Bolivar Flats Free Beach Dispersed Camping

This was our first beach boondocking and it did not disappoint. Waking up to the ocean right outside your camper is an amazing feeling of relaxation (and a bit of anxiety the first few nights). It was easy to access and any rig should be fine in the sand. The Bolivar Flats are more like a packed dirt road than sand. We had no issues at all with traction in 2WD while towing and not towing our fifth wheel.

It costs $10 for a beach permit you can pick up at just about any local store. The Big Store is where we got ours. We didn't see any kind of stay limit, but we assumed it was 14 days.

There are some people that drive along the beach. Nothing much to worry about. Also, the beaches are a bit dirty, litter and such.

I had a dream about our camper floating away in the ocean the first night because of the constant wave noise. That's normal, right?! 😬

Enter the flats from Rettilon Rd (29.392015, -94.730910). We stayed at 29.378801, -94.724940 and there's an easier spot to access at 29.381973, -94.723574. We filled our water at Bolivar Peninsula RV Park for $10.

A word of caution: keep an eye on the tide charts. And not just the regular ones. Keep an eye out for storm surges and weather warnings. We had to leave when the approaching tides were 4 feet instead of the regular 1 foot. We had no idea until a nice gentleman stopped to warn us. If it weren't for him, we would have been in a mess of trouble at 2 AM when the storm hit. Needless to say, we left early and were sad to see this in our rearview mirror.

We attempted to stay here a while back but when we arrived, a mild storm producing onshore winds coupled with the high tide raised the water level enough to completely submerge the beach, so we had to go elsewhere for camping.

This was our 1st time boondocking...EVER! This beachfront camping was an amazing 1st impression =)

GETTING THERE:
-GPS: 29.383223, -94.72345
-We reached the Flats by taking Hwy 87 to Rettilon Road
-Get water at Bolivar Peninsula RV Park for $10 (Oops, we forgot...and bought 8 gallons at the Discount Grocery along Hwy 87)
-Check the tide charts, and park near the dunes to be safe (unless you're in a boat)

STATS:
-FREE (Before March, during off-season)
-$10 permit (Pick up at The Big Store after the 1st of March)
-RV and tent camping

EXPLORING:
-We spent a lot of time walking up and down the beach =)
-Sadly, we also spent a lot of time picking up garbage along the beach...A LOT of it. They provide plenty of garbage cans along the beach, so please use them so that this wonderful privilege to camp along the Gulf of Mexico is not taken away! Also, the Flats are a bird sanctuary...let's protect them, as well!

DOGS:
-We had A LOT of freedom here, and the dogs had a blast running up and down the beach.
-We kept them off of the dunes as much as possible, in order to protect the natural habitat, but, they did find a couple dead fish and armadillo remains to roll in (piu!)
-We camped very close to the "end" of the beach, near the posts, and there was a sign that dogs were not allowed into the Bird Sanctuary - so be aware of this!

TIPS:
-Keep your eye on the weather, as we had tornado warnings and were prepared to move our RV if the storm headed our way. Actually, we just pulled the slides in and hoped for the best. The antenna and cell phone reception was good, as we checked the radar on our phones and kept the local news playing. Whew...

-CHECK TIDE CHARTS! https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions/NOAATidesFacade.jsp?Stationid=8771328

This is an amazing boondocking spot. All the previous reviews are spot on with location and other info. I would highly recommmend skipping the touristy RV parks in Galveston. Hop on the ferry (free, runs 24 hours and RVs - and tow vehicle fit fine) and find this spot! There is a port o potty on the beach that was surprisingly very clean. The beach patrol cleaned it every other day it seemed.

Not recommended for a class a coach. If you go and sometimes you have to turn around if you can’t make it to the next entrance. But it’s still beautiful.

We followed the coordinates that 188sqft provided in their review and accessed the beach via Rettilon Road. We had no trouble driving on the sand but we arrived right before a thunderstorm so we stayed hitched up for the first night just in case we needed to move quickly. The next morning, the rain had washed some sand away and we had sunk a few inches. We had no trouble pulling forward a few feet to get level again and then we unhitched and were fine for the rest of our stay.
It's so incredible to wake up right next to the ocean. Lots of seashells to collect and birds to watch. The Big Store is just down the road and carries all the basics you'll need. We filled propane at one of the nearby RV parks. We had excellent Verizon service on the beach. We camped in mid-January so we had very few neighbors and the area is so large that we never felt too close to any other rigs.
The only downside to the beach is the crazy amount of litter. We filled bags with trash every day as we walked along the beach.

This was one of our very favorite boondocking spots and we'll definitely return next time we're in Texas.

Had a wonderful time camping on the beach. We stayed in the “Free” area but for $10, you can purchase an annual pass and camp virtually anywhere. There were port a potties located about every 2 miles that were reasonably clean. Trash receptacles were located about every 100 yards which was very convenient and they were emptied daily during our stay. There was some litter on the beach but it wasn’t terrible. We picked a small bags worth daily as we took our walk. You can ride ATV’s/golf carts on the beach, also need an annual pass, $10. Police patrolled the beach several times a day which made us feel good. Felt very safe and the beach was very quiet except for Saturday night, when there were people driving cars/atv’s almost all night. Make sure you have plenty of water as there is nowhere to fill up tanks. Permits are available at local stores but if you forget, there is someone that rides the beach selling them.

Free camping throughout the year with a one time $10 pass bought at any store here. Right on the beach is beautiful but very windy (of course). Dogs are welcomed but I didnt see many. Weekends are bumper to bumper and many of the campers...and tents are by the sand dunes. At the waters edge looks like a parking lot...but they mostly have cleared put by suppertime unless there's an event on the beach. We have campfires at night and really enjoyed the ambiance. The beaches are clean, trash cans always nearby, and patrol came by several times a day. It felt safe and I didn't see anything not family oriented.

I go here a few times a year to tent camp and fish.

Great experience staying at this beach. Easy beach access, Free Boondocking. We even stayed on a holiday weekend and the beach was very spacious, felt like we had the beach to ourselves. The weather was great in late November, warm days and chilly nights, and we were able to get in the water. I was impressed by how clean this beach was. Lots of nice wildlife to view. Would definitely recommend.