Little Surfside Beach is a Laid Back Seaside Village with a Four-Mile-Long Beach and a Boathouse as its City Hall

Sixty miles south of Houston and just west of Galveston Island on Texas’ central Gulf Coast, tiny Surfside Beach started out in the 1820s and was originally named Velasco after a Mexican general. In 1975, it renamed itself and today is a laid back seaside village. The old Coast Guard boathouse is its city hall. Oil rigs twinkle offshore at night.

The four-mile-long beach is often crowded with sunbathers and swimmers. Thanks to deep water and long jetties, Surfside Beach has some of the area’s most consistent waves, keeping the water dotted with surfers. Fishermen are happy here, too, enjoying both deep water and bank fishing.

There are two marinas, an array of fishing guides and charters and a unique collection of restaurants with names such as Seahorse Bar and Grill and Sugar Skull Rolling Cafe. A few surf shops and a convenience store are also here. Horses and cars are allowed on some sections of the beach.

The town sits between two migratory bird havens, the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge and the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, both home to clapper rails, white ibis and horned larks. Many a birdwatcher is often seen peering at the sand and seagrass.