October 5, 2023 | By Amanda Ogle
As we creep into spooky season, and haunted houses and general scary-ment are in full swing, it’s time for us to reflect on all the real hauntings that have happened across our vast state.
May 30, 2023 | By Clayton Maxwell
November 23, 2022 | By Edward Carey
November 23, 2022 | By Robyn Ross
November 23, 2022 | By Emily Roberts Stone
Like many acclaimed authors before him, Edward Carey found that moving away from his homeland gifted him the freedom to write about it in a way he wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.
October 27, 2022 | By Brooke A. Lewis
August 26, 2022 | By Kathy Straach
Visitors headed to Galveston are often motivated to grab the sunscreen and hit the beach. Why not?
June 23, 2022 | By James Hernandez
Galveston Island State Park is welcoming visitors back to its popular beachside for the first time in three years.
June 16, 2022 | By John Nova Lomax
June 9, 2022 | By John Nova Lomax
The old saying about everything being bigger in Texas doesn’t hold up when it comes to the tall ships Elissa and Eagle.
January 4, 2022 | By John Nova Lomax
November 24, 2021 | By Kimya Kavehkar
July 30, 2021 | By Pam LeBlanc
If you’ve always imagined yourself hoisting sails or inching your way up the mast of an old-time sailing ship, your opportunity has arrived.
May 27, 2021 | By Emily Roberts Stone
While many beach towns across the country can become indistinguishable in our minds, there’s no place quite like Galveston.
May 27, 2021 | By John Nova Lomax
Restoring Galveston, new restaurants and shops lure tourists to the island once again
May 27, 2021 | By Michael Hurd
The corner of 22nd and Strand streets in Galveston’s Strand Historic District is sacred ground for Sam Collins III, a local historical preservationist.
April 6, 2021 | By Pam LeBlanc
On the morning of March 17, Capt. Sam Hardeman saw something he never expected to see in the Gulf of Mexico: a pod of orcas swarming his fishing vessel.
March 25, 2021 | By Michael Corcoran
February 19, 2021 | By Alex Temblador
“At the core, the work I do with Black Austin Tours is to honor my ancestors and give them the humanity they were often denied when they walked this earth,” Wallace says. “More importantly, I want people to know that they were here. That we are here. We weren’t just enslaved people.”
February 1, 2021 | By Kathleen Maca
The Hotel Galvez cuts a dashing figure on the Galveston coastline, its Spanish Colonial-style façade turned to the Gulf of Mexico.
December 21, 2020 | By June Naylor
It’s rarely too chilly for a stroll by the sea. Even during the winter, the Texas Gulf Coast enjoys mild weather on most days.
October 19, 2020 | By June Naylor
Cowboys never would have gained mythical status in dime store novels and Hollywood films if not for one tool of their trade—the saddle.
July 21, 2020 | By Sarah Thurmond
Since mid-March, theaters have been unable to book their usual slate of shows and special events resulting in lost ticket sales and lost revenue. Many theaters were expecting to reopen in June, and even put all of the necessary precautions in place to keep staff and guests safe. Then COVID-19 cases began to spike again in Texas, and reopening wasn’t feasible. Some theaters have postponed their reopenings until August, while others have canceled their seasons entirely.
July 16, 2020 | By Joe Nick Patoski
Hurricane season on the Texas Gulf Coast is upon us, and Space City Weather is watching.
May 7, 2020 | By John Nova Lomax
For more than 80 years, the William and Mary Margaret Moody III House has been hiding in plain sight on Galveston’s Avenue T—a surprise considering the 1938 home fills almost an entire block in a city known for its obsession with historical architecture.
September 30, 2019 | By MM Pack, Asher Elbein, E. Dan Klepper
For every person now alive, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke once wrote, there stand 30 ghosts, “for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living.” So it stands to reason that wandering spirits abound in a vast state like Texas. From the barren deserts of the west to the thick woodlands of the east, specters have been reported to haunt defunct hospitals, active schools, lonely highways, and thriving hotels.
September 30, 2019 | By Michael Corcoran
The Galveston Historical Foundation on Saturday will celebrate Harry Choates music with a free concert at Hendley Green with a performance by Gulf Coast musicians Kevin Anthony & G-Town, who’ve recently recorded an album of Choates’ songs.
June 6, 2019 | By Emily Roberts Stone, Executive Editor
Share your favorite coastal memories and photos using the hashtag #myTXcoast for a chance to be featured on our social media accounts.
May 30, 2019 | By Michael Hoinski
“Jack Johnson was a real person from a real place called Galveston,” Collins says while standing in his church clothes outside Old Central Cultural Center, formerly Central High School, the first black high school in Texas. In the park behind Old Central, located on Avenue M, a life-size bronze statue depicts Johnson in his prime: roughly 6 feet, 200 pounds, and ready to rumble.
May 23, 2019 | By Hannah J. Phillips
A Galveston native, Bass started her career by launching a bakery business, Viva la Cake Balls. She later became executive chef at Haak Vineyards & Winery in nearby Santa Fe in 2013, before becoming executive sous chef at BLVD Seafood when it opened in 2015. In 2018, Galveston.com named her “Best Chef on the Island” for the fourth consecutive year.
May 22, 2019 | By
The balmy excitement of a summer evening on Seawall Boulevard suffuses this vintage Galveston postcard. While the image is undated, the buildings point to the era of the 1940s and ’50s. Existing landmarks include the seawall, which the city constructed after the hurricane of 1900; the 1911 Hotel Galvez, still in operation; and Murdoch’s Bathhouse, a souvenir shop that has been rebuilt multiple times since the late 1800s. The postcard also depicts landmarks lost to time: the wooden Mountain Speedway roller coaster, built in 1921 and knocked down after Hurricane Carla in 1961; the 1929 Buccaneer Hotel, an 11-story building demolished in 1999; and, stretching over the water, the 1923 Balinese Room, a pier that succumbed to Hurricane Ike in 2008 and was famous for its history as an illegal casino.
Know of any fascinating vintage Texas photographs? Send copies or ideas to [email protected].
February 22, 2019 | By Melissa Gaskill
The historic Galveston Tremont House bar mixes up the perfect cocktail to accompany Mardi Gras festivities. When Galveston held its first Mardi Gras celebration in 1867, no one recorded the libations served. But modern-day revelers can hoist a signature Mardi Gras Punch (see below for recipe) at the Tremont House hotel, which shares the island’s long history with the raucous holiday.
November 28, 2018 | By Melissa Gaskill
When grandma wakes up on a deflated air mattress and half the cousins are banished to the kids’ table, Christmas might be too crowded. Enter the home rental, where extended family can gather under one roof, everyone has a bed, and the dining table is big enough for all. For something even more special, look for houses that pack history in locations featuring plenty of festivities and activities, helping to create lasting memories—the perfect gift for the
entire family.
November 28, 2018 | By Cynthia J. Drake
Some called it a miracle: For a couple of hours across a wide swath of Texas last December, people could legitimately sing along to “Let It Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!”
November 19, 2018 | By Kimya Kavehkar
While most of us might be too old to sit on Santa’s lap, that doesn’t mean we’ve outgrown holiday merriment. For a warm glow within and without, make plans to stop by Miracle, a pop-up concept coming to five Texas bars this season. Miracle transforms watering holes in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Galveston into full-blown holiday wonderlands with nostalgic, kitschy décor and themed specialty cocktails Nov. 23 through Dec. 29. The concept debuted in New York City in 2014 and now has 80 locations internationally.
July 26, 2018 | By Heather Brand, Matt Joyce, Clayton Maxwell, June Naylor, Jennifer Babisak
We love the idea of taking a boat ride—the cool breezes, sparkling waters, and rare perspectives you just can’t see from shore. Not everybody has a boat, though. For the otherwise landlocked, here are nine Texas cruise experiences—from spotting dolphins on a paddleboat to serenading your sweetie on a gondola—that make getting out on the water a summer treat anyone can enjoy.
May 24, 2018 | By Melissa Gaskill
The Texas Gulf Coast, where the North American continent descends into the Gulf of Mexico’s salty waters, harbors a steamy mix of marshes, bays, beaches, and ocean. Over the years, scientific institutions and conservation groups gravitated to this rich environment to establish laboratories, preserves, rescues, and aquariums dedicated to studying and protecting its diversity of life. We know most travelers escape to the coast to while away time on the beach, but we also know that such experiences take on greater meaning with a little educational insight. Here we’ve put together a science-by-the-sea road trip—a syllabus for discovering the most scintillating of salty facts.
May 23, 2018 | By
Customers once came to the Star Drug Store for their medicinal needs, but today they come for a different kind of pick-me-up: meals and merchandise. For more than a century, the Star has been a fixture in Galveston’s historic downtown. A glowing neon-lit Coca-Cola sign shines like a beacon above its sidewalk awning on 23rd Street, a few blocks south of the Strand, the island’s main commercial artery. This vintage porcelain sign, which dates from the late 1940s, is said to be one of the last of its kind.
March 20, 2018 | By Heather Brand
At the eastern end of the Strand, a historic boulevard in Galveston lined with busy restaurants and souvenir shops, an unusual sign in the shape of bespectacled eyes attracts attention.
February 6, 2018 | By
With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, the Texas Highways editors wanted to know: What are the most romantic places in the state?
December 28, 2017 | By Clayton Maxwell
From El Paso to Galveston, uncover our top 18 travel must-dos for 2018.
December 11, 2017 | By
With a slight chance of snow flurries in the Texas forecast this week, we decided to look back at photos from last December’s snowstorm.
November 10, 2017 | By
What: Ice Land: Rainforest Holiday
Where: Moody Gardens, 1 Hope Blvd., Galveston, TX
When: Through January 7, 2018
The holiday spirit blends with the tropics this year during Galveston’s annual chilly spectacle, Ice Land.
September 25, 2017 | By Lois M. Rodriguez
We asked our readers to tell us their favorite man-made wonders of Texas – those must-see locations that every Texan and visitor should see.
April 17, 2017 | By Melissa Gaskill
A saltwater-scented breeze tugs at the end of a roll of paper towels planted in the middle of our wooden picnic table.
April 17, 2017 | By Melissa Gaskill
Head east down Seawall Boulevard in Galveston, past the lights and activity of Historic Pleasure Pier, beyond the elegant Hotel Galvez and Stewart Beach Park’s broad expanse of sand dotted with blue umbrellas and beach toys, through tangles of grasses and mangroves on either side and, just past a tranquil lagoon before the pavement dead ends at water, turn right onto Boddeker Drive.
December 16, 2016 | By Lori Moffatt
Galveston’s Seawall Boulevard stretches for more than 10 miles along the Gulf of Mexico, offering access to hotels, resorts, restaurants, and attractions, as well as beaches for swimming, stand-up paddleboarding, kite-flying, boogie-boarding, and other activities.
June 20, 2016 | By Heather Brand
When I first visited Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels as a teenager in the mid-1980s, the waterpark was just a few years old.
June 6, 2016 | By
School’s out. The sun’s out. So the timing is right as Galveston unveils a new beach area – Babe’s Beach – which gives visitors much more room to dig their toes in the sand, play volleyball or simply stroll the coastline.
May 17, 2016 | By
Seawall Boulevard on Galveston Island stretches about 10 miles along the island’s Gulf of Mexico side.
May 11, 2016 | By
Lucky us: A brilliantly sunny morning greets us on the day we plan to see Galveston by bicycle. It’s been years since I’ve looked at my favorite island from a bike seat, and I’m eager to revisit the sensory experience of taking in the sights and sounds and smells of a place that’s at once so historic and vibrant.
May 11, 2016 | By Roger Wood
Aboard the Tall Ship Elissa docked at Galveston’s Pier 21, two boys pause near the wide base of a towering pole.
May 11, 2016 | By Helen Anders
Texans storm the beaches for a wealth of reasons. So, when we envision the perfect beach hotel, each of us conjures a different image.
Published 10 times per year by the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Highways, the official travel magazine of Texas, encourages travel to and within the Lone Star State and tells the Texas story to readers around the world.
