Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Multiple businesses on the Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County are planning to close shop ahead of the annual “Jeep Weekend,” which runs from Thursday through Sunday this year. What began as an annual gathering for Jeep enthusiasts has over time turned into more than 100,000 visitors heading to the peninsula for the weekend.
Galveston County officials implemented road closures and beach access restrictions last year after the event became increasingly violent with hundreds of arrests.
Donna Mersman, who owns The Panini Press at Crystal Beach and lives on the peninsula, said while the road closures made her neighborhood safer, it also meant less business.
“There wasn’t any business last year because all the roads were blocked off and nobody was really moving so it wasn’t worth being open,” Mersman said.
Mersman said she and other business owners on the Bolivar Peninsula are choosing to close their doors during this year’s Jeep Weekend, which she said isn’t easy to do in the summer season.
“Being a small business owner, every day that you’re open is really important to paying your own bills,” Mersman said.
However, Mersman said the temporary loss in business is ultimately worth it if the road closures and beach access restrictions will keep the residents’ neighborhoods safer than they were in previous years.
“The couple years before that, it was terrible. It was awful. I mean, I have a home here and you didn’t even feel safe in your own home,” Mersman said. “If it keeps the community safe, we’ll give up one weekend of business.”
According to previous Houston Public Media reporting, more than 280 people were arrested and 43 firearms were confiscated during Jeep Weekend in 2025. In 2024, more than 370 criminal charges were filed and nearly 300 arrests were made during the gathering.
“I guess it would have been two years ago when they tried to move everybody off the beach,” Mersman said. “They all just ended up in our neighborhoods and that was worse. I mean, there were drones and sirens and lights and it was terrible.”
In 2025, Galveston County commissioners authorized a plan developed by the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Jimmy Fullen to bring more control to the loosely organized event. The plan included traffic control arrangements, temporary beach access restrictions, camping restrictions and other beach rules.
The temporary restrictions were also approved by the Texas General Land Office (GLO), which oversees public beaches, according to previous Houston Public Media reporting.
The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office shared a social media post at the beginning of May that confirmed there would once again be an increased law enforcement presence throughout this year’s four-day Jeep Weekend and a “zero-tolerance policy” would be in effect.
Officials also released beach rules including “no bonfires” and “no driving on the dunes” along with beach access information and restrictions ahead of the weekend.
