Kayaking and Canoeing in Galveston

Galveston Island is an amazing location for your next vacation. Not only will you find tons of attractions, beautiful beaches, and gorgeous weather, you also have a wonderful opportunity to try new things. One of the new things we suggest is grabbing a kayak or canoe and exploring the natural wonder of Galveston’s waterways. Here are a few places that we suggest checking out if you want to try kayaking or canoeing.

Galveston Island State Park

Galveston Island State Park offers exciting opportunities for kayaking or canoeing. If you are feeling a little adventurous, you can carry your boat across the beach and into the surf; alternatively, there are three locations where you can put-in on the bayside of the park: Lake Como, Oak Bayou, or Jenkins Bayou. Once in the water on the bayside, you can explore on your own or follow one of the three marked trails—Dana Cove Trail, Oak Bayou Trail, and Jenkins Bayou Trail.

Guided Kayak Tours

Since there is an abundance of water in the Galveston area, there are many private charters that allow you to explore. Two-person kayaks are available for guided bayside tours of the wetlands. There are tours from private chartered companies and the state parks department depending on your preference. Tours typically last two hours or more, based on the capabilities of participants. Start times depend on tide and season. Public tours are regularly scheduled.

Artist Boat

Artist Boat is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and preservation of coastal margins and the marine environment through the disciplines of the sciences and the arts. To fulfill this mission, Artist Boat promotes collaboration between marine scientists and artists in order to develop the environmental literacy needed for individuals to act as vessels of knowledge, carrying within themselves the skills and talents to:

Promote the preservation of fragile ecosystems through environmental education and the arts; utilize the traditional tools of the sciences and the arts in coastal margins and the marine environment to bring people to places of awareness and reflection while visiting these habitats; reflect the immense beauty, wonder, and diversity of life contained in coastal margins and the marine environment back to their communities.

This mission is manifested through art and science residencies in communities, the use of vessels and interactions with coastal peoples, hands-on experiences for participants, public art collaborations, symposia and workshops, and partnerships designed to promote creative projects. They offer coastal tours to help foster learning and support for their cause, and this experience is sure to be one you will remember!