This is a great trip for experienced campers. We made a trip here in August 2010 and stayed in the parking area for RV's. This trip, taken in June 2011, we decided to try beach camping for 2 nights. We drove the 4 hours to get there and made our 13 trips from the car to the tent. Padre has beach camping for tents that have shade structures right on the sand. We still made a wind break with a tarp to help keep our supplies on the picnic table. You can bring a portable grill like we did or make a fire right there in the sand. There is a bath house with showers up the boardwalk and the park headquarters is 1/2 mile up the beach. There is a store that sells ice and other forgotten items and CVS is 10 miles away closer to the bridge. There is also a gift shop and interpretive area with information about sea turtle conservation, hurricane damage and erosion, and the ecology of the area. This is a nice air conditioned space when it is 102 degrees to hang out for a little bit. There is no driving allowed on this beach, so especially near the camping area it is quiet and safe to let the kids run about. We did not have any issues with jellyfish, but there were quite a few Portuguese man of war that washed up on the beach. Also if you have a fear of crabs stay far away from this beach. They are everywhere, especially at night. They tend to scurry out of the way, but wear shoes to be on the safe side. The second night we toasted smores over charcoal and gave the kids glow sticks to run around with in the dark. The stars here are beautiful despite being so close to Corpus. There is a $20 fee per car for a 7 day pass, but beach camping is free. Just make sure you park in a space not connected to an RV site in the parking lot. We didn't put on the rain fly the first night and that was a very sandy mistake. Shrimp tastes especially delicious on the beach, as this was when Natalie's love of shrimp began.
No comments:
Post a Comment