Looking for Texas Gulf Coast Ideas

[Gkerlin]

After we leave Arizona (approx end of Feb) and start heading back to the East coast we are thinking of a detour down to the Texas Gulf coast.

Lets say South of Corpus Christi north of Brownsville. Padre Island (ish)

I'm looking for some ideas of great places to spend a week, or two, or three.

Some beachfront or near beach or not. It's all good.

We love boon docking and actually prefer that to RV parks but are open to anything.

So lets go texas MOC'rs... Give us some ideas for great places to spend some quality beach, palm tree'd tropical salt water time.

After months of boondocking in the Arizona desert we're gonna be looking to wash some sand out of our shorts... If I don't come up with something good Mama's gonna want to go home and I want to keep on trucking.

[helmick]

Greg
I think you can camp right on the sand by the beach on Mustang Island by Port Aransas.
Ron

[timandsusan]

I suggest that you check out the Texas beach sand. It is very fine. I grew up going to the coast (as we call it--Port Aransas) and the sand always got into the cars, truck and everywhere in between. I would think twice about pulling my Monty on the beach. I have also seen the waves break against the sand dunes in the spring. Yes, the water can do things that you might not expect.
Yes, you can drive easily--just pay attention to the soft spots and where you stop.

[Alwims]

We go over to Port Isabell on PI a lot and see 5th wheels on the beach all the time. They go in at Beach Access 5, I believe. We always go down to BA 6, but you need 4x4 to get to the beach and there is no way to pull a trailer into there. Honk your horn as you go past Donna.

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

If you decide to go on up the Texas coast after leaving the southern coastline, the Matagorda Bay Nature Park is a very nice place to stay. The park is right at the mouth of the Colorado River where it reaches the Gulf of Mexico, so many of the sites are on bank of the river. You're also just 1/8th mile from the Gulf of Mexico beach. The park and public areas, including the bathhouses, are very, very clean. The sites are paved and level, as well as being nice and wide. Each site has 30/50 amp service, water, sewer, grass, and a crushed granite picnic area with a table and two benches. If you go to the web site below, you can click on a site number and see a current photograph of that specific site. For example, click on #31, and you'll see our truck and rig. We are park hosting at that park through the end of February, but will probably stay an extra week because I have some medical appointments in Bay City scheduled through the first week of March.

Specific sites can be reserved in advance via ReserveAmerica online. However, if you decide on the spur of the moment to stay here, and need a spot that night or the next night, you have to call the park directly and make that reservation. If you want a reservation that falls more than 48 hours beyond your arrival, you do have to go through ReserveAmerica.

Look at the photo below my signature. The photo was taken last year, when we were guests staying in waterfront site #4. you can see our rig and a nice view of what a waterfront site looks like on the south side. You can also see one of the two lighted fishing piers we have.

Below is a rather lengthy web address that will take you directly to the Matagorda Bay Nature Park. If you decide to stay there, the south side of the park is the prettier place to stay (you'll be given a choice of south side or north side when you start looking at sites). However, if you want a pull-through site, you'll have to go to the north side because the pull-throughs are located there. None of the park is ugly--it's just that people seem to prefer the south side because all the sites do have grass; we're working to replant some dead areas on the north side, so some of the waterfront sites do have patches of dead grass around them.

http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/Matagorda_Bay_Nature_Park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=LCRA&parkId=8200 26&topTabIndex=CampingSpot

Carolyn
Park host, Matagorda Bay Nature Center RV Park, Matagorda TX

[Gkerlin]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Wayne an carolyn - I did some research and your park looks like it could fit the bill.

Looks like a nice place. Also looks like a fair amount of sites available. Are you usually full there or are there usually sites available?

Most shopping (food etc) can be done in Day City? Is there a maximum stay limit?

I'm thinking the end of Feb - beginning of march for a couple of weeks - perhaps longer if allowed.

Thanks again.

[Gkerlin]

Oh.. also - hows the Verizon Data signal? I work from my camper. And hows the water. There were some comments last year about needing to bring your own water.
Otherwise - I think we might have found a home on the Texas Gulf Coast!

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

We use Verizon and get great service here. The park's wifi service (free) has been iffy, but the LCRA--as I write this--is in the process of installing whatever it needs to get everyone in the park a good signal (relays, antennas, etc.). That work is supposed to be finished on March 1. In addition to using the park's wifi system, I have a Verizon HotSpot, too. You can always go to the Nature Center at the very south end of the park and use your computer in one of the classrooms there, where you will get a strong wifi connection.

There used to be a 2-week stay-in-one-spot limit, I think, but that doesn't appear to be the case now; I just now played around on the ReserveAmerica/Matagorda website, putting in some hypothetical 21 - 30 day stays, and I found sites available for that length of time. The waterfront sites, however, seemed to be reserved already. Just play around with your dates and the sites you might be interested in and see what's available.

Spaces have been available here most of the time between November and today, but I was told by the park management that we are nearly sold out for most of March, beginning on March 9th, because of the "spring break" weeks of various schools. If you look at that ReserveAmerica web site, you can access a link on this park's page that will show you all the available campsites for the weeks you want, but I think it shows only a 2-week list at a time. I also think if you make reservations now, you will be able to find a good spot for the end of February and during March, maybe not a waterfront spot, but something like the preferred spot we're in (31) which still faces the river. You'd have RVs in the waterfront spots between you and the river, but because the sites are fairly wide, you'd still get a decent river view. My first choices for a waterfront spot are always sites 4 - 13; the better "preferred" sites are 31 - 39, which face the river. Site 3, which is not technically a waterfront spot, has a nice view of the river, too; that spot, and sites 1 and 2, back up to a pond where several Giant Blue Herons hang out. If you look at the park map on the web site, you can see how the sites are laid out. The waterfront sites on the north side of the park are good, too. They just don't have much grass right now.

We drink and cook with bottled water or "Brita system" filtered water. Matagorda is an island, so there's no city water available, and the island's water doesn't taste good. It always has a faint yellow or green tinge to it--didn't kill me or make me sick when I drank it all last summer and for the first couple of weeks we were here this summer--but it doesn't taste very good. The Brita thing gives us clear, drinkable water.

Bay City, 26 miles down the road, is the nearest town for groceries or diesel. We shop at Walmart or at HEB (grocery store). Matagorda does have a fairly well-stocked convenience store, Stanley's, just 6 miles from the park, but prices there are a bit higher than they are in Bay City. Stanley's also has gas, but not diesel. One of the tiny convenience stores between here and Bay City advertises diesel, but we were told the sign is outdated and there is no diesel available, just gas. Because we go to Walmart frequently, we get fuel there, too; the prices are the best in town.

If you're here long enough to want to use a library, the Matagorda Elementary School has a small community library where you can get a free library card and check out books. Matagorda also has several good restaurants, the newest being Poco Playa. Riverbend Restaurant is also good. For "high dollar, fine dining," Spoonbill's offers very good food, too. For fast food or a pizza, you have to go to Bay City.

For current info on this park regarding length of stay, etc., call the park directly: 512-389-8900 and speak to Betsy, Rhonda, or April. I don't work in the office much, so I'm not up on all the latest changes in reservations and things.

We will probably be here through the first week of March, because I have some medical appointments in Bay City then. I hope we get to meet you!



Carolyn

[Gkerlin]

Great info. Thanks for the effort. I forgot about spring break so I'll want to be out of there by then.

Have to sit down and work up a schedule and see how things play out. If we do head there I'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks again for the info.

[Alwims]

Hmmm, spring break on the island. What a wonderful time to observe nature. OOPS, did I type that out loud? I will say, metal detecting is very interesting both during and after spring break.

[Champ_49]

quote:Originally posted by Alwims

Hmmm, spring break on the island. What a wonderful time to observe nature. OOPS, did I type that out loud? I will say, metal detecting is very interesting both during and after spring break.

I detect that