Texas Beaches
 

I've read several of the threads on Texas beaches, and I'm aware that they don't compare to beaches in the Caribbean. However, as a new resident of San Antonio, I'd like to check out at least one of the beaches this summer. I've heard that South Padre is the best, but am wondering about places like Rockport and Port Aransas. How do these compare to beaches in Florida or North Carolina?

Thanks! :)

There's no comparison to Florida beaches, but Port Aransas is a nice little town with great surf and some pretty good restaurants as well.

South Padre is indeed the nicest of the beaches, and there is a Schlitterbahn there, so you'd probably want to go there.

You may want to experience some of the inland lakes and rivers in Hill Country, there's nothing in Florida like that. Try tubing down the crystal clear and cold Guadalupe River or swimming in Barton Springs or Hamilton Pool in Austin.

IMHO the lure of Texas is in the inland lakes and rivers not the Gulf.

For the most part, Texas beaches are not pretty. The water tends to look brown and murky from all the sediment in the water. We still go to Galveston all the time and have a blast. You can get good food, shop on the Strand, hit the beach, go to Moody Gardens, and tour all the old historical homes like Bishop's Palace. If you're just looking for a nice beach, I'd go to Padre.

Agree. South Padre definitely the nicest, with North Padre second. South Padre lures more tourists, but Port Aransas is a nice town. Galveston definitely has its attractions as mentioned, but it's more the town rather than the beach.

My parents are winter Texans on Galveston Island. We have been there at least 12 times and love it. Agreed; the water is not a lovely shade of blue...but there are seashells to find, historical homes to tour, fun shops and great seafood.
We like Benno's, Miller's, Willie G.'s, LaCroix and my favorite is the Stingaree restaurant out on Crystal Beach/Port Bolivar. I am not sure what kind of shape it is in since the hurricane, though. :(

We also like the Mosquito Cafe, Saltwater Grill, Fish Tales for poboys, and The Spot for burgers. You definitely don't go hungry in Galveston!

Is Padre still a big Spring Break hangout? That's where we used to go when I was in college.

Thanks for the responses! Sounds like S. Padre is what we're looking for, and I'd like to go there for a long weekend sometime. There are so many places I want to go...I haven't even been to Austin yet!

Another vote for South Padre--the extra drive time is worth it, imo. There's a border patrol station you may be directed to stop at on the way home, just be aware.

We went to Mustang Island on occassion, I do think the area is pretty in its own way, but the water is murky and, although its been a few years since we last were there, I have to assume the tar / oil can still be found in the water and sand which ends up stuck to the bottom of your feet, shoes and on your bathing suit. The sand at South Padre is so soft and fine in some areas and the water much clearer.

Well, Austin is wonderful and so close to you. You should definitely check it out. Our favorite spot is The Oasis - great place to have a margarita and watch the sun set over the lake. If you want good BBQ, check out the Salt Lick in Driftwood - it's very Texas.

AnnMarie_C-- What do they require at the border patrol station? Any kind of ID or do they specifically ask for a passport? Our little kiddo doesn't have a passport yet.

Not sure exactly what border patrol station AnnMarie is referring to, but if you don't leave Texas and go into Mexico, you shouldn't have to worry about passport.

I like to be prepared for all contingencies. So, just to be on the safe side, I'd have a birth certificate for your little one. Have a great trip to the gulf and get to Austin when you can!

dfr, it's on the road driving out of Harligen, even past Raymondville perhaps on RT 77 toward Corpus. There are no requirements--it's a stop and search only for, I suspect, drugs and illegals. Also drove through one in Arizona. They are simply stations set up on the side of the freeway, like a truck weigh station. If it's open you have to stop. Have only had them peek inside our car to greet us and then wave us on. Simply wanted to make siena aware as I didn't know they existed the first time we encountered one.

AnnMarie - thanks for the heads up. Hadn't enountered one of those before.

I panicked the first time we came upon one thinking we needed some sort of paper work--I remember rifling through the glove compartment for the registration but nothing was needed. Who knew? We didn't! :-)

To clarify, the border patrol station is called a checkpoint...

http://preview.tinyurl.com/kr5q6z

Thanks for the info! I had no clue these checkpoints even existed.

The Sarita checkpoint finds thousands of pounds of drugs each year. It is south of Kingsville on 77 a few miles. North Padre Island also offers the Padre Island National Seashore which extends for miles of undeveloped beach. This beach is not like Florida or the Caribbean but is very rustic. The sand in our water here makes the surf look brown but it is not "dirty". Corpus Christi can be very enjoyable

My opinion is to spend time at the lakes and rivers in central texas. Tubing is great fun! Agree with bvluvsnola above. No comparison to Florida beaches...

Any recommendations regarding lakes or rivers near San Antonio? We have a 2 year old, so we'd be looking for something calm.

Have you checked our Schlitterbahn? It's a neat water park in New Braunfels, not far from San Antonio. We have friends that live there; they have a kids' play area and rides that are fed by the river. I'd check ahead of time to see if there are things appropriate for a 2-year old. Gruene is a great little town not far from you; they also have tubing on the river; you'd have to check on the water levels, but I assume it's not running too fast and furious given the lack of rain.

siena, it's been years but at one time we frequented Medina and Canyon Lakes. Medina's water levels are greatly affected by drought as well as the dam that supplies water to the farms below (Castroville area).

http://www.edwardsaquifer.net/medina.html

You are surrounded by a lot of area lakes--Calavares and Braunig are two others off the top of my head. We don't have children so they may not be what you're looking for but at least it's something to go by.

Oh, hey, check out the wave pool at Sea World! :-)

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into Gruene and the other lakes mentioned. I think an area where we could wade would probably work better than tubing...at least for the next few years!

siena, a friend of mine with two young boys was looking at the San Marcos River; she hasn't gone yet, so I can't give you any more details, but she's heard good things, so you might look into it. She said she thought it was fairly calm compared to some of the other rivers.

I agree. I would never take my two year old tubing. I think really age 10-12 and up. I do think you would have a blast at Schlitterbahn. You can call central reservations and get a condo whith river access and wade in the river without tubing. Or even better the Hyatt Hill Country (San Antonio) is great for kids. It certainly is not a gulf beach, but we have been 6-8 times over the past 5 years & every time I have taken the kids they don't even want to go to Seaworld which is across the street. They just want to stay at the resort. No lines, great place for all to nap when you get tired in the afternoon. If you can get the Regency Club it is nice. They serve a continetal breakfast and fruit and nuts and drinks you can take to the pool with you. Then the have snacks through out the day, happy hour food & the best is the deserts in the evening. we went Springbreak & even got a deal with breakfast for 4 included with the room. They are completely set up for families with the lazy river and a beach (for little ones... 2-6) with a fire pit in the evening & they make s'mores, a great lawn to just run play, they have a kid movie at night many times in the lawn and you can bring a blanket and they show some g rated movie at dusk, you can borrow one of their bicyles of all sizes and ride the area. My daughter even did Camp Hyatt once and loved it! I know it looks high end as far as prices, but trust me you will not regret it!

While Texas beaches don't compare to Florida or the Carribean, I've always found them, at least Port Aransas, Galveston and Padre clean and fun even though the water is not blue. One can lay out on the beach, go swimming or eat great food and shop.

siena1,

I would suggest Hamilton Pool in Austin. It's a natural spring fed pool. Leave early in the morning from SA and get there by opening time (I think 10AM?). The beach area is great fun for a 2 year old, the water is crystal clear and calm, and the scenery is fantastic. Also, there are shady areas which would be good when y'all had too much sun.

Also, TX beaches are a lot of fun. Plenty of sand, surf, and sun to be had by all, with great seafood to boot. Don't expect Florida and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

However, going to central TX lakes should definitely be high on your priority list.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! My list of things I want to do in Texas is growing!

We're hoping to head up to Austin sometime in the next few weeks, so I'll definitely keep Hamilton Pool in mind.

The central TX lakes suggestions are good, but with the drought many are down to record (or close to it) lows. So just check ahead of time. Places like Barton Springs and Hamilton Pool should be OK.

dfr4848 is right. The lakes are so low, the experience may not be as enjoyable right now. Barton Springs and Hamilton Pool (I just went to both in the past couple of weeks) are both always filled up!

Siena, the following link came to me in an email this morning--thought of you and your quest.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/fdh5b

Thank you to everyone! We're tentively planning a trip to South Padre in November and hope to see Austin sometime this summer. We'll probably wait on the lakes until the water level is higher and our kiddo is a little older.

There are so many interesting places in TX, it's hard to know where to begin! We drove to Bandera yesterday, and we really enjoyed the beautiful drive from SA.

Next time you head to Bandera, consider driving a tad further to Lost Maples State Park,

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/f...s/lost_maples/

In the fall you'll see "leaf reports" either on the news or in the local paper. Beautiful place for a hike, walk.

For your SP island trip, try early November, as the water should still be swimmable, but by late November it won't be.

I've swam in Lake Travis in November, but only early, not late.

For some reason, I haven't been that impressed with Port Aransas. It seems like most of the hotels are not actually on the beach, but instead "a short walk to the beach". I don't know why... We did find one place on the beach, but it was full of roaches. If anyone has any ideas on beachfront places to stay in Port A or any Texas beaches, I would love to see them here. Otherwise we are thinking of checking out Galveston and Crystal Beach.. anyone have comments? Personally I am leery of Padre since that was overrun by teenage partiers the last time I was there. Not too family friendly. Perhaps I stayed at the wrong place there as well...

In Port A, I like Port Royal Ocean Resort - it's a great family location on the beach. Tripadvisor has mixed reviews, which include comments about roaches. I haven't experienced any issues with roaches although I think that there is a decent roach population along much of the Texas shoreline for some reason. I'm not sure that hotel selection is going to matter too much there. But where I have seen them, they haven't been overrunning a place either.

By "a short walk to the beach," sometimes this just means a walk across the protective sand dunes. Texas beaches are different than CA, FL, HI, etc. because of the protective sand dunes...You cannot build on the ocean side of the dunes.

Galveston is my least favorite beach...It's a great town, but the beach seems to be where a lot of trash dumped in the gulf lands on shore...covered in barnacles...I don't know what it is about barnacles that makes my skin crawl...Others love Galveston though....

I don't know anything about Crystal Beach.

By Padre, I presume that you mean South Padre. ("Padre" can refer to a very long section of the coast stretching from Corpus Christi (North Padre) all the way to South Padre.) If you went to South Padre during spring break, then you just went at the wrong time. It is overrun by Spring Breakers during the spring. At all other times that I've been, it's proven to be a great family destination. It is the most beautiful of all the Texas beaches in my opinion (still not comparable to FL, CA, HI, Mexico), but it's a very long drive. There are a lot of hotel options on South Padre. I'm afraid that there are roaches this far south, too.

Really, the Texas coast is so expansive, that if it is sand and water you are looking for, you can easily get away from any crowds by heading to a less crowded section of beach. In North Padre, you can drive on the beach (need to get a permit at a gas station or souvenir shop)...but if you go too far, it starts to get trashy and a little weird where you come across rusted out vehicles/small campers that seem to be serving as permanent homes on the beach.

You can drive on the beach in parts of South Padre, too...But it's easier to get stuck in the sand there.

Whichever location you decide, check for jellyfish/Portuguese Man-of-War conditions. I seem to always hit the beach when there are tons of Portuguese Man-of-War in the area...and I've been stung once.

Some beaches also have a lot of tar...I experienced that more in the remote beaches around South Padre...

Just to fill in on mrk's comments (with which I agree) - need to really check updates on places in/near Crystal Beach. That area was really devasted by Hurricane Ike and from everything I've read and heard has been very slow to recover. Otherwise, it's fairly remote and quiet (one road in or take the free ferry from Galveston), which may or may not appeal to you.