Tourism serves as Bolivar Peninsula’s main industry as every year through spring and summer the peninsula’s population swells by thousands as visitors from across Texas and further come to relax in the sun on it’s twenty-seven miles of beaches and enjoy the peninsula’s numerous recreational activities and attractions. 

Our beaches are unique as being one of the only along the Gulf Coast that the public can drive their vehicle on. But if you want to park, be sure to get a beach permit for your vehicle, they only cost $10 and can be purchased at many local businesses or at Galveston County Parks and Recreation Dept. The money collected from this goes toward helping us keep our beach clean and safe. During any major holiday and weekends one can expect thousands of people stretched along the beaches enjoying music, jet skiing, sail boating, sports, and bonfires throughout the night.

Toll-free ferries operate every twenty minutes as part of the Texas Trans System, carrying passengers and there cars to and from Galveston Island. You don’t even have to leave your vehicle to take in this twenty-minute tour of our amazing bay where you can observe dolphins swimming alongside the ferry boats, feed seagulls by hand, see sunken coastal shipwrecks, and catch amazing views of the Bolivar Lighthouse. This is a fun and exciting experience, especially for the kids, and you'll be tempted to do it over and over again.

Bolivar's presitgious lighthouse towering almost one hundred and twenty feethigh  was constructed in 1872 and guided seafarers for over six decades until eventually being replaced in 1933 by the South Jetty lights in Galveston. During the devastating 1900 Hurricane that claimed over 10,000 lives along the Texas Gulf Coast, their were 125 residents of Bolivar Peninsula that sought refuge and survived the storm in the structure. Fifteen years later during another deadly hurricane the lighthouse saved sixty more lives. This is one of the most famous lighthouses in America and has been featured in movies, documentaries, and been written about in countless publications. It is currently privately owned and not open for public tours. 
 

Located less than a mile away from the Lighthouse stands Fort Travis, named in honor of Alamo hero, William Barrett Travis.  Originally constructed in 1898 and renovated with a fifteen-foot seawall following the 1900 hurricane. This 60-acre sprawling fortification contained some of the largest stationary artillery in the world and served as a coastal protection for the port of Galveston through both WWI and WWII, when it was decommissioned. In 1976 the Moody Foundation acquired the property and turned it into the public park that it is today. One can rent cabanas and campsites for just over $20 and enjoy the spectacular views of the bay and amazing fishing off the jetties surrounding the area.

There are a substantial amount of tourists that visit annually to take a stroll through the famous bird sanctuaries located in High Island on the north end of the Peninsula, where hundreds upon hundreds of different species of birds take rest stops during their annual migrations.  These bird sanctuaries are open to public for free and are maintained and sponsored by the Houston Audubon Society.