The Padre Island National Seashore is one of the great places of Texas. You can camp on North Beach for free (after paying a small vehicle fee) for up to 14 days. Showers and sundries are available at the Malaquite Beach Visitor Center, where all campers need to check in.
IMPORTANT:
4-Wheel drive only after mile marker 5.
Watch out for sea turtles in nesting season -- these are endangered animals and THE ANIMALS OR THEIR NESTS OR YOUNG MUST NOT BE DISTURBED. Contact a ranger or call the malaquite Beach Visitor center of you see sea turtles.
Do not go past MM 20 or so -- although it is possible to go all the way almost to Port Isabel, the further you go down the PINS the more likely you are to run into Mexican drug runners or human smugglers. The areas of the PINS closer to the Big and Little Shell beaches are perfectly safe, but beyond those areas, it is definitely travel at your own risk.
From the park website: (
visit link)
"North Beach
Fee: No fee is charged for use of this area.
Description: North Beach is the shoreline that runs along the northernmost section of the National Seashore, along the Gulf of Mexico. All camping in this area is primitive and open to RV and tent camping.
Amenities: There are no facilities and no designated sites. Flush toilets and cold-water rinse showers are available at the Malaquite Visitor Center, which are open every day and are only closed from 7:00-9:00 a.m. for cleaning.
Rules:
Campfires are permitted in fully contained barbecue grills or in a pit dug in the ground, unless there is a fire ban in effect. Bonfires are not permitted anywhere in the park. Remove any burned materials (Ex., charcoal) and pack them out with you.
Do not run generators between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
You may choose a location for camping, which is permitted from the park's northern boundary to the northern barricade of Closed Beach (about a 1 mile distance). Please park or set up camp park as close to the dunes as possible in order to avoid blocking traffic.
A camping permit is required and is available at the entrance to North Beach.
The beach is open to two-wheel-drive vehicles; however, beach conditions may vary with weather conditions and campers should always use caution to avoid becoming stuck in unexpectedly deep sand. Be aware that this stretch is often used by people traveling from the park to a nearby fishing pier (out of the park) and that there is a moderate safety risk because of the traffic flow.
Please note that a 14-day camping limit is in effect at all camping areas. At the end of 14 days, campers must vacate their site and leave the park for a minimum of 48 hours before returning to camp. The total number of days spent camping in the park should not exceed 56 calendar days per year, in any combination of visits or consecutive nights.
DID YOU KNOW??
Kemp's ridley sea turtles are both the smallest and the most endangered sea turtles in the world. Padre Island National Seashore is one of only a few places in the world where Kemp's ridley sea turtles come to nest.
The sea turtle science and recovery program at Padre Island National Seashore is a part of overall global efforts to help recover the populations of seven species of threatened and endangered sea turtles. Five of the world's seven sea turtle species are found in the Gulf of Mexico: leatherback, hawksbill, green, loggerhead and Kemp's ridley. Nests from all five species have been documented at Padre Island National Seashore. The National Seashore is the only location in Texas where nests from all five species have been documented. Park waters also provide important habitat for these species.
These magnificent marine animals, once abundant in the oceans, declined during the last century. Human development on turtle nesting beaches, harvesting of the eggs, slaughtering for food and consumer products, and incidental capturing by fisheries are to blame for dwindling turtle populations. Each of the five sea turtle species of the Gulf is now classified as either threatened or endangered and could become extinct unless steps are taken to protect and enhance its populations.
The Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore conducts an active science, conservation, and public education program on behalf of the five sea turtle species that occur at the park. This work is local, statewide, national, and international in scope, in partnership with numerous entities. This work receives extensive community support and media coverage.
The largest program conducted by this Division is the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Recovery Project. This program is long-term and involves many entities in the U.S. and Mexico.
Another large, long-term project is the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN). The Division participates in this network and the Division Chief is the Texas Coordinator of the STSSN. As Texas Coordinator, the Division Chief (with help of others in the Division) maintains the tally of sea turtles found stranded (washed ashore or floating, alive or dead) on the Texas coast. The Division Chief also maintains the tally of sea turtle nests found on the Texas coast and provides technical assistance and training to others working in the state with stranded and nesting turtles.
Division personnel have led or participated in several studies of sea turtles. Many of these studies have been collaborative with other researchers in the U.S. and Mexico. These studies have addressed priority items in the Recovery Plans for the various species and have produced information that has increased understanding of these species and aided with their conservation.
Division personnel led studies that utilized satellite telemetry to track the movements of nesting Kemp's ridley turtles, adult male Kemp's ridley turtles, juvenile green sea turtles,and adult green sea turtles. The green sea turtle tracking study was part of a larger study of the distribution, residency, and seasonal movements of green sea turtles in Texas, which also involved directed capture by research netting and examination of stranding data. They also participated in studies that used STSSN data to evaluate mortality.
Data continue to be gathered in collaboration with others on nesting and stranding trends in Texas, results of the imprinting and head-starting, life-history parameters for nesting turtles and nests, incubation temperatures and sex ratios, foraging ecology, genetics, and other topics."