Texas, also known as lone star state, is the second-largest state by area and population in the US. The state is located in the South Central region of the US and has a population of approximately 29,183,290.
Texas is known as the lone star state because the name reminds the state of its struggle and its fight for independence from Mexico. The state is famous for many other reasons like its BBQ technique and unique meat cooking (mainly south Texas), live music, hot weather, and so much more.
As Texas shares its border with different seas and oceans along the gulf coast, most of the best Texas beaches have become favorite tourists spots for visitors all around the globe.
List of 9 Best Beaches in Texas to Visit
Here is a list of some of the best beaches in Texas and the prettiest beaches that people like to visit during summer.
1. Boca Chica Beach
Boca Chica Beach is wonderful and one of the best beaches in Texas. The beach is located near Mexico in the Boca Chica Village, and its address is 54299, Boca Chica Boulevard, Boca Chica Village, Cameron Country, Texas, 78521, US.
On the way to Boca Chica Beach, one can experience flowing dunes, wildlife, and the Space X Station. The beach gives a wonderful experience as both the Mexico Coastline and South Padre Island are visible from its shore.
The beach is very less crowded so you can easily enjoy your time with your partner and your family and your privacy will be maintained. The beach is a great fishing destination, so you can enjoy your time catching a good amount of fish for your family. You can also take your pet to the beach if you are ready to clean up after them.
You can spend your whole day on the beach as the beach is open 24/7 and enjoy swimming and fishing around without giving any charges, but you must provide $5 for parking your vehicle.
While enjoying yourself on the Boca Chica State Park, you must also take care of these things like you must not carry any glass items or you should not drive vehicles on the beach, also there are no restaurants, shops, or restrooms present on Boca Chica Beach.
2. Padre Island National Seashore
Padre Island National Seashore was established on September 28 1962 and is located at 20301 Park Rd. 22, Corpus Christi (a small town of Texas), TX 78418, US.
It is one of the very commonly visited and best beaches in Texas. The Gulf of Mexico is separated by the Laguna Madre (one of the few hypersaline lagoons in the world) due to Padre Island National Seashore as it is located between them.
The beach has 70 miles of coastline, dunes. Prairies wind tidal flats are glowing with life. The beach is a home for many wild animals like Kemp’s ridley sea turtle and has many bird sanctuaries nearby, taking care of over 380 bird species.
Padre Island National Seashore is the largest undeveloped barrier island globally, with an area of 130,000 acres of dunes, grasslands, and beaches.
This barrier island also has a rich history, including the Spanish Shipwrecks of 1554, considered the deadliest human disaster of that time. At the Padre Island National Seashore, you can enjoy the natural beauty of grasslands, experience different species of birds, enjoy baby sea turtles returning to the sea with their mothers.
This undeveloped island has protected nesting ground and helps you enjoy many adventurous sports like birding tours and off-roading on the beach with an entrance fee of only $10/day per vehicle. Although the beach is open 24/7, you’ll have to find a good restaurant as the beach has no restrooms.
3. South Padre Island
South Padre Island is also one of the best beaches in Texas and is named after Jose Nicolas Balli, a Catholic priest and settler. It is the cleanest beach in Texas, due to which it has become one of the best tourist attractions.
The water here is spotless, and the waves are big and awesome, making it the most visited surfside beach in Texas. South Padre Island is a bustling and crowded island, and the temperature there is often humid, and the days are sunny.
Many hotels and public places near the beach serve good foods and are not much costly to rent. South Padre Island is one of the longest, cleanest, and most user-friendly islands that allow you to bring your pets, including dogs, and to have the fun of horseback riding.
4. Mustang Island
Mustang Island, also known as Mustang Island state park, is one of the best beaches in Texas and tourist attractions in Corpus Christi.
It is located between the Gulf of Mexico and Corpus Christi Bay, with the Gulf of Mexico on East and South and Corpus Christi Bay on North and West. The maximum length of Mustang Island is 38.6 km, and its highest elevation point is 3ft (0.9m).
The beach is open daily from 8 AM to 5 PM, and the entrance fee for adults is $5 daily, and for children under the age of 12 years, the entrance fee is free.
At mustang island state park, you can experience camping, picnic, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, and bird watching. Mustang Island has some of the best shallow-water fishing areas in Texas.
Mustang Island also has food stores that sell drinks, snacks, and gift items.
5. Rockport Beach
Rockport beach is the first blue wave beach of Texas which also is the reason for getting the most attraction by the tourists. The beach is also one of the best beaches in Texas and is located at 210 Seabreeze Dr, Rockport, TX 78382, US.
Apart from being the blue wave beach, Rockport beach is also a bird sanctuary where you can experience many different species of birds and enjoy bird watching.
The beach also has several playgrounds (mainly for smaller children), volleyball courts, and picnic tables with different picnic tables and barbeque grills that obey the first-come, first-serve policy.
In Rockport beach, you can experience fishing, water skiing, jet skiing, sail boating, surfing (a surfside beach), and many other adventures activities during summer.
However, there are many strict rules that the visitors have to follow in Rockport beach like no littering, no glass containers, no animals, no overnight camping, fires in the BBQ pits only, no fireworks, and driving the vehicles on the beach is also forbidden.
6. Crystal Beach
Crystal Beach is one of the best beaches in Texas, and the atmosphere there is perfect in summer. The beach is not at all crowded, which means you have lots of room for your privacy.
The water of the beach is also obvious, and the shore has good amounts of seashells. Crystal beach also has different sand sculptures and public showers and bathrooms located one or two blocks away from the beach.
Unlike all the beaches, the water of Crystal beach is not suitable for swimming as the water and the sand at some places of the beach is brown. Despite the watercolor, the beach is lovely and is great for walking and cycling.
In Crystal beach, you can leave your child alone for playing in the sand as the beach is very less crowded, but you have to be careful about the venomous snakes and the stings of jellyfishes that get washed up to the shore.
7. South Packery Channel Beach
South Packery Channel Beach, also known as South Packery Jetty Beach, is one of the best beaches in Texas and is located in Corpus Christi, a city of Texas.
The beach divides Mustang Island and Padre Island and is often less crowded than other nearby beaches like North Packery Beach. Due to less crowd on the beach, the beach environment is very relaxing and helps the people enjoy the serenity of the beach.
On South Packery Channel Beach, you can enjoy fishing, swimming, and building sandcastles. There are many favorite saltwater fishing spots on the beach to catch Trout, Kingfish, Grouper, and even Tarpon.
The beach also has a playground for children, and as it is very less crowded so small children can easily roam anywhere around the beach. There are many hotels and restaurants in beach towns which serve good foods.
South Packery Channel Beach is open 24/7 and 365 days a year with no entrance fee, but you must pay the parking fee if you want to park your vehicle on the beach, and the beach has no public restrooms.
8. McGee Beach
McGee Beach is located on Corpus Christi bay and is one of the best beaches in Texas.
The beach does not contain any seaweeds, and the water there is obvious and perfect for swimming. The beach is immaculate, and the sand is manicured. The water on the beach is very calm, perfect for fishing, and the area around the beach is very peaceful and nice.
The restaurants near the beach provide cheap rentals and serve good foods. Driving vehicles on the beach is not allowed, and the beach is very less crowded and full of all the facilities.
This Texas beach is open 24/7 and 365 days a year with no entrance fee. There is free parking for vehicles on the beach, and the beach also has public restrooms.
9. San Jose Island
San Jose Island is a barrier island located in Corpus Christi along the Texas Gulf Coast of Texas and is extended through Galveston bay.
San Jose Island is 21 miles long and 5 miles wide and is also known as Saint Joseph Island.
On July 26, 1845, Lt. Chandles of the USS Alabama hoisted the first American flag over Texas, planted on the golden sand of the sandy shores in San Jose Island. It is often believed that the island has hidden treasures and secrets that are dated back to the 1500s.
On August 26, this island was most affected by Hurricane Harvey as the hurricane caused major landslides on many areas of the island.
The beach’s sandy shore is tranquil, and the water there is spotless and cool, but the beach has no bathrooms. In summer, the temperature there becomes too high, and the sun shines very brightly, so you need to keep a lot of water, sunscreen, a hat, a beach chair, and an umbrella with you.
You also need to be very careful as the beach has many venomous snakes and crabs below its sand. The water from the sea brings many seashells to the shore, including some of the debris.
There are many beachfront restaurants and beach cabins that give a good view of the dolphins present in the bay, and you can also experience the calmness of the restaurants.
Despite this, many more tourists places like Magnolia Beach, Isla Blanca Park, Aransas Bay, Port Aransas Beach, North Padre Island, Galveston Island, East Beach, Stewart Beach, Bolivar Peninsula, North Beach, Matagorda Bay Nature Park, and many other white sand beaches.
These beaches along the Texas coast are heaven for beachgoers and nature lovers. If you want to take your family on a beach vacation, beaches like Magnolia beach, Stewart Beach, and Bolivar Peninsula are the best holiday destinations.
Some of these beaches also provide horseback riding and have a small beach town that is very caring and helpful towards their guests. These Texas beaches become more beautiful during the spring break season and attract more tourists around the globe.
Many of these Texas beaches are surfside beaches, i.e., they allow the visitors to enjoy surfing as the waves on this surfside beach are very decent. The surfside beach is full of surfers during the spring break due to their attractive waves and beauty.
If you want to visit the best beaches in Texas, then this list could be a piece of excellent advice to enjoy your beachside vacation.
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