sea rim state park

Look- if you want a resort camping experience go to Jellystone. If you want seclusion, spectacular wildlife, excellent fishing, beach combing without all the drunks, kayaking, and relaxing in the sun then you owe it to yourself to at least go try this park. The staff (3 of them I think) are some of the best park staff I have ever met. And I camp in the state parks A GREAT DEAL. Russell was extremely nice and informative. Keith (I think??) in the office even went as far as loaning us his sunglasses for our kayaking trip. What service. Almost like they had known us all their lives. Took our RV and kayaks and we are still talking about how much fun we had on the campout. No sewer hook ups but upgraded, new electrical and water connections. No showers on site so we adjusted and showered in the RV. Toilets were clean but are "eco" toilets. Family really enjoyed the boardwalk nature hike and there were little crabs all over the place. Kayaking was exceptional with baitfish and Reds boiling the surface as we went by. You have several options for kayaking. There is about a 1 mile trail, 4 mile, and 9 mile trail. pay close attention to the current and wind for the day if you are a recreational kayaker and want to tackle that 9 miler. It was glassy smooth when we left and we were fighting the current and the winds on the way back. Regarding the comments about mosquitos- you are going to be camping by marsh areas and the ocean. This isn't Hawaii so prepare accordingly. YES they can get bad but part of preparing for any outdoor activity is being prepared for what you are doing. Bring repellant, sunscreen, hat and sunglasses. You will want them at some point. There were also comments about the chemical plants on the way to get to the park so understand the park is NOT BY THE CHEMICAL PLANTS. But you do drive past them to get to the park. So what. I don't get what the issue is with this. But I have lived in the area my whole life and I just know that those plants provide employment and many of the products we use and consume on a daily basis. And at night, they can be pretty in a weird way. :) Also - people have commented about the trash that you might see on the beach. There are 3 rivers/streams that dump into the Gulf near this park. The trash you see is from the city dwellers and is washed up onto the beach with the tides. It is an impossible expectation that the beach will be trash free. We are bringing our scouts out for a service project to help clean up the beach but I know it will only last for a short time. If you are bothered by the trash, bring a bag and follow the advice to "Leave it better than you found it." To sum it up... give this park a shot. Hit it at the right time and you will be rewarded will solitude and a memorable trip. The staff are some of the best.

Love Sea Rim State Park. Beautiful views of the Gulf. Lots of birds and wildlife to watch. Great staff in the Office. True, the beach is messy in places, but it's natural and we found it great for beachcombing and sea beaning. The area accessible for primitive camping and beach access is clean and tidy. The Park Hosts do a great job of maintaining this area. We drive on the beach and had a blast traversing the sand along the washed out road to Galveston [22 miles of great 4 wheeling]. We were there last at the end of October, first week of November. Very few people in the Park until the weekend. Our only wish for Sea Rim is an improved Bath/Shower House for guests.

My husband and I loved this park! They had a ReGrand opening not too long ago. The campsites are really nice and everything is clean. We've never been there before but we heard about all the damage done because of the hurricanes. There is a nice boardwalk to the beach and a couple of other entry points, and you don't have to climb over seaweed! If you love wildlife this is the place to be. They have a wonderful boardwalk that is 3/4 of a mile long, one way. It's unbelievable what birds and animals you see. We saw more wildlife there than any place we've ever been. Even an alligator! We also thought the beach was wonderful. Yes, there is litter that the tide washes up but we thought the beach was clean. They have lots of trash barrels, so we helped pick some up. And all the seabirds are so fun to watch! The mosquitoes are bad, but not in the daytime. Tent camping might be a problem. I figure the mosquitoes bring in more birds to watch so it's not all that bad. Don't let the litter and the mosquitoes keep you away from this park because it is a truly wonderful.

the campsites were great, nice and quiet. the mosquitos were a bother bring some bug spray with deet in it ,also a yard spray that hooks on a hose to spray the camp area. lots of fishing areas close by the beach was nice to walk on. we stayed over thanksgiving weekend, lots of wildlife to look at.

Great beach, renovated RV hookups, outstanding wildlife but watch out for those Salt Marsh mosquitos -- they came right through the walls of our motorhome and into our neighbor's RVs too.

I found the wildlife, flora, and isolation of Sea Rim to be nearly spectacular. If you're into those things, this is a great place. If you're going for a beach vacation, you probably want to go elsewhere.First off, this is southeast Texas. Just to get to the Park, you're going to drive through enormous oil refineries which spew all sorts of foul stuff into the air and leak bright green liquids into drainage ditches. Port Arthur has some attractions, but it's a tough, industrial town and it's just not very pretty. Southeast Texas and coastal Louisiana are amongst the grittiest areas in the country. There's a reason why HBO's "True Detective" chose the area to film in. It's got a lot of character, but it's not nice to look at.Furthermore, Sea Rim is about 100 miles (maybe less) to the west of the mouth of the Mississippi River. All of the mud and trash and runoff of the entire middle of North America is swept down that river into the Gulf, where, due to the currents, it makes an immediate left turn and washes ashore from Pelican Island to Galveston. Guess what? Sea Rim is right in the middle of that stretch. This is NEVER going to be a pristine beach. It has never BEEN a pristine beach, even since long before humans and their trash showed up.And, lastly, Sea Rim is located at the very northwest corner of the Gulf of Mexico. Storms in the Gulf tend to blow from south-east to north-west and they push all of the surface crap in the Gulf, especially seaweed, ahead of them. It all comes ashore at Sea Rim. This past spring/summer was amongst the worst ever for seaweed. It was plentiful and seemingly never stopped washing ashore. A few of the beaches to the west in Louisiana committed huge front-end loaders and dump trucks to scraping seaweed off the sand pretty much all day, every day and kept themselves somewhat clear. But Sea Rim is a State Park committed to preservation of wildlife and therefore won't ever do that.With all that said, the wildlife at Sea Rim is spectacular. The variety of birds is unmatched by any location I've seen in coastal Texas. Alligators, crabs, fish, and varieties of animals you'll not see anywhere else are plentiful.The park's isolation is awesome. At night, Port Arthur makes for some light pollution to the west, and Houston is a dim glow to the south. If you look north, or east over the Gulf, you won't believe the stars. And it is quiet. You will hear the wind, the water, and the wildlife, but not a hint of humanity.Beach camping in tents is not for the faint-of-heart. The mosquitos are absolutely ferocious. DEET in concentrations of at least 25% is mandatory. The stronger the better. And the wind never stops. Beach camping in an RV is probably a better option.The Park has also just built a new cabin. It's a little off the beach, but it's very well appointed and quite nice. It's available for rental and sleeps up to six. Our only complaint about the cabin was there wasn't a built-in grill. We went into Port Arthur and bought a cheap one, but one of the big, built in ones you see at the camp sites would have been great.Sea Rim CAN be a great trip. Don't go there with little kids expecting to play in the surf. Don't go unless the idea of unique wildlife in a unique setting appeals to you. Don't expect a lazy beach vacation. If you can live with those expectation, Sea Rim is a one-of-a-kind place.

My wife and I recently stayed here for my birthday. We decided on just buying a tent and roughing it.After speaking with Captain Hindsight and consulting with the Salt Water Arm sized Mosquitos, we all agree if not sleeping in ones own camper opt for the air conditioned cabin.Beach was very clean with an abundance of small shells. Of significant note - the bathrooms are outhouses.Extremely friendly park staff.

The natural beauty of this park is astounding! There is wildlife everywhere! If you’re a bird watcher, the birds are moving through thanks to these cool fronts. I've also seen an alligator along with wild boars, a bobcat, coyotes, and numerous birds. Just on the drive to Sea Rim on 87 there were Crested Caracaras, American Kestrels, various egrets, Ibis, doves, black birds including red winged and long tailed grackles lining the roads. Of course there are the resident shore birds, but that would be too many to name.This past weekend they had a beach cleanup and west beach is spotless of trash and seaweed. There is still seaweed in central beach and east beach which the later seems to have the most but it almost gone. Taking a stroll along east beach we noticed a lot more wildlife. When we talked to a ranger about it, they informed us that the seaweed does bring life to the beach and also protects/adds to the beach. Without the seaweed, we would lose beach every year. They also said that the seaweed was the most they have seen in years (the entire Texas coast is experiencing this). This tends to trap the trash on the beach, which mostly comes from the rivers around there. We did notice that with each changing tide the beach was different as well. Some tides brought trash and some tides took it away. There were numerous people fishing and there were some bull reds that were landed. The fishermen on the beach seemed to be catching quite a bit of fish during our trip there.The amenities here at the park are a great start. After Hurricane Rita in 05, Ike hit 2 weeks before they reopened wiping away all the progress they did. They do have two no-flow restrooms, rinse off showers (one on the board walk, one in the day use area), a boardwalk to central beach, a board walk trail through the marsh (Gambusia trail 3/4 mile, great birding), primitive camping (on the beach), water/electric camping, and a cabin that will accommodate 6 people. Even though we did not have a kayak, there are numerous trails for that, the longest being about 10 miles. The ranger said they'll have kayaks to rent soon, and the airboat tours should start in the spring. Other plans for the park include other hiking trails.Again, I cannot say enough about this park. The staff there is great, and the wildlife is second to none. Sure they do not have sugar white beaches but this isn't the Caribbeans. The seaweed seems to be decomposing and disappearing and the trash seems to be under control. When you arrive there, ask the ranger about some facts about the park or about the state park system. There are plenty of opportunities the public is unaware of, you just need to ask.

We drove 50 miles from our hotel to visit this state park after seeing pictures in the state park's website and in the city's catalog - ughh, what a mistake. The sand was black in color, littered everywhere and the water was extremely dirty. The one restroom in the state park for a 20mi radius looked like it was last cleaned in 1990. We wanted to be sure that we were at the right place and inquired if the beach was always like this at a gas station nearby and the answer we got was "oh, the beach is never cleaned" that pretty much sums it all up!

We live nearby to this area, and when as kids, (60 years ago), we would go down for a play day. The beach has always been a bit trashy, but now even more so. It is not uncommon to find syringes, seaweed, litter, dead fish and everything else you can imagine that washes up. The only real good part of this beach is that if you are into collecting artifacts from 65k years ago, you may find some interesting pieces. Every tide brings a new beach for collectors. The hurricanes have destroyed the buildings that were there, and washed out the old road to Galveston. There was talk of rebuilding here but I am not sure that has happened. Fishing and beach combing are about the only two things worthwhile in this area.

OK, so I'd heard people complain about seaweed and compare it to Florida beaches, but I stupidly thought they were just being a little whiny. I've never been to Florida, so seaweed doesn't bother me. What I didn't realize, is the beach is black apart from a tiny strip of sand they've cleared near the entrance. But to get to the sea, you have to climb through 3 odd feet high of it, and about 100 yards. If you're brave enough to climb through that, and lose your flip flops and sanity, the water has black flecks, and is also a blackish color. Now it could be because of the storms that have swept through the region, but judging by other people's reviews, those storms have been around forever. My kids went in the sea anyway, and when they came out, any white on their bathing suits was stained brown. I hate to think what they were swimming in, but I had to run the clothes through bleach to get the brown color out. There's trash EVERYWHERE, it's so bad. Not sure whether the sea is chucking it up, or whether people are just littering. The state park itself has nice sites. That's the only good thing I can find to say about it. The mosquitos are the most aggressive insects I have ever encountered in my life. We had natural products (swamp gator and botanicals) but resorted to the deet ("OFF") spray to try and combat them. NOTHING works. We fled for the tents around 8.30pm because we couldn't take any more. It was hell. We are outdoors type people, visit a lot of state parks, and we've both travelled all over the world, the states and Texas. This is the worst state park I've ever visited, and I will never return. Even if they clean the beach and install shower blocks, those mosquitos are a deal breaker. If you dismiss this review as me being a princess, (that was my mistake when reading other people's reviews) then go at your peril. But if you value your skin, wear a bee keepers outfit!

cons:Beach completely covered in a thick layer of dead seaweed that's probably been there for a long time. Absolutely no shade whatsoever : no trees, no pavilions ..nothing to hide under. pros:friendly and courteous staff who informed us about the beach conditioneverything but the beach was clean - but the beach is the #1 attraction there (for alligator and bird watching there are plenty of other options really close by and with free admission) This is probably the only state park I would not visit again anytime soon.

We live only 45 minutes away and decided to go check it out. We heard there was lots of seaweed, but none of us have ever seen that much! It's true, you cannot get to the water. The entire beach from the beach access road (trail) to the water is covered. Not only is there dunes of seaweed, there's trash all over. My younger sister (15) was intrigued by the coconuts among the seaweed and trash, mainly because there's no coconut trees anywhere near there! That mystery was our only entertainment.

We had about 3 hours before we caught a plane out of Beaumont, so decided to head down to this park and get a glimpse of the Gulf of Mexico. The park ranger warned us on the way in that they had had a big bunch of seaweed on the beach and it was rotting and smelling awful. We went ahead anyway. It did smell and we really couldn't get to the water. We did the little nature hike and it was interesting seeing the crabs and wildlife around. $3 apiece to get in, so not expensive. Just unfortunate the seaweed happened at the time we were there.

we just visited Sea rim state park for the first time, yes I know it is still under renovation, what they are renovating I have no clue but after paying on the honor system we went and parked and walked down the nice ramp to the beach area only to find that the seaweed piled on the beach was about fifteen feet wide and in some places five or six inches deep, if you managed to get thru the first part of it, it was mostly dry they you stepped onto the soft six inches and sank up to almost your knees is the next piles of seaweed that was wet and yucky, kinds like getting stuck in quick sand and you could go no further Come on, you are telling me that this is the way it is supposed to be, this is a BEACH even with brown water it is supposed to be a beach you could not have some one take the time and use some of that money you got to make sure that there is an area cleared for people to at least get to the water??? we did not really care that there were no concession stands etc, but being able to get to the water would have been nice DO YOU NEED SOMEONE FROM TH STATE OF FLORIDA TO COME SHOW YOU HOW TO USE A TRACTOR WITH A RAKE ON IT TO CLEAN THE BEACH FOR VISITORS?????? they should also have a sign stating NO water access available at the gate so you can just turn around and not bothering to pay to get in since it is worthless. Maybe the people of Texas should ask where all of the restoration money has gone to cause I did not see much rebuilt