Padre Island National Seashore

My last trip to Padre Island National Seashore was two years ago when I picked up my Senior Pass. How time flies. It was a cloudy overcast day but you take what you can get.

Three different groups of people have lived on Padre Island....first the Coahuiltecans centuries ago in small settlements, then the Spanish Explorers during the 1600 and 1700's, and finally the Cattlemen used the land for grazing until the 1970s when oil was discovered.

Padre Island preserves the coastal prairie habitat along with the longest section of undeveloped barrier island in the world. It is comprised of grasslands, dunes, beaches, and scattered ephemeral marshes and ponds.

Once I checked into the National Seashore, my next stop was Bird Island Basin. What a surprise!

I thought there was only one campground in the seashore. There are no hookups but what a view.

Many people had a special reason for coming to this beach. They were here to windsurf or kayak on Laguna Madre. There is a rental shop if you need one. There are also primitive restrooms, no showers. Looks like a group of people taking lessons.

Success!

This is the campground I knew about. Again, there are no hook-ups so people have solar and generators for power. There were some open spots but there were quite a few campers with all different kinds of rigs.

Just in case you were wondering, there is lots going on at Padre.

You can also get a permit and camp right on the beach.

Lots of people fishing wherever you go.

Padre Island is also famous for Kemp's Ridley Turtles.

Right-of-way directions for driving on the beach.

There was an interesting poster on how debris ends up on the island. Looks like it comes from every direction.....

but there is regular clean-up in addition to special events.

This is the the staging area for the clean-up. There were lots of people there to help. I saw them bringing back trailers full of bagged debris.

This is the hub of activities here on the Seashore.

There are always birding tours going on, walks set up to learn about the beach, etc.

Fishing poles for the ocean are longer than other poles so people have unique ways to carry them.

So, even though it was a very overcast, slightly cool day, we enjoyed our time at the Padre Island National Seashore.