Fort Travis Seashore Park (Fort Travis Historic Site)

Built in 1898 on the western tip of Bolivar Peninsula, Fort Travis guarded the entrance to Galveston Harbor through two world wars — 2,500 troops stationed here at the height of WWII, four gun batteries covering the approaches, no attack ever coming. The federal government purchased 97 acres for the installation; in 1973, Galveston County bought it back for a public park. The concrete bunkers still stand. During Hurricane Carla in 1961, local residents sheltered inside them with their livestock. The fort holds the National Register of Historic Places designation. The bunkers are the reason to go.