Enjoy the Kemah Boardwalk As You Visit Galveston Bay

Kemah Boardwalk is a 60-acre theme park located in the Texas Gulf Coast in Kemah, Texas. This boardwalk is built along the shores of Clear Lake and Galveston Bay. The boardwalk is considered one of the premier boardwalks in the United States, and it is owned and operated by Landry’s Inc.

If you are looking for a great place to have fun, eat, and relax while you’re in Houston, Kemah Boardwalk is the perfect place. This is because Kemah Boardwalk is home to an amusement park and several restaurants where you could spend a perfect day with your family and friends.

History

In 1997, Landry’s, Inc. purchased the property along the Kemah Waterfront, located 20 miles from Downtown Houston. A year later, they opened the Kemah Boardwalk in 1998. The Boardwalk Bullet, a high-speed wooden roller coaster, opened in Kemah Boardwalk in 2007. This roller coaster is 96-foot-tall and 3,236-foot-long; it is built on a 1-acre footprint, making one of the most compact roller coasters in the whole world.

Back in 2008, Kemah Boardwalk was one of the areas that experienced the destruction of Hurricane Ike. It swept through the entire boardwalk and destroyed almost all of the amusement park rides except for the Boardwalk Bullet Roller Coaster. Fortunately, Kumah Boardwalk recovered from the tragedy, and all the rides and attractions were repaired and reopened. They even added other rides such as the Wipeout and the 140-foot drop tower called Drop Zone.

A side view of the Boardwalk Bullet

Attractions and Restaurants

  • Aviator – This is a ride that opened in 2004. It swings you into the air then swings you around multiple times.
  • Boardwalk Beast – This is a speedboat ride that opened in 2002. This ride will take you on a 25-minute cruise across the Galveston Bay.
  • Boardwalk Express – This ride is a replica of the iconic 1863 C.P Huntington Train, and it will take you on a ride around the entire Kemah Boardwalk.
  • Boardwalk Bullet – As we mentioned, this is a custom wooden roller coaster ride that was opened in 2007. This roller coaster reaches speeds of more than 51 mph, and it runs on a 3,236 foot-long track. This ride was built by Martin &Vleminckx and was designed by a company named The Gravity Group.
  • Boardwalk Tower – This is an observation tower that gently rises and rotates on a tall tower. If you want to take in the fantastic views of Kemah Boardwalk’s surrounding area, then this is the perfect ride for you.
  • Double Decker Carousel – This is a 28-foot talk double-decker carousel with zoo animals and sea creature statues you can ride.
  • Drop Zone – This attraction was opened in 2009. This ride will take you slowly to the top of a 140-foot tower and free fall you back down. If you want to have some gut-wrenching and adrenaline-pumping experience, then this ride is the perfect one.
  • Iron Eagle – This is a two-seat zip line that will take you on a soaring ride over Kemah Boardwalk.

Kemah Boardwalk assures that every guest will be having fun, that is why If there are carnival rides, there will always be carnival-like games where you can win a prize or two. Aside from that, there is also a Stingray Reef where you can touch and feed live stingrays.

You can also shop through several retail kiosks and full shops all across Kemah Boardwalk. You can explore shops like Boardwalk Fun Shirts, Treasure Chest Gift Shop, Kandy and Kemah, Thomas Kinkade Gallery, and so much more.

Are you tired of riding all the extreme rides? Worry not because Kemah Boardwalk is home to several restaurants such as Landry’s Seafood House, Bayside Grill, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., and The Cadillac Bar. From adrenaline-pumping rides, carnival games to excellent restaurants, this is the perfect place to have a good time, which is why back in 2009, this place was named as one of the top ten American boardwalks by Forbes Traveler.