Clear Lake Shores, Texas Relocation Guide

Quaint old homes sit peacefully between new homes on stilts in the waterfront city of Clear Lake Shores. Here you will discover a community full of character, color, lake breezes, cool shady jogging/walking paths and parks.

This waterfront bedroom community was developed in 1926 when two brothers, Arthur and Warren Smadbeck, teamed up with the now-defunct Houston Post to develop this as a resort colony. For only $69.50 and a subscription to the Post, you could own a 20' by 100' lot in the development. It was incorporated in 1963.

The Clear Lake area includes both Harris and Galveston counties, and parts of the cities of Houston and Pasadena. There are nine distinct communities which distinguish the area, which covers the same geographical area as the top-rated Clear Creek Independent School District.:

Clear Lake City - Annexed by Houston over 20 years ago, this community has its own unique personality. With an estimated population of 63,500, it is home to NASA/Johnson Space Center, and is a master-planned residential area. Residents are still able to maintain a strong sense of local community, and take pride in being Clear Lake City, a major part of the Clear Lake Area. The Clear Lake City Community Association services the Clear Lake City area.

Clear Lake Shores - An island community of about 1,400 citizens, located on the southeastern side of Clear Lake at the entrance to Jarboe Bayou, Clear Lake Shores offers peaceful small town attitudes amid big city conveniences. It is home to four major marinas, one of which, with 1,300 boat slips, is the largest privately owned marina in the country. Eco-tourists look forward to the completion of the city's Jarboe Bayou Project which will create a major water bird sanctuary and habitat for water-related animals, with small piers for fishing and pathways for strolling and bird watching.

The Clear Lake area has a large recreation and entertainment menu. There are golf courses and tennis centers, playgrounds, indoor/outdoor pools, gymnasiums, Little League, and more. The Houston Yacht Club, Lakewood Yacht Club, Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, and the Galveston Yacht Club are all minutes from the Clear Lake area. The beaches of Galveston Island are only a short distance away. In Galveston, you may choose to visit the Antique Aircraft Museum, Moody Gardens, the Railroad Museum or the Elissa, one of the oldest clipper ships in Texas. You also have the luxury of dining at any one of the fabulous restaurants in the area serving delicious gulf coast cuisine. Every year, Galveston celebrates Christmas with its "Dickinson on the Strand" festival, and hosts its own local Mardi Gras celebration.

Clear Lake is an ideal place to visit year-round because of our variety of cool summer diversions and our mild winters. There's always something going on here, and if you're thinking about coming for a visit, you'll see it's very easy to get here. There's also plenty of places to stay once you're here, whether you're a business traveler on a tight schedule, or a vacationer looking to slow down for a while.So when should you visit? Well, if you've shoveled enough snow for now, fall and winter are no impediment here to golfing, sailing, fishing or whatever outdoor activity strikes your fancy. Since we're right on the Gulf of Mexico, the warm water mass keeps our temperatures moderate year-round, with the thermometer rarely dipping to the freezing mark. Enjoy the thrilling Wings Over Houston Air Show in September, the fall arts and craft shows in October and November, and the dazzling Christmas Boat Parade the second Saturday in December. Relax with your favorite outdoor pastime in January and February without fear of frostbite!

If you especially enjoy the resurgence of nature in the spring, however, you'll find her extra enthusiastic in the Clear Lake area. This area of Texas is renowned for its brilliant displays of wildflowers in March and April. Pack a lunch and take a leisurely day drive to enjoy the rich colors, featuring our state flower, the bluebonnet. Join the Earth Day Celebrations at Armand Bayou Nature Center in April and have fun at the Crawfish Festival. Enjoy boating during May's marine events and watch the shrimpers prepare for their season as they come in from Galveston Bay.

Summer heats up the calendar here with some of the Clear Lake Area's signature activities. Charter a sailboat with some friends for a moonlight sail on Galveston Bay. Skim over the water windsurfing, or above it with a parasail. Be dazzled by the annual July 4 Independence Day Fireworks Over Clear Lake. Celebrate our exploration of space with the Space Week activities and the Lunar Rendezvous Festival. Be part of another kind of flight with the August RE/MAX® Ballunar Liftoff Festival on the grounds of NASA's Johnson Space Center.

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