South Beach — Padre Island National Seashore

You are able to drive down the beach to find your perfect spot to set up your tents by the dunes! Very clean chemical toilets are near the beach entrance and very clean showers are up at the visitors center. During the day you will have day visitors set up near you but not on top of you but at night it was like we were the only people on the beach! Dig a hole and you can have a fire right on the beach it is absolute heaven!

An absolutely stunning place to camp! 

We've camped on the beach at Padre Island National Seashore twice.  The campground has always been fully booked but there is access to the beach and you can camp on the sand.  It gets a little crowded on holiday weekends but there are MILES of sand so you can just drive until you find a spot that suits your fancy.  I have a 2WD vehicle and was a little concerned about getting stuck.  Fortunately, there were plenty of people on their beach with 4WD who were more than willing to use their toy to pull me out.

I contemplated giving my review fewer stars because this is Texas and the beaches are not nearly as nice as those in other parts of the US.  We had issues with seaweed washing up both times but the water was clean.  There are no facilities on the beach but the visitors center has showers and flush toilets. 

Camping on the Beach

This campground and beach area is heavily trafficked by tourists and locals, but is still kept quite clean. There are basic amenities such as restrooms and trash facilities. Nothing fancy.

Heavily trafficked but clean

Tent or vehicle camping on the beach, what's not to like. The other area has electric and water hook up but call ahead and reserve. Whole area well maintained. Enjoyed my visit even though I'm more of a mountain person. 

Take your pick

This is PRIMITIVE (even 1 mile down there’s no luxuries)= bring plenty of H20, food, GAS, supplies and a 4wd for the farther down areas. Having some understanding of beach camping will serve you well! The wind can easily blow over fiberglass pole tents (metal is best w/sandbag type weights &amp; sand tent stakes, you will thank me!), the tide can sneak up and bury your tires while you sleep, read the beach and park accordingly.  A shovel for a level sleeping area, dig out or unfortunately removing the occasional trash is a good idea. Come prepared to go without cell service and resort to communicating with one another! Any style portable toilet is necessary! I use a Nemo  pressure shower to stay clean and sane. Pack it in, pack it out. Dumpster/toilets at beach entrance. The beach is a road, beware of speeding vacationers @ all hours. The Malaquite visitors center has showers and a park store. Rates are amazing for the experience trade off! Pay at the booth at the entrance or at the toilet/dumpster area (honor system). A great place to enjoy the beauty of the Texas coast! 

Beautiful and natural! 

I stayed here for a month. Just me and my back packing equipment. Just beautiful.

Padre Island 

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.

Calling All Bird Watchers & Sea Shell Hounds...

Such a silly thing to realize. It is the beach, after all! 

But my brain didn't compute that wind + sand = sand in tents, food, pants, etc! 

But, still, this spot was easily accessible for our first night in the park (even with the coastal flood warning!). 

There was no one in the visitor's center when we arrived just after 5pm. But they do sell ice there if you need to stock up before heading down the beach. 

There's also water, trash bins, and a bathroom at that location. Just make sure you stock up on firewood before coming into the park! 