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.
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.
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
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.
Hours:
The Padre Island National Seashore is open 24 per day 365 days a year.
Padre Island National Seashore Photo Gallery
Click Here for full page gallery
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.
Click Here for Photographic Destinations by State
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