On the Road

Explore the 5 coastal destinations of nature-filled Brazosport

Life's a beach in the coastal community of Brazosport.

Photo courtesy of Visit Brazosport

Five-in-one destination Brazosport is a coastal community located just 50 miles south of Houston that encompasses Clute, Freeport, Lake Jackson, Quintana, and Surfside Beach.

Each of these five cities has its own unique flavor, but collectively they have all the sandy beaches, surfside attractions, nature sites, museums, and family fun you could want in a summer getaway.

Here’s what makes each one special:

Clute
Escape from the heat and explore the art gallery, science museum, planetarium, and community theater at Clute's Center of the Arts & Sciences. The museum has one of the most extensive seashell collections in the South, along with dinosaur and wildlife exhibits.

You can also chill out at the scuba park at Mammoth Lake, a freshwater lake named for the remains of two Columbian Mammoths that were discovered in a Clute sand pit.

Or head to Clute Municipal Park for family-friendly fun in the form of a playground, nine-hole disc golf, horseshoe pits, basketball courts, and walking trails.

Let it also be known that Clute is also home to the Great Texas Mosquito Festival, held on the last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in July with a 5K race, live music and entertainment, barbecue cook-off, carnival, and more.

Lake Jackson
You’ll want to swing by Sea Center Texas in Lake Jackson, a marine development, aquarium, and education center.

It boasts a 20-foot touch pool where you can experience marine animals such as blue crabs, hermit crabs, urchins, and anemones.

You can also see one of the largest redfish hatcheries in the world and marvel at the replicas of Texas state-record saltwater fish.

From sea to sky, the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory is a birding research and education facility that sits on 34 acres of Columbia Bottomland forest and has a great bird-banding program the third Saturday of each month. in addition to other events and tours for all ages.

Native woodland birds and migrants can be spotted on the many trails at the GCBO.

You can also hit the links at the Wilderness Golf Course, which is surrounded by natural landscapes with native wildlife and birds, before strolling through downtown with its variety of locally owned shops, restaurants, and pubs, all within walking distance of each other.

Quintana
Recognized as an ideal place to birdwatch, the city's Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary is full of salt cedars, dunes, gulf frontage, and brackish marshes — the perfect setting for spotting wildlife.

You’ll also love the Quintana Beach County Park for its pedestrian beach, paved trail, volleyball court, and lighted fishing pier. Overnight visitors can choose from full-service paved RV sites or self-contained cabins.

Surfside Beach
If the beach is your true happy place, don’t sleep on Surfside. Miles of golden sand that’s teeming with seashells and marine life, along with plenty of lodging and restaurants (the beachside Seahorse Bar & Grill is a local fave), make this place the perfect retreat for recreational athletes, sun worshipers, and nature lovers alike.

Looking for adventure? Try your skill at surfing, jet skiing, and kayaking. Hoping to land a lunker? You’ll find trophy redfish, speckled trout, and a variety of other game fish at Surfside Jetty County Park.

Launch your own boat at the public boat ramp with easy entry into the Intracoastal, or just kick back and watch ships sail through the harbor.

Freeport
Speaking of fishing, Freeport’s coastal locale means it has some of the best fishing in Texas. A number of offshore charter boat services are available for both day and overnight trips, and there are two marinas, numerous boat ramps, and bait and tackle shops that make the whole process a breeze.

If you prefer surf fishing, Bryan Beach has more than three miles of sandy beach ideal for saltwater fishing along with sunbathing, camping, birding, and relaxing.

Freeport is also the departure point for charters to the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary. This premier diving destination is about 100 miles off the coast and boasts the northernmost coral reefs in the continental United States.

After your nature excursions, head downtown for blocks of early 20th century buildings surrounding Memorial Park and The Freeport Historical Museum, which has a fantastic collection of original artifacts.

Get connected to the coast and learn more about all things Brazosport here.

promoted texas nature vacation

Your Expert Guide

Oak Cliff: The underestimated historic and culturally rich 'hood

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman

Kay Wood

There are so many great places to live in Dallas that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

---

Bishop Arts is a huge attraction, but Realtor Kay Wood wants people to know that Oak Cliff is a lot more than just Bishop Arts.

"Oak Cliff has a really rich and complex history," the Briggs Freeman agent says. "I think it's one of the most underestimated neighborhoods in Dallas."

Wood has lived in Oak Cliff with her high school sweetheart-husband since 2008, but she's been helping people buy and sell homes there for the past 15 years, currently with her business partner Brian Davis.

"The neighborhoods here are close to everything but still relatively affordable compared to other areas of DFW," she says. "I love all the historic homes with their architectural interest and variety, the strong sense of community engagement, and how there's so much to explore. Whether you're looking for the best new restaurant, the most authentic taco, film festivals, the zoo, the best public high school in Texas, parks, nature preserves — I could go on all day!"

Wood offered up a few of her personal favorites about life in "the Cliff." Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
The list is long: Nova ("you have to get the hummus," Wood says), Encina (pro tip: don't skip the blue cornbread), Cibo Divino for pizza and wine on the patio, coffee from Peaberry ("my husband swears their Vietnamese coffee is the best in town"), oysters at Boulevardier, the Perfect Picnic at Eno's Pizza Tavern, tio's elotes next to El Si Hay, the pistachio ice cream at Joy Macarons, and the spicy lobster ramen at Ten Ramen.

Wood advises picking up a great bottle of wine from Neighborhood Cellars and some steaks from Cooper's Meat Market. And, of course, there are tons of taco options in the neighborhood: "We can't get enough of Maskaras, Trompo, and Taco y Vino," she says.

Where to play
Marvel at the best skyline views in town while playing a round at Stevens Park Golf Course, take a walk through Twelve Hills Nature Preserve, bike along the Trinity River, or play disc golf at Founders Park.

The Kessler Theater is "such a great and intimate venue" for concerts, while the Texas Theater adds a touch of history to movie-watching. Escape to The Wild Detectives for books, music, and poetry, or head to the Dallas Zoo for a wild day out — "our whole family loves to feed the giraffes," Wood says.

What to see
Oak Cliff is home to the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial at Kiest Park and the La Reunion Monument at Stevens Park Golf Course that honors some of Dallas' earliest settlers.

On Jefferson Boulevard, you can pop into the Oak Cliff Cultural Center for regular art shows, and "my daughters love to walk down the street and look at all the quinceañera dresses in the shop windows," she says.

Where to live
A few years ago, Wood helped her buyers purchase 626 Rainbow Dr., a rare, two-acre midcentury modern estate that's wrapped on three sides by a babbling creek.

"When you're there, it's really hard to believe you're less than four miles from downtown Dallas," she says. The buyers hired local architect Eddie Maestri to update some aspects of the house while carefully preserving its midcentury style. There was an original barn that had been previously converted to a studio, but the buyers reinvented it as a guest house and added a pool and outdoor kitchen.

"It's hard to say what a 'typical' Oak Cliff house would be, because we have some of the very best examples of almost every architectural style in town," Wood says.

"In Winnetka Heights, you'll find Craftsman architecture (four squares, bungalows, Sears catalog, etc). Kessler Park has Tudors and Colonials and Texas eclectics from notable local architects like Charles Dilbeck and David R Williams. Stevens Park has all of these, as well as Spanish Revival and Dutch colonials. Wynnewood, North Kiestwood, and Wynnewood Hills have some of the best midcentury moderns in Dallas, as well as wonderful ranches. East Kessler has cutting-edge contemporaries that take advantage of the rare-to-DFW hilly terrain. You could teach a pretty comprehensive architectural history of Dallas without ever leaving Oak Cliff."

---

Kay Wood lives, works, and plays in Oak Cliff. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email kwood@briggsfreeman.com, or call 214-908-5442.