Ring-billed gull Padre Island National Seashore
Padre Island National Seashore
North Padre Island is the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world.
Meaning father in Spanish, it was named after Father José Nicolás Ballí (c.1770-1829), who owned the island and served as a missionary priest and collector of finances for all the churches in the Rio Grande Valley. He also founded the first mission in present-day Cameron County.
Most of the park is primitive, but camping is available, and most of the beach is only accessible to four-wheel-drive vehicles. All but four miles is open to vehicle traffic.
The national seashore is 70 miles long with 65.5 miles of Gulf beach. Padre Island National Seashore hosts a variety of pristine beach, dune, and tidal flat environments, including the Laguna Madre on its west coast, a famous spot for windsurfing.
A program to re-establish a nesting beach for Kemp’s ridley sea turtles on Padre Island was begun in 1978. In 1992, the first two turtles from the program returned to Padre Island beach to lay their eggs. The number of Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nests on Padre Island has increased ever since.
Due to the location of Padre Island National Seashore on the Central Flyway, a major migratory route for birds, about 380 species of birds have been documented within the park, which represents approximately 45% of all bird species documented within North America. The park was designated as a “Globally Important Bird Area” by the American Bird Conservancy in 1998 for providing an “important habitat for globally significant numbers of Brown Pelicans, Redheads, Least Terns, Piping Plovers, Reddish Egrets and Peregrine Falcons.
Crested Caracara at Padre Island National Seashore
Where it is:
The National Seashore is located on North Padre Island, southeast of the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. Visitors to the area should head east through Corpus Christi on Highway 358. After crossing the JFK Causeway onto Padre Island, Highway 358 changes to Park Road 22. Continue about 10 miles south on Park Road 22 to reach the park entrance. Park Road 22 – actually dead ends into the national park. The park entrance station is a booth that is located literally in the middle of the road. So once you get on Park Road 22, just keep going until you reach the end and the park entrance station.
Padre Island National Seashore and South Padre Island are two different places located over 100 miles apart. Sometimes Padre Island National Seashore is confused with South Padre Island, but the two are very different destinations.
Padre Island National Seashore
Maps:
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, click and drag the to move the map, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view.
GPS:
27.490931614693423, -97.2800124687446
Blue Heron Padre Island National Seashore
Cost:
Entrance Fees:
Padre Island Vehicle 7 Day Entrance Fee – $25.00
This fee provides entrance into the park for one private, standard passenger vehicle for up to 7 days. It covers all occupants of the vehicle.
Padre Island Vehicle 1 Day Entrance Fee – $10.00
This fee provides entrance into the park for one private, standard passenger vehicle for one day (not overnight). It covers all occupants of the vehicle.
Padre Island Bicycle/Pedestrian 7 Day Entrance Fee – $15.00
This fee provides entrance into the park for one pedestrian or one bicycle for up to 7 days.
Bird Island Basin Use Fee – $5.00
This fee provides for use of the Bird Island Basin area within Padre Island National Seashore for one day. It covers all occupants of one private, standard passenger vehicle. Bird Island Basin provides access to the Laguna Madre and has a boat ramp, windsurfing and kayaking area, and camping area. Please note this fee is in addition to the park entrance fee.
Padre Island Motorcycle 7 Day Entrance Fee – $20.00
This fee provides entrance into the park for one motorcycle for up to 7 days.
Padre Island Bicycle/Pedestrian 1 Day Entrance Fee – $5.00
This fee provides entrance into the park for one person on foot or on bicycle for 1 day.
Padre Island Motorcycle 1 Day Entrance Fee – $7.00
This fee provides entrance into the park for one motorcycle for 1 day.
Federal Interagency Passes are accepted for free entry.
Driving on the beach at Padre Island National Seashore
Hours:
The Padre Island National Seashore is open 24 per day 365 days a year.
Sandhill Cranes at Padre Island National Seashore
Malaquite Pavilion is the primary location for goods and services in the park. The Pavilion includes the Visitor Center, restrooms, cold-water showers, two observation decks, and an auditorium. The restrooms and cold-water showers at the Pavilion are open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week except when being cleaned from 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. daily. No pets are allowed at Malaquite Pavilion facilities. However, pet-friendly restrooms and rinse-off showers are located at the northern end of the Pavilion parking area.
Malaquite Visitor Center has an information desk, educational exhibits, a small bookstore and an ice machine. Visitors can watch orientation videos, get maps and brochures, check out binoculars and beach wheelchairs, and attend ranger programs. First aid is also available here.
Please note that firewood and fishing licenses are not sold in the park. The park does not have a gas station and is about 12 miles from the nearest one, so fill up before you visit. The park does not have a post office or sell stamps, and cannot mail items for visitors.
Only camping is available in the park. The nearest hotels and motels are about ten miles from the park.
All campgrounds are open year-round. No reservations are accepted, as camping is first-come, first-served. Campers, including beach campers, must have a camping permit, which is available from the kiosks at the entrances of each campground.
There are no RV hook-ups anywhere in the park, but an RV dump station and a water filling station are available for all campers staying in the park.
Padre Island National Seashore Photo Gallery
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More Photographic Destinations in Texas
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view. Click on a pushpin for more information about the Photographic Destination, then click on the title to go to the location page.
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Great Places for Great Photos
Let me help you to find a great location for your next photography adventure. I will list many lesser-known destinations, as well as the famous "Icon Locations" for photography. I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information, consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination. I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip. I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to ensure a quality guide to great locations for photography. If you know of great places that are not posted, please send me the details, I may just decide that is a place I need to go!
Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.
All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention, you need. Most classes and workshops are limited to a maximum of six participants and will be held with a minimum of only two.
If you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to get personal individual instruction, I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot, coming to your home or business, traveling across the country on a road trip, or at my classroom. This is a fantastic way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.
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