a park to be established. In 1969, under the State Parks Bond Program, 1,950 acres of the private land was purchased from the heirs. A small part of the original property with the family's Stewart Mansion was not included in the sale. The state park opened to the public in 1975. Dunes renewal projects Tropical Storm Frances destroyed the sand dunes at Galveston Island State Park on September 10, 1998. The dunes provide the only protection that the park has for its freshwater habitats and visitor facilities. A project restored the dunes through the use of recycled Christmas trees to trap and accumulate sand. The park was closed again, due to damage from Hurricane Ike on September 14, 2008. In July 2009 the park was reopened for outdoor recreation and camping. Fauna The first nest in a decade of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle was found at the park in 2020. See also Sand dune ecology List of Texas state parks References External links Official Galveston Island State Park website Friends of Galveston Island State Park — natural history + events info-images. Film footage of Galveston Island State Park from Exploring the Texas State Park System on the Texas Archive of the Moving Image State parks of Texas Protected areas of Galveston County, Texas Wetlands of Texas 1975 establishments in Texas Tourist attractions in Galveston, Texas Landforms of Galveston County, Texas Protected areas established in 1975