamed about, than many other beaches in the mainland US. The only drawbacks are that, as you stated, the coast of Texas, in comparison to beach states such as California, or Florida, is not utilized, and developed with boardwalks, and other establishments near the larger populated areas, especially in South Texas. As a result, not many people associate Texas with beaches, despite the state having some beautiful spots.
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