North Padre Island Overview

At over 100 mi., Padre Island is the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the entire world. North Padre Island, east of Corpus Christi, is the more mellow cousin to rambunctious South Padre Island and its hordes of drunken spring breakers, yet it offers ample opportunities for adventure in windsurfing, swimming, and surf fishing. After reaching Padre Island by the JFK causeway from Corpus Christi, turn left for Port Aransas and Mustang Island State Park, or right for Padre Balli County Park and Padre Island National Seashore (PINS). There are also numbered beach access points that are not affiliated with any parks, but you’ll need a sticker to park your car (year-long pass $12, available at Padre Balli and local convenience stores). Mustang Island State Park 1 charges $4 for day use and an additional $8 for tent camping on the beach, which includes free hot showers at the RV sites. Padre Balli County Park 1 offers less serenity but more activities. Campers choose from a narrow grass strip surrounded by asphalt or the beach itself for $10 a night. (No entrance fee; parking sticker required. Hot showers available. Full water and electric hook-up $18 per night for up to 6 people.) Bob Hall Pier, the main fishing pier, is located right on the beach. (Open 24hr. Entrance fee $1, seniors $0.50. Pole rentals $10.)

Part of the National Park System, PINS has the cleanest and best-protected beaches, dunes, and grassland on the island. (Entrance for 1 week $10, for 1 year $20.) Malaquite Visitors Center is 5 mi. south of the Causeway and bridge to the island. (☎949-8068; www.nps.gov/pais. Open daily in summer 8:30am-6pm; winter 9am-4pm. The PINS Campground 1, 1 mi. north of the Visitors Center, has restrooms, free cold showers, and an asphalt RV area. (Sites $8.) Camping in unmarked sites farther down the beach is free, and campers still have 24hr. access to showers and bathrooms. A lucky few may spot an endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle and should report it to a ranger. Boat launching is possible from the Grasslands Nature Trail, a three-quarters of a mile paved loop through sand dunes and grasslands. Guide pamphlets are available at the trailhead. Entrance to Bird Island Basin, located on the far lagoon side of the island, is $10 for a yearly pass or $5 per day; entrance permits may be purchased at the entrance station or at the Malaquite Visitors Center. Also on the lagoon side, Worldwinds Windsurfing rents a large range of windsurfing equipment as well as various types of sea kayaks at one of the best windsurfing sites in the nation. (☎949-7472 or 800-793-7471. Beginner’s rig and lesson $50. Singles 2 hr. $25, 3 hrs $35. Full day $45. Two-wheel drive vehicles can drive on the first 5 mi. of beach below Malquite. Visitors with 4WD and a taste for solitude should make the 60 mi. trek to the Mansfield Channel, the seashore’s most remote and untraveled area where shipwrecks still lie on the beach. Call the PINS Headquarters (☎949-8173), 3 mi. south of the park entrance, for emergency assistance.