Crystal Beach is a family-oriented beach community on the Gulf Coast of Texas, forty-five miles south of Houston. Situated on the Bolivar Peninsula of Texas, between Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is accessed by ferry from Galveston Island.
Most popular as a resort destination in the summer, the mild gulf climate makes it comfortable all year round. Crystal Beach and neighboring towns offer all the vacation amenities one needs. Fresh seafood abounds, that you can cook at home or enjoy in one of the many restaurants. And should you tire of the beach, the golf course is excellent.
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Crystal Beach, also known as Patton, stretches seven miles along State Highway 87 in the middle of Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County Texas.
- See Census city profile for Crystal Beach 77650
- See Travel Map Crystal Beach
Crystal Beach is a perfect place to visit, live, retire or get away! Soulful activities include walking, running, sunning, sailing, surfing, shelling, birding and just resting. With its small-town, quaint charm, the beach is relaxing and far away from the stress of “Life in the City”. The local businesses and residents are friendly and will welcome you to the beach.
The peak tourist season begins with Memorial Day weekend and ends with Labor Day weekend. The Bolivar Peninsula beaches have been attracting beachgoers and people-watchers for over 50 years.
Beaches
Family and beach party-ers, cars, tents, and million-dollar homes. Gulf carts, teenagers, bikinis, grandparents, and children playing in the sand. You’ll have fun on Bolivar’s beaches, all thirty miles, with different areas catering to different age groups and lifestyles. The most well-known area is called Crystal Beach and is named after its crystal-like sand. Crystal Beach is the busiest and most appealing to the more youthful at heart. You can join in the Crystal Beach party on the sand or watch it all happen from the view of an overlooking beach home.
You can drive your vehicle or golf cart the entire length of the beach for a scenic tour of almost thirty miles. Bolivar’s beaches are so beautiful and popular that many from Galveston Island ferry over to take part in the natural excitement that defines the area.
My favorite activities on the beach include swimming, sunbathing, beachcombing for shells, fishing, horseback riding, sand-castle building, wind sailing, surfing and treasure hunting. Many find our beaches the perfect vacation spot or retirement area.
Crystal Beach Vacation Homes
The population of full-time residents is estimated at 1,600. Crystal Beach is thus the largest community on the peninsula in population as well as land area. Officials estimate that 80 percent of Crystal Beach property owners are “weekenders,” so the summer, weekend, and holiday population is expanded. Crystal Beach has a bank, a hotel, and a supermarket, and most of the real-estate agencies on the peninsula have their headquarters here.
Crystal Beach is named after its sand which is described as “sparkles like crystal”. The average July high temperature is 93 degrees, the average January low is 51. Crystal Beach begins about 6.5 miles from the ferry and extends for about 7 miles. With low, grassy dunes on one side and the shallow water and gentle waves on the other, you can keep an eye out for the occasional seashell or rare sand dollar without worrying about getting lost.
There is one school, Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School, in the area. It is operated by Galveston Independent School District. Crystal Beach students attend Ball High School in Galveston for high school. Galveston College also serves Crystal Beach.
The United States Postal Service operates the Post Office at 2200 Highway 87 Crystal Beach, TX 77650-0717
The Bolivar Peninsular, of which Crystal Beach is a part, is twenty-seven miles long, with beach access, marshes, mud flats and a variety of sea and bird life readily accessible. The Bolivar Peninsula is a narrow strip of land on the Texas Gulf Coast in the easternmost part of Galveston County. The peninsula is separated by less than three miles from Galveston Island by the channel of Bolivar Roads, the entrance from the Gulf of Mexico to Galveston Bay. Free public ferries link the Bolivar Peninsula with Galveston Island.
It stretches lazily along the Gulf of Mexico for 27 miles. At it’s widest point between Crystal Beach and Caplen it’s 3.5 miles wide, and at it’s narrowest point in the Rollover Pass area it’s 1/4 mile wide. Although classified as a peninsula, it’s actually a barrier Island, and is accessible by land from a bridge over rollover pass to the mainland through southern Chambers County.
Major tourist pursuits are swimming, sunbathing, fishing, hunting, beachcombing, shell hunting and bird watching. Extending the length of the peninsula at its northwest side is the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
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