Stewart Beach

It is a decent place to go for weekend. Nice white sand, not crowded, away from the public, would give it a five star if the ocean is crystal blue.

Not the best beach! It was dirty (cigarette butts and trash everywhere), people for miles and smelly. The shower area outside was dirty and hardly any of the showers worked. It’s a good if you don’t mind that sort of thing.

Not the most picturesque beach in the world… Stewart beach lives up to most expectations that any native Texan will share with you which is that galveston’s waters aren’t blue and its sand is not golden and soft.
However, originating from landlocked states, I am just thrilled to be near the water. Although ridden with trash and seagulls, you can easily find a clear spot to set up camp and enjoy galveston’s warm weather and refreshing breeze (at least on the day I went there it was haha).
Parking is $ 8 which is a bit steep. If you’re on the search for something more fitting of the traditional beaches, then maybe try south padre?

Went to Stewart beach but was very disappointed. Paid to get on the beach but could not access the beach by car as in the past and now there is another area that can only be used by people that rent umbrellas and chairs. Got good pics but I doubt that we’ll go to this beach again. Suckage… it used to be my favorite beach spot in Texas.

Impossible to get any concrete information about Stewart Beach. This past Saturday July 18 my friends who traveled to Galveston to meet me and my family were told that no personal shade/​tents/​tarps were allowed at the Stewart Beach despite
saying it was possible. I had attempted for 3 days to get a hold of anyone at Steward Beach to confirm any details listed on this site and all my calls went straight to voice mail that was full. My recommendation to any day tripper visitors to Galveston is to go to Galveston State Park for a more natural, cleaner and nicer facility experience.

This beach has an $ 8 per car gate fee. This really isn’t that bad and it supposedly pays for this beach’s upkeep. However, there was, surprisingly, a lot of cigarette butts and orange peels around. Granted, not nearly as many as in other parts of the beach I’ve been on in other years. There are rentable umbrella and chairs ($ 35 for two chairs and large umbrella). We went on a Monday so it wasn’t crowded.
The big yellow building that is the concessions /​souvenir /​showers was extremely over priced. The restroom and shower was not very clean. I would expect with $ 8 per car there might be enough to pay people to get those areas cleaned. It looked like a typical city park restroom.
We might be back for our next beach trip. Not sure.

We drove from Austin to Galveston to get a beach experience in for the summer seeing we are originally from Northern Ca and were used to going to the beach regularly.
I was in for a shock of realty the coasts are not the same.
There was hardly a breeze. It was 98 degrees with 100% humidity.
We paid $ 8.00 for parking and began the ask the parking attendant a question and he interrupted us and said read the back of your parking ticket for everything you need to know.
We stopped in to the the souvenir and snack shop. The store is a typical tourist spot that sells to tourist or to those people who forgot their sun glasses, sun block, towels etc…
Bathrooms– Ladies bathroom could use some cleaning and I was thoroughly disgusted when I was in a ladies room stall doing my business when all of a sudden I felt something hit my leg. the woman in the next stall went to throw her used pad in the garbage can that is normally in the wall between the stalls. But only my side didnt have its wall up. so I got to have her used) pad rubbed on my leg (((EWW))) Now I am sorry but this shouldn’t have happened. Not only am I disgusted and upset but the poor woman in the next stall was hugely embarrassed. This needs to be fixed so no 2 woman need to go through this!
There was 2 sinks to wash your hands and only one worked and 1 soap dispenser worked too and oh by the way of course it was the one above the broken sink.
The beach is crowded. Obviously a summer hot spot
There are volleyball courts, a play ground, showers.
Subway is across street for a easy lunch bite and McDonald’s is practically next door.

As a person who lived in South Florida And San diego the visit to Galveston Island wasn’t so exciting for me like for the others, i found Stewart Beach to be very dirty, the sand isn’t clean and white like it should be, i know Texas is right on the gulf course but if the natural beach isn’t perfect than at least the Human resource should be, the restrooms are dirty, parking is a mess and they charge you a fortune for the umbrella and the seats.

This beach smelled, dirty, and had seaweed galore. I know it’s not Florida or California. Texas doesn’t have many options when it comes to beaches. I know Galveston had a rough time through Katrina, but I think I will await my next trip to the East or West coast to get my beach fix. Galveston is supposed to be fun and nice from what I heard. I must have missed that part.

I have used Stewart Beach a few times when in Galveston. I like how you can drive your car close to the water and set up camp and bring your own stuff; no way paying $ 30 for that. There are a lot of people there but finding a spot wasn’t bad. The place is dirty, it has a wall of sea weed and the smell is not good, this is not a pretty beach. The facilities are ok, I wish there was more room on the women’s side as it seems to always be crowded and not clean. Maybe another building besides the big yellow one?

Great beach. Well maintained. We were not happy the way the life guard was so nonchalant about all the parents coming to him with crying kids with jelly fish stings. Umbrella and chairs and are to rent so you don’t have to bring them from home.

When I was 8, we visited the beach. I went into the water with my cute little red and whit polka dot bathing suit on and came out with smudges all over it from God knows what and debris inside of it. I was so disgusted I vowed to never return!
30 years later, I decided to give it another go. My son and I visited today and it was actually ok. Don’t get me wrong. The fishy odor and green-​brown water still leaves MUCH to be desired as far as beaches go but for a one day outing at a beach, it’ll do.
$ 25 to rent an umbrella. Chairs are extra. Rip off but I guess if it was affordable, there would never be any available.
Pack well, leave early, and enjoy!

If you’re coming to Galveston to go to the beach, make sure you’re keeping your expectations in check! (If you wanted white pristine sands, go to Florida or the Bahamas). So this rating/​review is given with that in mind as well.
Stewart Beach is a pretty nice beach with volleyball courts, nearby food, and attendants who take your money for parking. The attendants make me feel like my car and belongings locked in the car are a little bit safer, but I honestly don’t know if they ever report suspicious behavior or intervene.
For being one of the more well known beaches on the Strand, you’re usually going to be sharing your beach space with a lot of other people. If you’re looking for a quieter beach (although more sea trash and seaweed is around) go to 8 Mile beach further southwest.

Do you like water that combines puke green with muddy brown? Then this is your place.
Do you like sand that looks like something out of a post apocalypse movie? Then this is your place.
Do you like a pay parking lot located right next to the free parking lot? Then this is your place.
Do you like worn out and run down beach facilities? Then This is your place.
Do you like seaweed? Then this is your place.
Do you like watching large ocean barges travel to and fro? Then this is your place.
Do you want to trust that the water you might dive into is clean and free from industrial pollutants? Then this is not your place.
Do you want fun stuff to do after you leave the beach? Then go to your local airport, it will take you to a beach like that located somewhere else.

This is not a beautiful beach by any means. Tons of seaweed everywhere. There is a smell. But with that said we had fun hanging in the water and finding crabs. All you can see in the distance is oil tankers. It has a fishy oily smell. I’ve definitely been to better and prettier beaches. The perk here was there was a changing restroom and shower so you could rinse off afterwards. That was definitely nice. Also, we parked close to the water for free because we had a handicap placard. That was nice too!

This could be two reviews in one. First the beach itself, it was alright for kids. After you walk past the six foot mounds of dried seaweed, you find a spot near the water in a pair of nice chairs and a big umbrella. The attendent will come by and take your money It’s thiry dollars for all day, which is kinda high but the umbrella is really big and the chairs are very comfortable. The sand is gross, if you dig two inches down, its black, sewage black, plus it smells like oily sweage. Don’t dig. The kids refused to go near the water. There was a two foot wide band of seaweed as far as the eye could see, Once again, gross and smelly. There is no alcohol allowed and tons of kids, it feels like a happy place. People are having fun, I guess you get used to the nasty surroudings. The lifeguards, the police patrol and the attendents are really nice and helpful. The water is really gross and the smell is amazingly horrid. My family will not be back, but that is not because of the beach itself, it’s because of the seaweed, smell, water and the oil tankers off shore.

Don’t know what happened today, 6÷14÷14, but the beach was terrible! There was a ton of seaweed washed up on the shore.
Further, Galveston also has the hard to find black sand beaches. The only difference is that it’s from all the oil around here and smells like sewage. We were digging like we usually do to build a pit and castle like we usually do but this time, we hit black sewage sand after we went down about 4 inches. We were so disgusted we had to cover it back up and move to a different spot.
Lastly, it is A LOT more crowded now than it used to be. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s because of all the advertising. Unfortunately the city falls short of execution. You would think that they would spend the $ 8 entrance fee to clean up the place; however, not so much. I’m all for helping out the city but if it’s just going into the politician’s pockets rather than to the people and community of Galveston, that’s just sad.
I gave it 3 stars because we’ve had good experiences in the past and just hopes that this was just a bad day. Seems like others had good reviews which was comparable to our previous visits but this time fell short.

*Much* more like it (see my review for Surfside Beach, which is a disaster). A family friendly beach with plenty of space, wide fairly clean sand, and rental chairs and umbrellas, if you need them. Plus, restaurants are a short drive away, there’s a pavilion with bathrooms and (bad) food, and tons of beach volleyball courts, if you’re into that.
This is a Galveston beach, so yes, it’s the sand and the water are both kind of brown. It is what it is.

After my last visit at Stewart beach, I have determined that I do not like beaches. I just feel so sticky and dirty when I’m out there. Ugh!
There’s a designated area for tents only. Then there’s another side for umbrellas only. No alcohol so you gotta do the red solo cup!
There was a volleyball tournament going on when I was out there which was pretty entertaining to watch.
I like Surfside a lot better. The sand is whiter, the water is cleaner, it’s not too crowded, and alcohol is allowed!

I’m a recent convert to Stewart Beach, having had countless day trips to Galveston I used to just park on the Seawall and set up shop for free. However, as I’ve aged, I’ve come to appreciate the availability of the showers and bathroom, which are definitely worth the $ 8/​car to park and make dinner more enjoyable since you won’t have loose sand in your shorts, shoes, hair, etc.
That said, its typically a little more crowded than the free beach, the outdoor freshwater showers no longer work (showers in the changing rooms work fine tho), and I really just kind of hate that long walk to the building from the beach.
2.9 Stars. Eh, they have showers.