Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Corpus Christi, TX

Firefly Coastal Bend Resort in Corpus Christi is the perfect getaway! The resort is incredibly family-friendly and pet-friendly, making it an ideal destination for everyone. The private beach is stunning, and the fishing spots are fantastic for those looking to relax by the water. The staff is amazing—always helpful and welcoming—and the management company is doing a phenomenal job keeping everything running smoothly. We can’t wait to come back and make even more memories here!

Being that this is Texas, it's super hot all day and all night long. It's worse when there is no shade to shield you. Although the breeze is great off of the water, shade would be nice. The area is clean, the beach is clean, and it is about what you can expect from a Corpus Christi beach area camp site. Nothing special, just enough.

Lake Corpus Christie is a beautiful place where you can camp and enjoy water activities but if you enjoy hiking this is not the place. Unfortunately, it lacks hiking trails. There are plenty of spacious campsites next to the water where you can enjoy laying in a hammock, campfires, and grilling but lacks privacy. Catfish Cove offers water only sites but other areas offer water electricity, full hook-up sites, or enclosed shelters with AC. While we enjoyed camping here there is an over abundance of stickers that we had to continually pull out of the dogs paws.

Nice picnic tables on the beach and well maintained showers, in addition to the cleanliness of the whole beach really made this place stand out. Nothing like the beaches that you'll find elsewhere in Corpus Christi.

We've spent many winter months around the Corpus Christi, Texas area and visit South Beach frequently. Plenty to do; fishing, sunbathing, bird watching, photography, and on some evenings after dark you can spot deer and coyote come out of the sand dunes to feed on seaweed and fish remains. We prefer to camp at nearby Malequite campground for $5 a night with water, bathrooms and showers. The visitor's center has some supplies.

We enjoyed our one night at Corpus Christi State Park.  As with other state parks, it's a bargain, especially with the State Parks Pass.  We had a nice pull through site with a  view of the lake and the marina.  The covered picnic table was nice and we were able to use the grill to make a great dinner.  The sunset was spectacular. We would return to this quiet and beautiful setting anytime.

We stayed for four nights and we enjoyed our stay. The roads and pads were all nice, level concrete.

I didn't see the pool myself, but my wife and daughter enjoyed it while I was at work. The playgrounds were nice, but could use some more shade. Same with the dog park.

The dog water fountains at the dog park were not working, so that would have been nice since it is so hot right now. The dog park is just open space with a fence right now, but the front desk said there are agility features coming soon.

The grass and trees were clean and trimmed, but there are stickers in the grass, so beware stepping off the concrete pad barefoot.

Arrived the afternoon of July 4th and waited until day crowd left to choose our campsite - have to go to the right for camping - only 3 cars on the camping stretch - Sandy but totally worth the effort! A bit windy. Bought shrimp at a local seafood market on the way in. Bathroom/shower was okay - but we were very grateful for it! Only frustration was the knucklehead who wanted to film himself doing 360s in his truck … thankfully that only lasted 2 minutes. Also, took the ferry over from the north and left via Corpus Christi to the south.

The manager is very friendly. They have laundry. They provide quarters for purchase. They have a fishing dock off the campground. A pool. And a dog park.

There is a whole lot of Texas, but not a ton of public land lies therein. One exception to this is Padre Island National Seashore. With 63 miles of barrier island sand available to drive and camp on, it is impossible not to get away from it all.  And if you are a card carrying "America the Beautiful" pass holder, this place is FREE to camp!

Once you move away from the developed roads to the seaside sand, which is easy enough to drive on even with just front-wheel drive so long as you stay on the flats, you leave behind any services, water, electricity and toilets. Bring everything you need with you and you’ll be fine. We brought our solar panel and had all the electricity we could possibly want for 8 full days.

Park your rig just to the dune side of the highwater “roadway” and you’ll be out of the way for the many vehicles who come to fish, camp, or just explore this natural wonder. No OHV vehicles are allowed on the beach, which is considered a highway, so leave the toy-hauler behind. Opportunities to birdwatch, hike or bike along the beach, play in the surf or just lie in the sand are as numerous as the stars. We found some LTE by hiking up onto the high dunes, but just enough to call, text, or check email. 

Within 15 miles, the small community of Padre Island offers plenty of restaurants and gas stations but cross the bridge into Corpus Christi and you’re in full-blown suburban Texas. Ice and water kiosks are everywhere so bring your quarters to fill up.

We camped in the RV area, which has electrical hook ups and water but you have to drive to the dump station. There are nearby bathrooms which are newly renovated and nice, although occasionally people using them to clean off from visiting the beach will make a big mess. Not just sand, but swim diapers and bathing suit tags and that sort of thing. The janitors clean every morning but it’s disappointing when people leave a big mess. Nothing against the park, only against the visitors. There are men and women’s bathrooms, family bathrooms/unisex bathrooms, as well as showers just outside the bathrooms.

Each RV spot is paved and comes with a picnic table and wooden pergola, also a grill for charcoal. We did notice quite a few burr plants so if you have dogs, you might have a problem later in the season when the burr seeds are dry.

You can walk to the beach or drive to the beach. There is tent and primitive RV camping on the beach if you wish, we did see people doing that. We visited around Easter Sunday and it was not too crowded, lots of picnic tables and plenty of space to have fun. We brought along a couple of mesh litter bags and were easily able to fill them up with random garbage that Washington to the beach, it was very satisfying to do that and there are dumpsters and trash cans conveniently located once you’re done with that.

It’s a short drive to Port Aransas or the other way to the edge of Corpus Christi, lots of restaurants and art galleries and all kinds of area attractions. Visit Snoopy’s under the bridge and eat on the deck. You can also take your RV on the ferry boat between Port A and Aransas Pass if you wish. It’s free.

Definitely visit, and go to the beach, and pick up a bag of litter.

We have family that lives in Flower Bluff (basically Corpus Christi) and Mustang Island is just 15 miles from Flower Bluff. We usually do Thanksgiving at their house so it is convenient for us to stay here. It is a nice clean beach with some great fishing spots. (Fishing is free and legal in state Texas state parks without a license.)

The beach is away from the touristy areas of Corpus! They do have RV hookups up from the beach, but they have primitive camping directly on the beach with a permit, which is what we do. It is only a short walk to the bathrooms and covered picnic tables. It is just 5 dollars to get in, or free if you have a State Park pass. There is also a little store in the park with snacks and stuff but nothing to fancy. Also bathrooms are port-a-potties, but hey! it's the beach!

You can swim, fish, kayak or hike! The hiking trails are nice, just not a whole lot of shade. Very easy trails nothing to extreme, but great for kids! They also have a wonderful paddling trail along the coastline , so don't forget the kayak!

There is lots to do around the park as well. If you have kids, which is our main concern when going new places, there are a lot of educational attractions. There is an aquarium in Corpus. Don't expect Sea World, it is smaller, but just as fun. There is also the USS Lexington which is my little boy's favorite! You can go inside and tour the ship, plus there are airplanes parked on the top!! We also saw some Sea turtles being releases back into the wild so make sure you check for events around you!!

Not my favorite way to camp, but the price was right. We were pretty cramped but the whole place was very quiet. There weren't any kids at all, other than ours. Dog friendly environment but none running loose at all. There was a friendly peacock wandering about who loved grapes.

Easy parking, pull through spots.

The laundry room was very clean which was much appreciated. $1.75 per washer & dryer.

We were parked right across from the owners/manager which was fine, just felt a bit like we were watched. Mind you, we're used to being in the middle of no where though😂. Owners helped us park and have been super friendly the whole time.

There's a small dog park across from the rv park, which was full of burrs and mosquitoes unfortunately. Apparently they are both bad this year.

It was only 0.4 miles to the water and 1 mile to rockport beach- we biked and walked.. it was a nice area to explore. Photo is from rockport beach taken in November.

Just outside of Corpus Christi in a slightly more remote stretch of Texas coast rests Padre Island National Seashore, a beachfront land preserve operated by the United States Park System that offered a variety of camping and recreation options.

Amongst those, Malaquite Beach Campground, a small but nice facility less than a quarter mile up the beach from the visitors center. This campground boasts around 50 campsites, many featuring a picnic table, BBQ and shade structure.

No reservations can be made so the facility is a first come first come Campground which uses a camping kiosk or account for availability. Campsites are $8 per night and do include handicap options.

While the individual sites do not offer amenities such as running water or electricity, there is a nice bathroom and shower facility located mid-camp. These showers are free and boast cold water showers, something you will more than crave in the humid Texas air.

Campsites are located amongst the grassy dunes about 200 yards from the coastal waters but upon paying you can park in your designated site and set up your tent anywhere within the area including beachside.

We arrived late in the evening just before sunset. Following sunset Campground is very dark, no security lights to disrupt the coastal star views so it can be a bit tricky to navigate. Do not forget a flashlight if you are camping here for sure!

The humidity of the coast was intense so it made for a bit of a hot evening camping though the breeze passing through the tent was very helpful. Make sure your have a fully venting tent when camping here to keep cooler at night and pack lightweight items for sleeping.

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All in all I would give Malaquite Campground 4 of 5 Bunnies. The facilities were clean, Campground host was helpful and location was ideal for beach combing away from some of the crowds. I do suggest this to be a weekday excursion however as they did mention because of the low cost it does fill up quickly on weekends.

The only downside, lighting is sparse at night which makes it a bit difficult to navigate the grounds. Again for safety remember to bring a flashlight! And this campsite is very windy, nothing you can do about this though because it is nature, but that can make for difficulty in setting up or using bbqs.

For a video of the campsite and a little more about Malaquite Beach check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFW9mi4iE2Y&t=8s

Facilities include fishing pier and swimming pool. Family friendly medium priced. Horseshoes, pet run, Wi Fi included.

People friendly. Tent camping on beach.could be quite sandy. Sand will go through mosquito netting. Keep pets leashed!

large well spaced out campsites. Allows pets. Quiet. Great area if you like to fish. Only downside was lots of bugs, especially mosquitoes.