Day Trips

Photo by Gerald E. McLeod

Bryan Beach State Recreation Area outside of the seaside village of Quintana plays with the imagination. A popular local swimming hole near Freeport, it can be a deserted beach one day and a parking lot the next.

With about three miles of golden-brown sandy beach, the undeveloped state property is at the southwestern corner of a barrier island chiseled off the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway. If you want luxuries, like porta-johns, you have to go to Quintana Beach County Park at the other end of the island.

The beach is relatively clean because of the contour of the coastline and the jetties to the north at Freeport Harbor Channel that push debris away from the shore. The park is not widely known outside of residents of Freeport, whose taxes pay for litter pickup.

Many of the swimmers and fishermen don't realize that the recreation area is actually part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area. This part of the coast is on a critical migratory bird route. Crowds of waterbirds fill the sand flats around the mouth of the Brazos River at the end of the island.

Bryan Beach is near the end of TX 36/288 at FM 1495. There is no camping on the beach. Limited lodging is available in Quintana, but your best bet is in Freeport or Lake Jackson. For information, go to www.visitbrazosport.com.

1,139th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of "Day Trips," is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.