Kemah Boardwalk

The town of Kemah sits on the shore of Galveston Bay on the Gulf Coast of Texas, and its boardwalk is one of its main attractions.

Built in 1999, the Kemah Boardwalk is an entertainment and amusement park right on Galveston Bay. The boardwalk transformed what was once a small fishing community into a popular tourist destination. The town is considered part of the “greater Houston area,” as it's just 20 miles east of the big city, but it's a popular draw for visitors from elsewhere in Texas, too.

The Kemah Boardwalk features 15 different amusement park rides – including a 96-foot-tall roller coaster, a 140-foot free fall ride, a zip-line over the boardwalk, a double-decker carousel, and a 65-foot Ferris wheel. You can also take speedboat trips into the bay, and visit the Stingray Reef to touch and feed live stingrays.