I left Sea Rim State Park and followed the road back north to Port
Arthur and then back south to the outer reaches of the Bolivar
Peninsula.
Reviews at
Campendium for
Bolivar Flats free beach were favorable. When I arrived mid-morning,
there were wide expanses of open beach. Several groups of horse campers
were set up on the right side of the beach where camping is allowed for
a $10 permit.
On the left side of the beach were several large fifth wheels set up back towards the sand dunes.
I asked a senior gentlemen with the horse campers where I could buy a
permit, and he said that I could get one at any of the local
businesses–8 miles back. But he told me that unless I had strong
feelings about camping on the right side of the beach, the left side was
totally free. He said that the horse campers all had permits because
they liked to support the public beach. If there had been a donation
box/ or self-serve area for permits, I would have kicked in my $10, but
there wasn’t so I didn’t. I pulled in behind the fifth wheel campers
close to the sand dunes.
This is strictly boondocking, but with some benefits. There is one
porta-potty, and a lot of trash barrels set up along the beach. Also,
the local sheriff’s department regularly patrolled the beach to make
sure everyone stayed in line.
The beach was spectacular, and the horses were fun to watch too.
I did have a bit of excitement on the first night. Just after dark,
four horses escaped from their corral/pen and galloped close by the Brew
Hut, drawing frantic barking from Callie who knew they needed to be
herded back where they belonged. Pretty soon, several kids came
running after the horses, drawing more barking. Finally, two pick-up
trucks joined the hunt. The horses ran back and forth along the beach,
having a great time. Eventually, the galloping stopped. A young woman
from the horse camp confirmed the next morning that all horses were
returned to their proper places.
The wind blew and blew that night. In fact, it blew so hard that my
refrigerator flame went out. I got it back going the next morning, and
then the wind shifted to the opposite direction but kept blowing just as
hard. During these days, high tide was around 12:40 p.m. (I looked it
up on the internet). The waves were within about 20 feet of the Scamp
door at high tide. The fifth wheel trailers backed out of the beach
right around 12:45 p.m. If they would have left at 11 a.m., I would have
followed, but I had a pretty good idea that the waves were as high as
they were going to go by 12:45. You can get an idea from these photos
how close the gulf was.
Bolivar
Flats was a great place to stay for two nights. However, after about a
week of beach along the Louisiana and Texas shore, I was ready to get
some of the sand out of the Brew Hut and attend to a couple of
maintenance issues. On the next morning, I hitched up and headed for
the Bolivar-Galveston Ferry.
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