Padre Island National Seashore

Big shout out to fellow Yelper Guy H for the recommendation. Padre Island National Seashore in Corpus Christi is a pristine coastal haven. With miles of untouched beaches, it's a haven for nature enthusiasts. We had to drive to this location which was only a 3-minute drive from our condo. Favorite spot on the Texas coast. Far and away one of the best beaches in my opinion. 66 miles of beach so I'll undoubtedly always find a moderately private spot to set up camp for the day. I wouldn't say it has white sand but not brown, and the water is clear. Restrooms are located at the front entrance and parking is permitted on the beach with a parking pass which can be picked up at the local convenience stores for $12 as of writing this review. A great spot for fishing, hanging with the pups as I did and just having a chill day.

Nice beach but the national park lacks advertised amenities and national park employees are grumpy and rude. Admission is $10. The main park building provides a nice area to picnic with plenty of tables. Unfortunately, the showers are out of order. So a main advantage of the national park (showers to clean up after the beach) versus going to the free part of the beach is missing. Also, the public restrooms are old and offer little room for changing. And the bathrooms are not maintained (no paper in paper towel dispensers). Park employees are super grumpy. One park employee screamed at us for feeding a seagull in the parking lot area. Overall verdict- skip the national park and go to Mustang Island State Park.

Another no frills setup; free with a national park pass. Strongly recommend a 4x4 setup so you don't get stuck in the sand. Fishing both ocean and bayside.

Nice spot for fishing and shelling. There is plenty of mosquitoes so make sure you pack bug spray. Another thing to note is that the tide is very strong so be prepared.

To be completely honest, when you are driving through the marsh area towards the beach, you seriously question where you are going and what is so special about it. Even when you get to the visitor center parking, you still kind of wonder why. Once you make the short trek (like less than 1/4 mile) to the beach, you are blown away. This is an amazing seashore and not very busy for a Saturday. There were a lot of beached jellyfish and I could see some in the water as well but nothing crazy. I highly recommend this and most National Parks, Recreation Areas, and Seashores. I will definitely be back during turtle hatching season.

Tip: Check out the national forestry site on this location. There are places that you cannot go without a 4WD and camping is subject to weather and access.Pros: $10 for the day pass. Showers. Tables. Shade options. Parking off beach as you cannot drive on the beach. Few tourist venture out this far so staking out a quiet space is easy. There are about half dozen tables in the beach.Cons: It is 20 mins even after the CC bridge. It is a decent hike from parking to beach ... do not load yourself down.

I love how you can camp all along the beach. To my knowledge, this is one of the only nice beaches in Texas. We came here for a surf trip, and it was so nice to be able to walk a few feet from the tent to surf in the waves. The sand is very smooth, but the beach is full of hazards like jellyfish, man o' wars, and ants (the worst of them all). I got attacked by an ant in the dunes. We didn't have to pay at all to enter the seashore or to camp, which is probably not usual. Camping along the beach is primitive, while there is great car camping with bathrooms, showers, and a water filling station at the Malaquite Campground. We went there first and saw it was full, so we went to the beach. I had no cell service along the beach, but some people got signal by standing up in the dunes. The visitor center is huge but was closed.

Came here on a whim during a weekend vacation to Corpus Christi. We spent a few hours here 2 days in a row and had a great time exploring the nature and trying not to get saltwater in our mouths. I recommend visiting if you are on Padre Island and looking for a cool place to go on a daytrip.

I have not been here since I was a child when my parents took me camping on the beach. I remember this place was grand and walking up in the morning hearing the wind and waves crashing. It was fun times and excited on my return. I drove south from North Padre Island for about 10-20 miles passing condo developments into a land nothing except wetlands and sand dunes. At the guard post you pay $10 to enter the premises and provided with a map. I drove slow to see if I spot any some interesting wildlife from the road. I saw hawks, cranes and seagulls. I stopped at the National Park sign to get some photos of my wife and I. During this a truck with fishing gear drove by and quickly made a u-turn, but not in time where a park ranger pulled him over. This police matter looked serious and did not want to hang around, so we drive off quickly.We arrived at the Malaquite Pavilion where it was a combination of restrooms, changing and showering facility, museum, gift shop, and picnic area. You learn all about Padre Island history here, and main concerns are sea turtles and trash. The park officials are very nice and will help you out, and provide special vip assistance to those with special needs. The store carries a bunch of items for younger kids where I purchased a sea turtle adoption packet, pin and magnet. Afterwards we walked down the boardwalk through the sand dunes to the beach. There was a not any people here being a Monday even thought still summer. The beach was huge and recommend walking in sandals until you reach the wet sand, for it was very hot. The red flag was out so swimming was dangerous even though I saw a few in the water. There is no lifeguards so you are on your own. We walked along the water edge seeing sea gulls moving out from our way. You cannot feed wildlife here and visitors are continuously reminded with signs posted. If you see a sea turtle or nest then alert the park officials. There are some covered picnic tables but recommended bring some sort of shade. However I did not see anyone setup the huge canopies, perhaps down the beach where camping is allowed. There are a few hiking trails. You cannot drive on the beach here except the area dedicated for camping.After enjoying walking around we got back into the vehicle and explored the rest of the park. The road basically ends at the beach for campers. If you want to explore further south then would need to backpack along the beach.Overall it was a excellent experience seeing a natural beach setting.

Stunning pristine beach with beautiful water. Padre Island National Seashore is a must stop for everyone! We were there in November, which I assume is the off season so it wasn't busy at all. There is one beach you can drive to and park and just walk over. They have restrooms and outdoor showers. There are so picnic tables near the parking lot as well as some on the beach. The buildings were closed, not sure if due to Covid or time of year. But you don't need to go inside. Do check the flag to make sure it is safe to swim that day. There weren't many people onsite and it was so peaceful. Bring chairs, a large umbrella, and towels and you could stay all day in paradise.It was just $10 for the day! We used our annual National Park pass. We'd love to go back and hike to other areas. Maybe even camp out. Imagine waking up with the ocean just outside your trailer. Make sure you visit if you are in the area. We went out of the way to get here on the way to Houston and it was worth it.