Padre Island National Seashore is the longest undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. Located along the South Texas coast in the Gulf of Mexico, it remains one of the few places left that provide an image of America as it appeared to American Indians and the earliest European explorers. This was our next stop on our journey to travel and live full-time in our Jeep Wrangler as we make the most of our dash.
Padre Island National Seashore, a unit of the National Park System and referred to by the locals a "PINS", is located in Corpus Christi, Texas. There is a park entrance fee which may be purchased online in advance or in person at the entrance station. 80% of the park fees paid stay with Padre Island National Seashore for maintenance and improvements. The remaining 20% goes to parks that do not collect entrance fees. For more information on the entrance fees, please see the park link below.
The park protects 66 miles of coastline, dunes, prairies, and wind tidal flats teeming with life. It is a safe nesting ground for the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle and a haven for over 380 bird species. We had thought of camping somewhere along the 60 mile stretch of beach in the southern portion of the park. After taking a short drive on the beach and considering the weather, we opted to postpone those plans. We opted to camp at the Malaquite Campground which is located in the park and has 48 campsites, paved parking, cold showers, flush toilets and a picnic table at each site. There are no reservations as this is a first come-first served campground. We picked our spot, completed our self registration and set-up our campsite.
We were having such a wonderful time, that we maxed out our stay at Padre Island National Seashore. Yes, we had some rainy and windy days, but we just took cover in our rooftop tent catching up on movies and shows while in our toasty sleeping bag waiting out the storms. All part of the lifestyle! Our stay at Malaquite Campground was coming to an end as we made our plans to drive the 60 miles south to the end of Padre Island National Seashore. But that will be a story for next time.
Keep making the most of the dash!
Links:
Padre Island National Seashore: www.nps.gov/pais/index.htm
Malaquite Campground: www.nps.gov/pais/planyourvisit/malaquite_campground.htm
Camping equipment we use: www.makethemostofthedash.com/camping-equipment
Jeep stuff we use: www.makethemostofthedash.com/jeep-stuff
Pet stuff we use for Moose: www.makethemostofthedash.com/pet-stuff