Taken for granted
The best beaches are in . . . Galveston? Travel Channel ranks the island "oasis" as tops
The Travel Channel has published a list of the Best Gulf Coast Beaches, and guess which Lone Star locale was listed alongside perennial, powdery white favorites like Gulf Shores, Ala., St. George Island, Fla. and Destin?
Not South Padre Island, arguably the bluest and best-known in Texas, nor that beloved barrier island of Port Aransas — it's Galveston.
Though the Travel Channel notes the island's swaths of sandy beaches and its "quaint Victorian downtown," it points specifically to Galveston Island State Park, a "quiet oasis" on the western end of the island that spans from beach to bayside.
There, visitors can swim, hike, bike, bird-watch, fish or picnic away from the rowdy crowds that congregate along the Seawall. CultureMap day-tripper Joel Luks visited the park last year and remarked that the quietude and the confluence of freshwater marsh and salty beaches make for the perfect escape from the city.
So go on. Show it some love.