Bryan Beach

In late 2003, the City of Freeport annexed 3.5 miles of beach on Quintana Island, from FM 1495 to the mouth of the Brazos River. Freeport annexed the beach with the expectation that traffic would increase substantially with the opening of the new bridge. These expectations have been realized. In addition, Texas Parks and Wildlife recently donated nearly 900 acres of undeveloped parkland to the City of Freeport with the stipulation that it cannot be developed or used for any purpose other than public recreation. The property is located just north of the mouth of the Brazos River, between the dune’s and the Intracoastal Canal.

Bryan Beach is popular with birders, surf fishers, and swimmers. Freeport welcomes visitors and tourist to our beach and is committed to maintaining a pristine family destination.

For more information please call 979-233-3306.

Historic Quintana Beach

"Tour a Piece of History"
979.233.1461

Quintana Beach County Park, fronting the Gulf of Mexico, is uniquely located on Quintana Island. The fifty-one acre park is filled with history, historical characters, colonization, Spanish exploration, beach, dunes, wildflowers, cattails, birds, migratory sea and shorebirds, fishing, boating, surfing or just watching the ships come and go from the Port of Freeport. Adjoining is Bryan Beach State Park with 10 miles of undeveloped beach.

Southern Brazoria County offers a wealth of opportunities for the bird watching enthusiast. It has ranked Number One in the North American Christmas Count four times in the last twenty years. During this time, more than 326 species have been sighed. The county sports three major National Wildlife Refuges which contain every variety of rail including the black and yellow wood storks, dowitchers, purple gallinules, and many other species.

More than three hundred birds stay on these refuges during the winter with an additional fifty migrant bird varieties beginning in March and ending in mid-May.

The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail (upper coast area) includes Brazoria County. Quintana Neo-Tropical Bird Sanctuary contains salt cedars, beach dunes, gulf frontage, and brackish marshes. The varied habitat, plus its position on the coast, allows one to witness migration firsthand. This progressive town set aside two overgrown salt cedar lots as nature trails, and on certain "fallout" days every bush is full of migrants. To top this off, a two thousand foot granite jetty with handrails, extends into the gulf to protect the harbor entrance. Down the length of the jetty, brown pelicans, red-breasted mergansers, shorebirds, and the occasional eared grebe can be seen. At the end of the jetty it is easier to spot seabirds such as ganets, scoters, and an occasional masked booby.

Other well-known birding spots in southern Brazoria County include Wilderness Park, Hanson Riverside County Park, Varner-Hogg State Historical Park, Freeport Municipal Park, and Peach Point Wildlife Management Area.

For a birding map, please use our Information Request Form or give us a call at 888-GOCLUTE.

Take A Dive To A Garden Under The Gulf!

One hundred miles off the coast of Southern Brazoria County and in fifty feet of blue water, the avid scuba diver can find gardens underwater. There are no flowers in these gardens, but there is color created by multi-hued coral reefs, with thousands of varieties of algae. These are the Flower Gardens, the northernmost coral reefs on the North American continental shelf. They are more than 15,000 years old and are now a national marine sanctuary.

The closest port to deep water, oil platforms and coral reefs provides a thriving underwater world and challenging sport for the deep-sea angler. You can take your own offshore boat out into the miles of blue water or charter a party boat for you and your group. As a matter of fact, the Texas State record Red Snapper, weighing 36.1 pounds, was caught April 1, 1995, on a local charter boat off the coast of Freeport.

Offshore catches vary with the season and include snapper, grouper, amberjack, Spanish mackerel, bonita and ling, among many others.

There are many charter and party boat operators in Freeport and the surrounding area. Experienced captains and crews make an exciting day's fishing "out where the big ones are."

Click here for a listing of area charters.

Look For The State Shell!

One of the most memorable activities on any visit to the ocean is a walk along the beach. Some people have turned this effort into a lifelong hobby. The pursuit of rare and interesting seashells draws thousands of visitors to coastal waters each year. There are more than six hundred known shell species living along our twenty one miles of coast. The most popular is the Busycon perversum pulleyi or the Lightning Whelk. This subspecies of Busycon perversum can only be found along the west coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The Lightning Whelk has become so popular with Texas residents that it was designated the state shell of Texas on April 22, 1987.