Since Feb. 11, 2026, Sea Rim State Park's East Beach has been closed to camping and vehicles because of a wash-out. The park's current alert from Texas Parks and Wildlife gives no reopening date and tells visitors to check back for updates. If your fall habit was to drive onto the sand and stay put, that habit is on hold.
The rest of the coast below Sabine Pass is open, and much of it costs less than a tank of gas. You just can't treat it as one place. Four different organizations run six neighboring stops: a state park, a state historic site, a private bird sanctuary, two federal refuges, and a state wildlife management area. Each one sets its own hours, fees, and rules for how you get in. A good cool-season day down Highway 87 now depends on knowing which rule applies where.
Six Stops, Six Rulebooks
| Stop | Run by | Hours | What it costs | The rule that catches people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Rim State Park | Texas Parks and Wildlife | Park hours per TPWD | $4 per person 13 and older; 12 and under free | East Beach closed to vehicles and camping |
| Sabine Pass Battleground | Texas Historical Commission | Wed.–Sun., 8 a.m.–5 p.m. | $5 per vehicle | Closed Monday and Tuesday |
| Sabine Woods | Texas Ornithological Society | Walk-in access at all times | $10 per day for nonmembers; members free | Gate stays locked; no pets |
| McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Daily, daylight hours | Free | Daylight only |
| Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Daily, 24 hours | Check FWS | Hunting, fishing and hiking listed |
| J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area | Texas Parks and Wildlife | Seasonal | Permit required | Limited Public Use permit for birding; access limited during hunts |
Look at the fee column again. Walking into a 27-acre bird sanctuary costs a nonmember $10, more than twice Sea Rim's $4 adult entry. McFaddin, the larger federal refuge, costs nothing. Fees along this stretch track who owns the land and how they pay to keep it up, so a full day here can cost very different amounts depending on where you stop.
What Remains at Sea Rim's Beach Unit
The East Beach closure doesn't close the shoreline. TPWD still lists camping on the West Beach side:
- 75 drive-up primitive sites in the West Beach area, $10 a night plus entry. You can't reserve them, and TPWD notes they may close during extreme tides or other weather.
- 15 electric sites at $20 a night plus entry.
- The floating primitive campsite, listed as closed for repairs with no date given.
The math for a day trip is easy. Two adults and two children 12 or under pay $8 to get in. If anyone in the car holds a Texas State Parks Pass, the whole carload enters free. TPWD's pass rules require the pass holder to be present and the guests to ride in the same noncommercial car or boat.
The Marsh Side Carries the Season Now
With fewer reasons to park on the sand, Sea Rim's marsh unit does more of the work. The park's trail listing includes the 0.9-mile Gambusia Nature Trail Boardwalk and three paddling routes, rated easy, moderate, and advanced, at 1.8, 4.7, and 11.7 miles round trip. A first-time paddler and an experienced one can put in on the same afternoon and come back hours apart.
You don't need to stop at the beach headquarters to get onto the marsh. For the park's First Day Paddle on Jan. 1, 2026, the group met at the Marsh Unit boat ramp, and TPWD said visitors could buy a day pass at Beach Unit headquarters or pay at the Marsh Unit's self-pay station.
The park's October programs also leaned toward the marsh. Learn to Bird on Oct. 17 used the Gambusia boardwalk, and Marsh Pollinators and Nature Journaling on Oct. 18 met at the water refill station. One program is still ahead: Spooky Scavengers is set for this Saturday, Oct. 24, at the water refill station. It requires no event registration, but each visitor needs a day pass. Sea Rim's events page runs only through October for now, so check back for November and December programs.
On the Chenier Ridge, You Walk In
Fall is migration season, and the Texas Ornithological Society's Sabine Woods exists for it. The society describes the sanctuary as 27 acres of oak chenier-ridge habitat for migratory songbirds. It also has the strictest access rules of any stop on this list:
- The vehicle gate stays locked. It opens only for maintenance or emergencies.
- You can walk in at any hour through a pedestrian gap beside the gate.
- Parking near the gate is very limited. Extra roadside parking sits farther along the highway.
- Nonmembers pay $10 per person per day. TOS members enter free.
- No camping and no pets.
The fee and the walk-in rule make sense together. The sanctuary is built for people on foot moving slowly through the trees, not for drive-through visits. Two nonmember adults pay $20, so for a regular birder, the TOS membership that waives entry may pay for itself in a season.
If you have a dog in the back seat, plan the day around that. Sabine Woods is off the list, and the federal refuges are the next place to look.
Two Federal Refuges and One Marsh That Needs a Permit
McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge is free and open seven days a week during daylight hours. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists fishing, crabbing, wildlife watching, photography, and waterfowl hunting among its public uses. The Clam Lake Road auto tour covers five miles of interior road, with boat ramps, fishing piers, and observation platforms along it. For anyone who wants marsh views from the car or a crabbing line off a pier, it may be the best value on the coast.
Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge goes further and lists its hours as daily, 24 hours, with hunting, fishing, and hiking among its activities.
J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area is the exception, and it surprises people who assume all public marsh works the same way. TPWD says birdwatching and other non-consumptive access there is seasonal and follows the area's public hunting permit map. Access is limited during scheduled teal, waterfowl, feral hog, and alligator hunts. A Limited Public Use permit covers uses such as birdwatching and photography. Hunting takes an Annual Public Hunting permit. The area has no public roads outside the headquarters complex, most of it can be reached only by boat, and there are no restrooms. Permit rules vary by season and by activity, so read TPWD's Murphree page directly before you launch.
Back toward town, Sabine Pass Battleground runs on a schedule of its own. The Texas Historical Commission lists it as open Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with $5 admission per vehicle, and it has five RV spaces with 50-amp hookups. The commission's visit-planning page describes self-guided grounds and an interpretive pavilion, and it lists overnight RV camping at $40 a night. That's twice the price of an electric site at Sea Rim, but it comes with a historic site at your door. A Monday-off household will find the gates closed.
One road note for out-of-town guests: Highway 87 does not continue from Sabine Pass to High Island. In April 2026, Port Arthur News reported that TxDOT engineers told a council member the washed-out portion had been transferred to the General Land Office and that TxDOT action was at least a decade away. Plan every one of these stops as an out-and-back trip.
A December Saturday Worth Planning Early
The season on this stretch usually ends with Santa. At Sea Rim's A Very Marshy Christmas, Santa arrives on the marsh side by airboat. There are photos with Santa, hot drinks, and crafts, and marsh unit entry fees are waived during the event. Visitors who come early can pay standard entry and walk the Gulf beach before he arrives. Last year's event ran Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, from 2 to 4 p.m., according to TPWD's event page. Visit Port Arthur lists Saturday, Dec. 12 for this year, so check TPWD for the 2026 date before you plan around it.
If that date holds, it falls on the same day as the city's Port Arthur Holiday Parade, which steps off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12, and runs along Procter Street to Houston Avenue. Families who want both will have to choose, or catch the start of the parade and leave early for the airboat landing. Groups that want to be in the parade can call the city at (409) 983-8105.
Between now and then, the open parts of this coast are the boardwalk, the paddling trails, the chenier ridge, and five miles of free refuge road at McFaddin. Entry is $4 a person at Sea Rim, $5 a car at the Battleground and $10 a person for nonmembers at Sabine Woods.
At Lux Realty, we keep track of the practical details around Port Arthur that make weekends easier, like which gate is locked, which refuge is free, and which park needs a permit. If you have questions about life along the Sabine Pass end of town, or you're thinking about land or a home near this coast, contact us. We're happy to talk it through with no pressure.