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Galveston to Surfside: Bluewater Highway, Galveston Island, Texas
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0

Drives Texas Houston, Galveston and the Gulf Coast

Galveston to Surfside: Bluewater Highway

FM 3005, CR 257, San Luis Pass · Galveston → Surfside Beach

Leisurely33 mi40 min0 ft climbHigh point ≈ 0 ftOne way
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The drive

This is the quiet end of Galveston Island and the barrier beach beyond it. The drive starts where FM 3005 leaves the end of the seawall and heads south-west down the West End, past Galveston Island State Park, which runs from the Gulf beach to the bay marshes on the far side of the road.

At the island's tip the road crosses the San Luis Pass bridge onto Follets Island, in Brazoria County, and becomes the Bluewater Highway. From there it's a low, straight two-lane with the Gulf just over the dunes on the left and Christmas and Drum bays on the right, all the way to Surfside Beach, at the island's south-west end.

It's flat and almost without bends, a drive for the water and the light. The San Luis Pass bridge, once a toll bridge, has been free since May 2025.

Along the way

  1. Galveston (end of the seawall)
  2. San Luis Pass
  3. Surfside Beach
Elevation
0 ft of climbing · high point ≈ 0 ft
GalvestonSurfside Beach
Curves
Mostly gentle curves
GalvestonSurfside Beach
GentleHairpins

Good to know

  • Currents in San Luis Pass are dangerous, and swimming there is banned.
  • The Bluewater Highway is low and right on the beach, and it can see water over the road at very high tides and in storms.
  • Galveston Island State Park charges a daily entry fee and often fills on weekends from March to October.

Open all year, weather permitting. Roads close for snow, fire, storms and repairs: before you set off, check TxDOT DriveTexas.

Questions about this drive

How long is the drive from Galveston to Surfside Beach?

FM 3005 and the Bluewater Highway from the end of the Galveston seawall to Surfside Beach is 32.8 miles and takes about 40 minutes.

Is there a toll on the San Luis Pass bridge?

No. The San Luis Pass bridge no longer charges a toll, so the whole drive from Galveston to Surfside is free.

Can you swim at San Luis Pass?

No. San Luis Pass has strong, shifting currents and a record of drownings, and Brazoria County banned going into the water there in 2017; the Coast Guard warns the currents reach up to a mile along either shore.

Does the Bluewater Highway flood?

It can. The Bluewater Highway runs right behind the beach on Follets Island, and the lowest spots can see water over the road during very high tides and storms.

What you get in the app

Turn by turn, on this roadSpoken directions along the exact route. Carve never reroutes you onto a faster one.
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Distance, time, elevation, curves and intensity are from Carve's route. Checked 2026-10-28.

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Map of Galveston to Surfside: Bluewater Highway, from Galveston to Surfside Beach