Padre Island National Seashore encompasses 133,000 acres of America’s vanishing barrier islands. It is the longest section of undeveloped barrier island in the world, protecting rare coastal prairie; a complex, dynamic dune system; and the Laguna Madre, one of the few hypersaline lagoon environments left in the world. The National Seashore and surrounding waters provide important habitat for marine and terrestrial plants and animals, including a number of rare, threatened and endangered species. White sand beaches, interior grasslands, ephemeral ponds and the Laguna Madre provide habitat for coyotes, waterfowl, reptiles and amphibians, nesting sea turtles, ground squirrels and snakes. While providing food, water and shelter for a multitude of diverse wildlife, the island remains a mecca for tourists. From sun bathing to wind surfing to fishing, the island provides recreational opportunities for everyone needing to feel the wind in their faces and the surf on their feet.
Situated along the Central Flyway, Padre Island is a globally important area for over 350 migratory, overwintering and resident bird species. The National Seashore’s remote location also makes it one of the few places where the public can find quiet and solitude relatively near a major urban area and where one can observe the night sky with minimal interference from light pollution. The National Seashore is also one of the few places the public can go to see sea turtle hatchlings being released into the wild.
History & Culture
For almost its entire existence, Padre Island has been wilderness. The first permanent settlement on the island was established around 1804 near the island’s southern tip by a Spanish priest named Padre Nicolas Balli. Prior to then, the only people known to have come to the island were nomadic native Americans, Spanish troops or ships searching for evidence of English or French incursion into their territory and the survivors of three ships wrecked on the shore in 1554. From 1804 to the opening of the National Seashore in 1970, the island was used almost solely for ranching. The exceptions were the development of tourism industry (including the development of the town of South Padre Island and the National Seashore) beginning in the early 1920′s and the period from the Second World War to 1960, when a Navy bombing range existed on the northern section of the island.
Four nations have owned Padre Island at different times. The first was Spain, which owned Padre Island from its entry into the New World until the Mexican Revolution of 1820. The second was Mexico, which owned Padre Island from 1821 until 1836, when the newly formed Republic of Texas claimed the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. The Republic of Texas owned Padre Island until the War with Mexico of 1845-1848, when its territory was acquired by the United States. Throughout these times, the island has been known by several names, with Padre Island being only the most recent. It has also been known as la Island Blanca (White Island) and Isla de los Malaguitas (Island of the Malaquites–a native American people) among others.
Because the National Seashore endeavors to preserve Padre Island in its natural state, visiting the island is very much like stepping back into the past. With few exceptions, visitors can now see Padre Island as it has existed throughout most of its history and how it is described in the few extant descriptions by the early explorers.
Nature & Science
Geology
The Padre Island National Seashore is mostly prairie/grasslands with ephemeral marshes and ponds bordered on the east by the Gulf of Mexico and on the west by the Laguna Madre. The highest elevation is approximately fifty feet. The National Seashore is 70 miles long with 65.5 miles of Gulf beach. Most of the seashore is accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicle. The Gulf beach is composed of white sand and is less than a hundred feet wide, Much of it is firmly packed, except for a stretch of about forty miles which becomes increasingly soft towards the center and is composed to a large degree of shells.
Bordering the beach is a narrow dune ridge running throughout the park and almost the length of the entire island. Sometimes natural or unnatural forces create breaches in the dune ridge and sand blows through creating “blowout” dunes, which may drift across the island at the rate of as much as 35 feet per year until they become vegetated. Sometimes dune fields form covering many acres.
Ecology
Most of the animals found on Padre Island will be those normally associated with grasslands and the seashore. There are many species of rodents to feed on the native grasses. To feed on the rodents are coyotes, snakes and many species of birds. Deer are often seen, but these usually wade across from the mainland and are not native. The island’s largest native mammal is the coyote. Other mammals include badger, raccoon, opossum, kangaroo rat, bats and spotted ground squirrel. The island has three poisonous snakes: the western diamondback, the massasagua and the Texas coral snake. Copperheads and cottonmouths are not known to be on the island. There are many non-venomous snakes, but few snakes are encountered by the public.
The island is located on a major avian migratory route known as the Central Flyway. As a result, many birds come here to winter, to breed, or to simply pass over in transit. Including native, non-migratory species the National Seashore has documented over 350 species of birds in its boundaries. The meeting of two longshore currents near the center of the island brings many nutrients to this area and consequently many fish. Marine mammals have stranded here in the past. Four species of sea turtle have been documented as nesting here.
Padre Island supports 75 plant families composed of almost 400 species.
Recreation
The major recreational activities at Padre Island National Seashore are fishing, camping and windsurfing. The Bird Island Basin area on the Laguna Madre is one of the top spots in the nation for windsurfing because of its steady wind, warm water and shallow depths. Bird Island Basin has a boat-launching ramp for fishermen.
Getting There
By Plane
The nearest major airport is Corpus Christi International Airport. It is approximately 43 miles away.
By Car
The seashore is located southeast of the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. Visitors to Corpus Christi should head East through the city on South Padre Island Drive (Highway 358). after crossing the JFK Causeway and the bridge onto Padre Island, continue about 10 miles south on Park Road 22. The physical address for the Malaquite Visitor Center is 20402 Park Road 22, Corpus Christi, TX 78418.
Note:The park is on North Padre Island. South Padre Island is approximately another three hours south via Highway 77.
Traveler Facts
Contact Information
Padre Island National Seashore
Malaquite Visitor Center
PO Box 181300
Corpus Christi, TX 78480-1300
Phone: 361-949-8173 (Headquarters)
Phone: 361-949-8068 (Visitor Information)
Phone: 361-949-8175 (Weather)
Fax: 361-949-8023
Operating Hours & Seasons
The Padre Island National Seashore is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The visitor center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., during the winter. Summer hours are extended to 6:00 p.m.. The visitors center is closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Weather/Climate
The gulf shore is usually hot and humid. Shorts, tee-shirts and a hat are recommended. During the heat of the summer, sunscreen is highly recommended. Footwear on the beach is recommended due to the intense heat of the sand. Plenty of drinking water is always recommended.
Winters are usually mild with daytime temperatures ranging between 50-70 degrees F. Nighttime temperatures are usually 20 degress cooler, but very rarely does the temperature drop to freezing. Only a few days may reach into the 30′s. Christmases or New Year’s Days with clear, blue skies and temperatures in the 70′s are not unusual.
Windsurfing weather: March, April and May average 75% of days with winds over 15mph with frontal passages bringing much higher winds 2-3 days per week. From late May to late July there are consistent thermal winds usually increasing to 12-20 mph in the afternoons.
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