Padre Island National Seashore is a park in Texas, United States of America. Located along the south Texas coast, Padre Island National Seashore protects the longest undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. Here, you can enjoy of sandy beaches, wind-carved dunes, vast grasslands, fragile tidal flats, and warm, nearshore waters.
Padre Island has remained a wilderness for most of its existence. From the time of the earliest Amerindians to the present day, development has never really touched the barrier island, except within the last 100 years. The island has been claimed by four flags: Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, and the United States. The island's grasslands made it a very popular grazing ground for local ranchers.
In 1962, the federal government set aside a 70 mile length of the barrier island as a protected area, especially for rare species such as Kemp's ridley sea turtle, one of the rarest sea turtle species in the world.
From Corpus Christi, take the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway to Padre Island and then follow Texas Park Road 22 south to the park entrance.
The park entrance fee is $10 per vehicle. An annual park pass may be obtained for $20, and is valid for a year after the day of purchase. Please note that this is a pass to Padre Island National Seashore only.
Note that no reservations are taken for camping. Call Malaquite Visitor Center at +1 361 949-8068 to check on availability in the campgrounds. Space is almost always available on the beaches, unless they are closed due to unusually high tides.
2nd-order administrative division
Primary administrative division