MATAGORDA COUNTY

Matagorda County is southwest of Houston off Hwy 59 and Hwy 60 out of Wharton Texas, south  headed down to Bay City and the beautiful Texas gulf coast. Bay City is the county seat of Matagorda County, being the largest city of the county. Matagorda county has a population just over 36,000 and covers 1,114 square miles of land with nearly 500 square miles of water. Folks, the beach and shore line along Matagorda bay are a real treasure. My favorite trip is to take highway 60 south out of Bay City into the city of Matagorda and then take FM 2031 all the way down to the gulf. You will cross an old draw bridge across the inter coastal canal and finally come to a nice park and pavilion located on the beach just east of where the Colorado river empties into the gulf. There is a huge walk out rock pier for fishing and your sure to catch something most every time you throw out. The bird watching is also a huge recreation here, so pack some binoculars for a good view. If you make the boat trip on the other side of the Colorado river to the Matagorda island it is something else to see. Beautiful and pristine beaches with no crowds. There are plenty of RV spaces, rental houses and cabins in this area and most are very reasonably priced. The full Stringer Realty is a good place to start looking for accommodations and there are a lot of fishing guides listed on line. If you like the beach but hate the crowds then this is certainly your spot.

AERIAL VIEW MATAGORDA PARK

 

DRAW BRIDGE

 

COVERED AREA ON BEACH

 

Wharton County Texas

Southwest of Houston along highway 59 as you cross the San Bernard River you will drive through Wharton county. The land is mostly level and cleared with scattered clumps of trees here and there. You will see a lot of large old oak trees from long ago plantation days and man made irrigation canals from the rice farms. Wharton county was founded in 1846 and named after the Wharton brothers William and John Wharton. The county seat is the city of Wharton Texas where the Wharton County Courthouse stands. It's a beautiful building with interesting shops around the old court house square.

Wharton County Courthouse

I stopped in Wharton on my way down to El Campo which is just a short distance on down Hwy 59.  These two cities make up the majority of population in Wharton County which was slightly over 41,000 in the 2010 census. The San Bernard river forms the northwest border of Wharton county and the Colorado river runs roughly from northwest to southeast dividing the county in half. If you like duck hunting and fishing this is a great place to start. Wharton is also right on the way to Bay City and Matagorda Bay. Now that's some of the best bay fishing on the Texas gulf coast. There are lots of fishing guides available and plenty of reasonable accommodations along the gulf area.