In This Feature:

Essential Texas Beaches

Swimming, fishing, surfing: Our state's best beaches have a little bit of it all.

Including three prime piers in Galveston, top dolphin-spotting, and where to go shark-fishing.

Where to find the least-touristy beaches, cheapest beachfront views, and the Gulf Coast-iest gumbo.

06/14/2017 By Peter Holley

Padre’s waters are the closest to blue in all of Texas, its sands closest to white.

06/14/2017 By John Lomax

And with more hotel rooms than residents, there’s something for every budget in this quirky coastal village.

06/14/2017 By Michael Hardy

Along this spit of sand, everyone drives on the beaches—even environmentalists on their way to the shorebird sanctuary.

07/01/2013 By Robb Walsh

Get to know the creative coastal community which once claimed to have more artists per capita than Paris.

06/14/2017 By Michael Hardy

A good umbrella can be hard to find. We went though that pain so you don't have to.

06/14/2017 By Jeff Balke

Stingrays, sargassum, and riptides, oh my! We have solutions to the most common hazards of a day at the beach.

07/05/2013 By John Lomax

Put on your hat and sunscreen: it's time for Beachcombing 101.

07/01/2013 Photography by Peter Holley