In truth, where the soft sand develops changes all the time due to storms, tides, and other natural occurrences, and it is often possible to drive a 2-wheel drive vehicle much farther. Just be aware that beyond the 5-mile point on South Beach that the sand tends to get softer, and the National Park Service recommends that only 4-Wheel Drive (4WD) vehicles go beyond this point. If you are unfamiliar with the beaches at Padre Island National Seashore, most of the sand is as hard as a dirt road, and driving any type of street-legal vehicle is allowed. All sites have a 14-day limit.Yarborough Pass primitive camping area at Padre Island National Seashore Primitive camping (free) is allowed on North Beach, Yarborough Pass, South Beach, and anywhere south of there.
Camping at Malaquite Beach costs $8 a night the sea turtle hatchling hotline is 36. Entrance fee is $10, good for 7 days additional day-use fee for Bird Island Basin is $5. Continue about 10 miles to park headquarters (36). From Corpus Christi, take Texas Highway 358 across the JFK Causeway until it becomes Park Road 22. To get there: Padre Island National Seashore is always open. I sipped my coffee and kept my hands to myself. Fantastic to look at, and often mistaken for jellyfish, a man-of-war is actually a colony of distinct organisms, and those that form the tentacles pack a nasty sting. The cool morning revealed a beach decorated with the translucent, sail-like bubbles of Portuguese man-of-wars that had washed ashore. The disadvantage? Sand-not just around my tent but also inside it, forcing me to close the flaps. I gazed up at the seven sisters of the Pleiades and Orion unsheathing his sword. The advantage of these gusts was that the clouds cleared to reveal the stars. After I set up my tent on South Beach, about six miles from the end of the road, the night brought unexpectedly high winds. So I simply drove until I could see no sign of anyone-and then drove a mile farther. I’d planned to drive the fifteen miles to Yarborough Pass, on the upper Laguna Madre, but most of Padre Island is accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicle, and I didn’t have one. The eggs were still being incubated during my visit, so after a restful night accompanied by the sound of the breakers, I broke camp and immediately steered south on the park’s only road, away from the people and the pavement. Named after a long-forgotten Coahuiltecan tribe, the beach is now famous for its sea turtle hatchling program between June and August, hundreds of baby turtles are released to much fanfare in front of the Malaquite Visitor Center. But first, arriving at night, I stopped at the comfortable campground at Malaquite Beach. To get away from it all, you can camp on the island’s empty southern beaches, as I did. The North and Malaquite beaches are popular with shell-seekers, birders, and surf anglers, while Bird Island Basin, on the bay side, is one of the nation’s top windsurfing spots (you can rent windsurfing gear and kayaks and take lessons right on the beach at Worldwinds). And unlike South Padre Island just below it, with its glut of trinket shops, towering resorts, and shot bars, these sands offer a seclusion rivaled only by the backcountry in Big Bend.īut you have to know where to go. Flanked by the Gulf to the east and Laguna Madre to the west, Padre Island is the longest undeveloped barrier island not only in Texas but in the whole world. If the general lack of 24-karat ocean beaches in Texas makes you despair, then Padre Island National Seashore will restore hope. Press spacebar to see more share options.
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