Great Family Beaches for Labor Day in Texas

The Bay Area Houston region and Galveston Island are open for business. It's not too late to squeeze in a long weekend where the beaches and hotels are friendly and inviting, especially for families.

Close to Houston, visitors will find Sylvan Beach with 2,000 linear feet of shoreline, as well as a skate park, boat launch, playgrounds and picnic areas. Clean beaches and pavilions make Sylvan Beach extremely popular with the locals. Occasionally there will be a crawfish festival or dog contest near the picnic areas. For lodging, the Hampton Inn Seabrook has low rates plus a central location to tourist destinations like NASA's Houston Space Center. Of course, fishing is one of the most popular activities in both the Bay Area and Galveston Island.

In Galveston, you'll find the Big Reef Nature Park featuring a hiking trail at East Lagoon and a dune walkover. Moody Gardens is another great family attraction. There are also concerts for children available at the Verizon Wireless Theater. Kids also love trains and I've heard good things about the Treasure Island Tour Train which circles around old and new Galveston. Adults are $10 and children are $5. If traveling with younger children, you might want to opt for a hotel more like the Hilton Galveston Island Resort and save the historic Hotel Galvez & Spa for another trip. Wyndam does have two very nice properties in town, the other one being The Tremont House on Ships Mechanic Row.

Galveston Island also has vacation rentals, which can sometimes be more affordable than a hotel. Especially if you get a group together. For example, along Indian Beach, there's a house called Lagniappe (pronounced lan yap), which can sleep 14 comfortably and has new furnishings, plus a fantastic view of the beach. In Points West, Long Time No Sea comes with an amazing community pool and lounge area. If a bed & breakfast is more of what you're looking for, try TripAdvisor's number one rated Coastal Dreams, which was built in 1887 and has a private fenced in pool.

Those interested in Galveston can check out the web cams which are posted around the island. Between the hospitality, clear waters, warm temperatures and low rates, these Texas beaches are still a top destination for family summer travel.

Note: Much of the damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008 to both the beaches and the hotels has been completely repaired. The visitor's bureaus, hotel owners, and guests are reporting no sight of any remnants from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. So pack your beach bag and head south for some warm hospitality.