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If You Haven't Discovered the Bolivar Peninsula, You Don't know What You're Missing 565 Views :: 1 Comments :: :: Local News Bolivar is the home of popular Crystal Beach and so much more. Bolivar is business at its best and offers a family oriented relaxed lifestyle. Discover Bolivar and you'll never want to leave; and best of all, Bolivar is affordable. The online travel magazine, Texas Explorer, recently featured the best kept secret in Texas, The Bolivar Peninsula. No matter what kind of settling and building goes up on Galveston Island, a short three miles north across the channel the land is wild and rugged. Many tens of thousands of tourists ritualistically ride the ferry from Galveston over to Bolivar peninsula and then dutifully make a u-turn and get back on the boat. They don’t know what they’re missing! Bolivar is as wild and free as Galveston is tame and settled. Not even the presence of a few exclusive resorts interfere with the unpolished, unsophisticated strip of Texas called the Bolivar Peninsula. Most visitors get to Bolivar on The Ferry. Since 1930, the state of Texas has been transporting travelers between the island and the peninsula. The three mile trip takes from just less than an hour to several, depending on the traffic. Large boats carry from sixty something to over eighty cars, depending on the boat. The thing to do, though, is not turn around but keep going, especially for those who came to see the sea. The Bolivar Peninsula is all about the sea. Travelers from Galveston can’t miss the most prominent landmark on the peninsula, the Bolivar Light House. Once a vital guide to shipping, the light house now stands forlorn and rusted alongside the highway. Built in 1860 of brick and clad in iron, the old structure not only guided countless ships to safe harbor but has itself been a lifesaver during hurricanes. There are miles and miles of beaches along Bolivar Peninsula. Beaches stretch up the coast from Fort Travis into Louisiana almost unbroken except for the occasional wash or cuts like Rollover Pass. The call of the ocean and roar of surf is loud here. Texas beaches are all open. Driving on them is permissible. Camping, swimming, relaxing beneath clear skies are, of course, perennial favorites. Whether on a day trip from Houston, a week-long coastal exploration or simply looking for a place of escape for a few days, Bolivar is the place. Head down I-45 and exit 61. Make the right. At the seawall, turn left. The slow drive down Seawall Boulevard offers the chance to gawk at tourists, listen to the surf through open windows, and decide where to grab a bite to eat. Keep going to Second. Make the left and follow the signs to the ferry. Story by H.J. Ted Gresham Photography by George Hosek Read Full Story at Texas Explorer Online Magazine