Sea RimInterpretive Guide |
Interpretive Guide of Sea Rim State Park (SP) in Texas. Published by Texas Parks & Wildlife.
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INTERPRETIVE GUIDE
SEA RIM
STATE PARK
SEA RIM STATE PARK FEATURES
4,000 ACRES OF MARSHLAND AND
5.2 MILES OF GULF SHORELINE. THE
UNIQUE HABITAT INCLUDES BEACH
MORNING GLORY, SNOWY EGRETS,
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS,
DUCKS, ALLIGATORS, BLUE CRABS,
While Sea Rim State Park provides plenty of recreational
activities—paddling, fishing, birding—it is also a nature
preserve. Plant and animal communities depend upon you
to protect them. You can do so by walking on the beach
or on designated footpaths, but not on the dunes. Please
follow park rules and keep yourself safe, too. Be sure to let
someone know where you will be and when you plan to
return. Please be aware that paddlers usually hear the
motor boats that frequent the marshes before their
operators see or hear a kayak or canoe.
All trash should be removed before you leave, but please
leave all plants, animals, and artifacts you see untouched.
The park offers programs and special events. Call park
headquarters for details and for cabin rentals.
SPECKLED TROUT, RED DRUM AND
FLOUNDER. ENJOY TENT CAMPING
ON THE BEACH, FISHING, HORSEBACK
RIDING,
STROLLING
THE
BOARDWALKS AND PADDLING MORE
Sea Rim State Park
19335 South Gulfway Drive
Sabine Pass, Texas 77655
(409) 971-2559
www.tpwd.texas.gov/searim
THAN 10 MILES OF MARSH TRAILS.
FAR AWAY FROM THE CARES OF
URBAN LIFE, DISCOVER A SEASIDE
REFUGE BURSTING WITH LIFE.
Proud Sponsor of Texas Parks
and Wildlife Programs
© 2018 TPWD. PWD BR P4504-0055K (7/18)
In accordance with Texas State Depository Law, this publication is available at
the Texas State Publications Clearinghouse and/or Texas Depository Libraries.
TPWD receives funds from the USFWS. TPWD prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, and gender,
pursuant to state and federal law. To request an accommodation or obtain information in an alternative format, please contact TPWD on a Text Telephone
(TDD) at (512) 389-8915 or by Relay Texas at 7-1-1 or (800) 735-2989. If you believe you have been discriminated against by TPWD, please contact
TPWD or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office for Diversity and Workforce Management, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041.
Texas State Parks is a division of the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
R I M
S T A T E
P A R K
© CURT EDGERTON
S E A
BEACH AND DUNES
N
Sea Rim gets its name from the point
where the marshes meet the sea. Between
the sea and the marshes lie the beach and
dunes, two habitats that each support a
diverse array of interconnected life.
MARSHES
Along the beach, you encounter clams, mole crabs, ghost
shrimp, gulls, plovers, willets and other sea and shore
birds. Sargassum, a type of algae that washes onshore
from April to August, is a lynchpin for life on the beach
and dunes. It feeds and provides homes for fish and
invertebrates while in the water. After it washes onto the
beach, it feeds larger animals and enables dune formation
both by preventing erosion and by nourishing the growth
of dune plants including bitter panicum, marsh hay
cordgrass, and Virginia dropseed.
A maze of marsh plants intermixed with water extends inland
from the dunes, a home that is both land and water. Because
Sea Rim’s brackish and intermediate waters have less salt than
salt marshes, they support a great variety of marsh plants. The
root systems of these plants help build and stabilize marsh
soil and the plants also provide food for many of the waterfowl home to the marshes. These waters act as both home
and nursery for game fish and shellfish whose larvae migrate
from the sea into the marshes. Mammals, including raccoons,
otters, coyotes, and mink also lurk in the marshland. You
may even see an American alligator hunting these waters.
The beach offers unparalleled opportunities to catch
game fish, including spotted sea trout and red drum.
You can tent camp on the beach while admiring the
night sky and being lulled to sleep by the surf. The
beach side of the park also affords horseback riding,
swimming, paddling, birding, and many other wildlife
viewing opportunities, including observation from the
marsh and dune boardwalks.
NATURE SHAPES HISTORY
ative people occupied what is now the park
beginning over 12,000 years ago. At first, they
lived on land now under the sea. When the
mouth of the Mississippi River moved eastward about
2,500 years ago and water covered the Sabine Bank barrier
island, these early residents moved away. Atakapa people
occupied this area from around the year 17 C.E. through
the 18th century when Spain succeeded in banishing the
French and controlling lands that became part of Texas.
Ranchers ran cattle here between 1870 and the 1950s,
but the land proved unsuitable for permanent buildings
or extensive development. Then in 1972, the State of
Texas purchased the land from the Horizon Sales
Corporation and the Planet Oil and Mineral Corporation and opened it as a state park in 1977. Hurricane
Rita smashed Sea Rim State Park in 2005, forcing it to
close. Then Hurricane Ike added more damage in 2008.
But with the strong support of the community, the park
recovered and now offers more things to see and do than
ever before.
The marshes abound with paddling, birding, and fishing
opportunities. In the park’s marsh unit, at the boat launch, a
new air-conditioned
cabin offers creature
comforts right where
your next day’s
adventure begins.
1735 drawing of an
Atakapa man.
Alexandre de Batz.