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Here's 5 ways to have fun in Brazoria County
Published June 22, 2009
Parks, history, wildlife and sports all are available on a budget without leaving Brazoria County.
The county boasts eight golf courses, two historic plantations and a pair of wildlife refuges, seven museums and nine parks, and with many people looking to save money and fill long summer days at the same time, it’s good to know most can be enjoyed at low or no cost and all have family-friendly activities.
GOING GREENS
With eight courses in the county, golf appears to be a popular pastime.
Courses range from nine-hole for-fun to 18-hole tournament-style shooting. The West Brazos Golf Center offers nine holes and lighted evening play, said Phyllis Stedman, of the center, which is between West Columbia and Brazoria on Highway 36.
“Golf is very popular,” Stedman said. “You can do it from age 7 to 70, even people who don’t play very well. You’re outside, you can play with friends, you can make business deals out there. There’s just something about trying to hit that little white ball with a stick. It’s you against the ball.”
Golf courses offer driving ranges, buckets of balls and special pricing during non-peak times, like weekdays. Some require memberships and others, like West Brazos, do not. It’s a good idea to call for a start time, Stedman said.
Brazoria County courses include West Brazos Golf Center, Columbia Lakes in West Columbia, The Wilderness in Lake Jackson, Freeport Municipal Golf Course, Austin Bayou in Danbury, Southwyck on Highway 288 in Pearland, and Hillcrest and Alvin Country Club, both in Alvin.
A TRIP THROUGH TIME
When Cristina Runkel leads people on tours around Varner-Hogg Plantation, they take the most keen interest in the fact the original Martin Varner land grant was one league, or 4,428 acres.
“That’s what most single families received,” Runkel said of the West Columbia plantation founded in 1824.
On FM 2852 off Highway 35 in West Columbia, Varner-Hogg is open Tuesday through Sunday. The fee is $6 for adults, $2 for children older than 6. Touring the grounds and not the house costs $1 per person.
The house tour includes Ima Hogg’s collection of furnishings and art, and a lesson in life on a plantation, Curator Angela Pfeiffer said. Busiest days are Friday through Sunday and parties of eight or more should call ahead at (979) 345-4656. Visitors are welcome to bring a lunch to enjoy at a picnic area on the grounds.
In East Columbia, off Highway 35 on Main Street, is the Ammon Underwood House. Underwood came to East Columbia in 1834 from Massachusetts and operated two large cotton plantations.
Tours are offered by appointment by calling Wilma Ogilvie at (979) 345-3423. Cost is $4 per person.
WILD SIDE
Brazoria County has two National Wildlife Refuges accessible to the public for free, and they are open sunup to sundown.
They both have driving and walking trails that allow people to see species in their natural habitat, said Torry Tvedt, president of the Friends of Brazoria Wildlife Refuges. The San Bernard Refuge is off CR 306 about 1 mile south of FM 2918, which is off FM 2611. The Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge is off CR 227 about 10 miles east on FM 523 from Highway 35.
The trails exhibit the marshlands, sloughs, ponds and prairies that hold the refuges’ wildlife, Tvedt said. While the massive migration of bird species wanes during the summer months, there still are several species that live in Brazoria County year-round, he said.
Bird species abound, including roseate spoonbill, eagles, harriers, hawks and an occasional falcon, he said.
The refuges also have something to offer for those more interested in plant life, like the largest live oak tree in Texas, Tvedt said. The tree is in an area in the San Bernard refuge known as the Columbia Bottomlands.
CURIOUS EXHIBITS
There are seven museums in Brazoria County, each offering changing displays and exhibits.
“Each museum focuses on its own specific area,” county spokeswoman Marie Beth Jones said. “Each has its own different piece of history.”
Named one of the 10 best museums in Texas by “Frommer’s Travel Guide,” the Brazosport Museum of Natural Science is home to the largest collection of shells on display in the South, with shells from around the world. The museum also features fossilized dinosaur skeletons.
At 400 College Blvd. in Clute, the museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free.
Other museums with free admission include Brazoria Museum in the Brazoria Civic Center on Smith Street, the Lake Jackson Historical Museum at 249 Circle Way, the Brazoria County Historical Museum at 100 E. Cedar St. in Angleton, and West Columbia Historical Museum on Highway 35.
The Alvin Museum at 300 W. Sealy and the Marguerite Rogers House Museum at 113 E. Dimble, both in Alvin, charge $3 for adult admission. Both are open Thursdays, Fridays and the first Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
PARK PLACES
Parks are a good option for families watching their budget, and there are at least nine in the county, said James Glover with the Brazoria County Parks Department.
Camp Mohawk County Park, off Highway 35 near Alvin, “is the department’s showcase inland park,” Glover said. It features a small lake for fishing, the county’s only stand of native pines, a new playground, picnic facilities and restrooms for no charge.
“For those who don’t want to go home at dark, tent camping and overnight cabins are available,” he said.
Quintana Beach County Park has showers, picnic area, playground, paved parking, a pedestrian beach and surf fishing opportunities from 8 a.m. until dark at no charge. Tent and RV camping spaces are available for a fee, as are overnight cabins.
Also on the Gulf is San Luis Pass park east of Surfside Beach, near the Galveston County line. While that park and Surfside Park were damaged by Hurricane Ike last year, they’re now open with waterfront activities.
Other county parks with fishing, picnic areas and playgrounds include Resoft between Alvin and Pearland off Highway 35, Albert Finkle near Manvel, Brazos River at Holiday Lakes and Hanson outside West Columbia on Highway 35. Buffalo Camp County Park is nestled within Lake Jackson Farms off Highway 332 and features picnic areas and a playground, Glover said.
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