By: Todd Wheatley
(c) IQ-2k   01-22-16

This trip was inspired by some old friends who have recently returned to Texas from Montana and who frequent the beach at Matagorda. We were also excited to hear that they had purchased a sailboat even though it was in dry dock in the town of Palacios about 30 miles from Matagorda.

So having secured a hotel room we left for the coast. The overall distance (430 miles) is about 80 miles further than Galveston, however, more "back road" driving is required. Fortunately with speed limits of 75 MPH the occasional rural town slow down can be quickly made up.

But be prepared! This part of the Texas coast is well off any SW to NE coastline transit (or vise versa) and has very few "tourist" accommodations. It does however have bay and open ocean access in a very short distance unlike Galveston, Port Lavaca, or Corpus Christi. This makes it a perfect destination for "blue water" fishing and sailing.

The city of Matagorda sits at the connection of the intercostal waterway and the mouth of the Colorado River. With a population less than 4000. A two mile long 200 feet wide canal goes straight into the open ocean. The much shorter river access goes straight into Matagorda Bay.

Road access along the canal connects to the barrier island and features a numerous resort homes and lots, again devoid of "tourist" amenities. While the beach only stretches about a mile and a half it is straight and clean. Best of all we saw no kelp and the "blue water" is visible past the "surf zone". Oddly there were no waves despite a strong wind.

My wife and I are very enthusiastic about launching both the catamaran and jet skis into the open ocean without the kelp or waves that frequently makes Galveston a troublesome location. Furthermore we have yet to try Freeport located between Galveston and Matagorda. It could be the happy medium between the overcrowded Galveston and the ultra-secluded Matagorda.


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