Dickinson is a city of more than 21,000 people in the greater Houston, Texas metropolitan area. Dickinson is situated about 50 miles inland from the Gulf Coast of Texas.
This city originally began as a settlement established along Dickinson Bayou’s shores sometime around 1850. The Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad was chartered in 1853 and featured prominently in Dickinson's history. The Dickinson Historic Railroad Depot was initially constructed in 1859. By 1860, Dickinson was a stop on its route. In 1900, a fire destroyed the depot. It was reconstructed in 1902 under the direction of George B. Stowe, a prominent Galveston architect.
Nowadays, the Dickinson Historical Society operates and manages the Dickinson Historic Railroad Center on behalf of the city of Dickinson. The property now includes a gift shop, museum, and visitor center. These facilities are open to the public; your group can call ahead to schedule a visit or a special event at the railroad center.
There are numerous other museums and attractions in the area, including the Flying Museum of America, the West Bay Common School Child Museum, the Butler Longhorn Museum, the Defenders of America Naval Museum, the Galveston County Historical Museum, and the Kemah Boardwalk. On hot days, any kids in your group might enjoy cooling off at the splash pad in Paul Hopkins Park. Noteworthy botanical gardens near Dickinson include the Lynn R. Lowrey Arboretum in Houston, the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center, and the Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens in Humble, Texas. There are more than 40 restaurants in the area offering fare that includes seafood, barbecue, pizza, Mexican food, Tex-Mex cuisine, and fast food.
Campgrounds Near Dickinson, Texas
Stella Mare RV Resort is located in nearby Galveston, Texas. Facilities at this location include RV spaces with full hookups, water, sewer, and high-speed wireless internet. Each space can accommodate up to six guests and offers parking for up to two vehicles. You’ll have a choice between 70-foot or 90-foot concrete pads that are suitable for accommodating all types of trailers and RVs.
Soaring Eagle Hideaway RV Park offers 67 campsites. Features at each site include fire rings, concrete pads, and asphalt approaches. Amenities offered at this property include water, sewer, showers, laundry facilities, free Wi-Fi, and a camp store. This property is situated by a 42-acre lake where your group can go fishing, kayaking, canoeing, or paddle boating.
Sandpiper RV Resort is a Class A RV resort requiring all equipment on the premises to be self-contained. This property offers 43 paved and landscaped campsites. Some of these sites are situated on the waterfront, and some of them are big-rig-friendly. Guests at this complex have access to laundry facilities, showers, an infinity pool, a hot tub, air-conditioned social room, a TV, a business center, and high-speed internet access.
Galveston RV Resort and Marina offers 86 RV sites, some of which are beachfront spots. This property offers many amenities, including a boat ramp, marina with slip rentals, pool, hot tub, restrooms, laundry facilities, business office, and free Wi-Fi.
State Parks Near Dickinson, Texas
Sea Rim State Park is located on the waterfront in Sabine Pass, Texas. The beach is the main attraction at this 4,141-acre park. Visitors to this location enjoy birding, beachcombing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, fishing, horseback riding, hunting, and trekking through the marshes at the Gambusia Nature Trail Boardwalk. Staff at this park hosts 15 designated campsites, and there is also primitive camping permitted on the beach. There are 75 primitive campsites available where you can camp with horses and groups of up to eight people per site. If you opt for one of these sites, bring water with you as it is not available on location.
If you’re hoping to spend some time relaxing at the beach or participating in water sports activities, check out Galveston Island State Park. One of this park’s main attractions is its system of paddling trails. Fishing enthusiasts will also appreciate the fish cleaning stations. Other things to do at this park include swimming, picnicking, birding, hiking, mountain biking, camping, and geocaching. The park offers a nature center where you can get updated on all the current park programs and events that are happening.
George Observatory is one of the main attractions at Brazos Bend State Park. This observatory is operated by staff at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Other popular activities at the park include hiking, biking, fishing, picnicking, geocaching, horseback riding, and camping. This wheelchair-accessible park offers picnic pavilions, lakes, campgrounds, and 37 miles of trails. There’s a nature center featuring exhibits on the park’s three main ecosystems.
National Sites Near Dickinson, Texas
Turkey Creek’s iron bridge is one of the interesting landmarks you can see at the Big Thicket National Preserve. Not far from Turkey Creek, another popular attraction is the Pitcher Plant Trail. There you can view massive numbers of carnivorous pitcher plants in the surrounding bog. If you visit this park in the springtime, you’ll want to check out the amazing upside-down yellow-white blossoms on the pitcher plants. This park also offers picnic areas, fishing spots, and year-round opportunities for backcountry camping.
American history devotees are likely to enjoy visiting portions of the El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail. Although the trail doesn’t specifically pass through Dickinson, there are points of interest in some Texas cities that you might want to consider visiting if you are planning a road trip outside of the immediate Dickinson area. A few of the suggested sites to see along the trail include the Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum, the Treviño-Uribe Rancho, the Stone Fort Museum, and the Spanish Governor's Palace.
Padre Island National Seashore encompasses 66 miles of undeveloped natural coastline along the Gulf of Mexico. This area is special because it is one of the only coastal prairie habitats remaining intact anywhere in the entire United States. The beach is the most popular attraction at this national site. Beachcombing is allowed, but there are some rules you must follow. You’re allowed to keep up to a 5-gallon bucket’s worth of shells, but you may not take any shells that still house living creatures. Furthermore, you must alert a park ranger if you find any historic artifacts such as arrowheads or any parts of endangered animals such as sea turtle shells. This park is a fantastic spot to view shorebirds and other wildlife.
National Forests Near Dickinson, Texas
Visit Sam Houston National Forest to partake in diverse outdoor sports and activities, including camping, cycling, fishing, trapping, and hunting. Hunters in the area look for white-tailed deer, feral hogs, quail, and waterfowl. Primitive and developed campsites are available. RVers may want to check out the Sam Houston RV Park, which is in proximity to the park’s 128 miles’ worth of hiking trails. Amenities in this park include laundry facilities, restrooms, picnic benches, a swimming pool, a dog park, Wi-Fi, and a clubhouse. If you won’t be camping at this facility, it’s best if you can bring your own water with you when you visit this national forest.
Check out Davy Crockett National Forest in East Texas to find 160,000 wooded acres filled with recreational areas, campgrounds, lakes, streams, and habitats for a broad variety of wildlife. One of this park’s most noteworthy attractions is the Neches Bluff Overlook. From this vantage point, you can take selfies with a panoramic view of spectacular pine-hardwood forests as your backdrop. The area offers picnic facilities and primitive campsites. Hunting for deer, quail, turkeys, and waterfowl is permitted within this park, but only 20 hunter camps are allowed during the fall deer season. You can partake in dispersed camping in most parts of this forest year-round.
Angelina National Forest is a fantastic place to visit if you enjoy fishing, boating, waterskiing, and other outdoor sports. This forest offers 153,179 acres of terrain, including two developed recreation areas. Two of the most prominent landmarks in this forest are Bouton Lake and the sizable Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The Bannister Wildlife Management Area is another one of the park’s main attractions; it occupies a 20,700-acre space within the forest.
