Family activities in Rockport & Fulton

Rockport Beach sits on Aransas Bay right next to downtown and the harbor. Because it faces the bay instead of open Gulf surf, the water is usually gentle and shallow for a long way out. The park has a playground, shade cabanas, picnic tables, restrooms with outdoor showers, a fishing pier and plenty of waterside parking. A small section is set aside for dogs; the main swim beach is pet-free.

Where

Seabreeze Dr., Rockport

Cost

Daily vehicle pass (about $10) or annual pass

Ages

All ages, great for toddlers

Time

Half day or more

Info

Managed by the Aransas County Navigation District, (361) 729-6661

This nonprofit aquarium has operated on the harbor since 2007 in a converted waterfront building. Its tanks rotate local species, from redfish and flounder to crabs and eels, so the lineup changes over the year. Kids' activities and a seashell collection fill out the visit. It is small, which is part of the appeal for short attention spans, and it pairs well with the Maritime Museum a short walk away.

The museum grew out of exhibits shown at the Rockport Seafair festival in the late 1970s and opened in its current building in 1989. Exhibits cover shipbuilding, offshore oil and gas, Texas ports and the fishing industry, plus artifacts from the French ship La Belle, which sank in Matagorda Bay in 1686. The upper floor looks out over Rockport Beach, the harbor and Little Bay.

George and Harriet Fulton built this French Second Empire–style home between 1874 and 1877, using concrete walls that have outlasted several hurricanes. The Texas Historical Commission runs the site. Tours start in the Education and History Center, then continue through the basement and both main floors. Harriet's Garden, planted with species the Fultons could have grown, has a free self-guided walk.

Goose Island covers about 321 acres on St. Charles and Aransas bays. Families come for shaded campsites, a lighted fishing pier, kayaking in calm inlets and spring wildflowers. The Big Tree, a coastal live oak believed to be centuries old, stands about 44 feet tall with a 35-foot trunk circumference and a crown spreading roughly 90 feet. There is no swimming off the island, but you can fish from the shore or pier without a fishing license inside a Texas state park.

Established in 1937, the refuge protects wintering habitat for the whooping crane, North America's tallest bird. Cranes usually arrive in late October and leave by mid-April. A visitor center has exhibits on the species' recovery, and a paved tour road leads to an observation tower over the marsh. Alligators are often seen in the ponds near the entrance.

From roughly November through March, local captains run birding trips up the Intracoastal Waterway to the edge of the Aransas refuge. Tours usually last a few hours and include a narrated look at cranes, pelicans, herons and dolphins. Boats range from small skiffs to larger covered vessels, which matters if you are bringing young kids.

Connie Hagar documented the area's huge fall hummingbird migration in the 1930s, and this small sanctuary honors her work with trails, native plantings and a pond. It is an easy stop for young kids: flat paths, short distances and a good chance of seeing songbirds during spring and fall migration. Public bird-banding demonstrations are held here during the HummerBird Celebration.

Rockport has called itself an artists' town for decades, and the Center for the Arts is its hub. Galleries rotate exhibits from local and visiting artists, and the outdoor sculpture garden lets kids look at art without worrying about touching. The center hosts the Rockport Art Festival around the Fourth of July and offers classes for kids and adults through the year.

Downtown Rockport is compact and walkable, with Austin Street at its center. Families can browse galleries and coastal gift shops, then walk to the harbor to watch shrimp boats and pelicans. A Downtown Rockport Makers Market sets up on Austin Street most months, with local crafts, food and music.

Piers at Rockport Beach Park and Goose Island State Park are the easiest places to start, with railings, nearby restrooms and fish that bite on simple shrimp-on-a-hook rigs. In Texas, anglers under 17 do not need a fishing license, and nobody needs one to fish from shore or a pier inside a state park. Goose Island has offered a Loan-a-Tackle program for borrowing rods.