Anywhere to camp currently in Galveston?
 

Anywhere I can pitch my bivy in Galveston? I want to take a trip from Houston, but 100 miles is plenty of riding for one day. I see that Galveston Island State Park is closed due to Ike. I'm not above a little stealth camping, but Galveston doesn't seem to have many places to hide, and some place legit would be even better. Paying for a campsite is A OK.

a good portion of galveston is still in shambles....maybe rent a room somewhere?

Yeah, I just love roughing it. :)

Anyway, the room prices are insane. $150 is common, even for "bargain" hotels. There is one that has rooms for $60, but with the others being so high it makes me wonder what I will encounter...worst case scenario I guess I can just pitch my bivy in the room. :D

When are you planing to ride there?

Maybe Saturday. The Lake Jackson way, because I need to get in my January century before the month ends.

Have you checked if the Blue Water Highway is even passable?

Thanks for bringing that up. I looked around and found a trip report from December 27th that described it all as passable with the exception of 1.5 miles that gets diverted to the beach. Hmmmm, something to think about. Do I want to walk my bike that far? I wonder if any of it at all is firm enough to do a little riding.

I have ridden my cross bike on the beach the wet sand where the ocean water comes up(I bet thin road slicks would even work) should be no problem, dry beach sand forget it you will spin out and sink.

You can camp on the beach by San Luis pass. Not sure where the "no camping" starts... pretty sure by the time you get to the main part of the sea wall it is not allowed. If you are camping AT San Louis Pass, you can just pitch under the bridge if the weather is nasty. The dunes might knock down some of the ocean breeze.

I REALLY want to plan a camping trip this summer down there. Basically drive down and camp at San Louis pass, wake up early and ride into Galveston. Tool around, have a nice lunch, and hope for a tail wind back.

Even post-storm? Is that area designated park land, or private land, or what?

There's a county park there, not sure if there's other open land that can be camped upon as well. And of course, no telling what shape the park is in- call.
http://www.brazoria-county.com/parks...Pass/index.asp

Looks like San Luis County Park is closed due to Ike. Quintana Beach County Park, however, is open for business. Would prefer something further to the East, but I suppose that might work.

There was a discussion elsewhere on whether the causeway was open to bikes. You might also double check on the San Luis Pass and Surfside bridges.

Quintana Beach is several miles from Surfside by road. You have to go back in through Freeport and come out the other way. There's not a bridge over the ship channel at the beach line.

This is my route, starting tomorrow early in the morning.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...ch-County-Park

The initial detour to San Luis Pass before Quintana is intentional, because I need to get in my January century ride for the century a month challenge. Then I'll camp at Quintana, get back on the road and roll up through Galveston. Reports seem to indicate that these are now passable, with a small 1.5 mile portion on the beach at Blue Water Highway. I will roll up to the other end of Galveston, have something to eat, and then if possible, proceed over the Causeway. From what I understand, it now has a 12 foot shoulder, and its only 2 miles long. Even if there's some honking, I figure it should be tolerable for 15 minutes of riding tops. Then I take Highway 3/Galveston Rd back home.

I looked at the website, and that is not what I was talking about. That is on the Surfside side of San Louis pass. I was talking about the public access beach on the Galveston side. There are no facilities there, no camp ground,... it truly is primitive camping. You turn off the San Louis bridge onto a gravel road that leads to the sand. No business to be open.

We have not made it back since the storm to see what is left or what the condition is.

Yes, but the question is whether or not it is legal to camp there, and if so, do you have a citation?

Anyway, Quintana beach was nice. I had fun.

Legal NOW? (since the storm) I don't know... but it's been legal for at least the past 15 years that I know of. Been there several times... always people camping there.

In fact...the water is sometimes MUCH nicer there than further East, and the sand is MUCH better than what you find along the seawall further east.