Dry Camping on North Padre beach

Joebus · March 08, 2010, 07:53:57 AM

Has anyone stayed on the North Padre Island beach? I understand you need to purchase a pass($24. for a year). We are in Rockport, and our RV park time runs out on March 20th. We were think of staying in the area for a couple of weeks longer, and the beach looks good. Spring break will be over, so I thought we would like to try it. Comments/Concerns

wal1809 · March 08, 2010, 07:58:47 AM

Are you intending to take the bus on the beach? Are you intending to board the island at Port Isabel and go north from there?

rdbishop · March 08, 2010, 08:12:43 AM

Joebus,

How about Bob hall pier at Aransas Pass or Bob hall pier at Corpus Christi?

Richard

Joebus · March 08, 2010, 08:57:45 AM

We were thinking of taking the bus on the beach, our intention is to cross on the ferry @ Aransas pass (the ferry staff claimed the bus could go on the boat)

luvrbus · March 08, 2010, 09:07:47 AM

All 3 ferry's in Texas will take up to 65 ft Lynchburg,Bolivar, and Aransas and at no charge, there is a state park at the very end unless things have changed the park does not allow camping fwiw

good luck

johns4104s · March 08, 2010, 09:53:37 AM

Joebus,

We will be using the Port Aransas ferry on friday March 12th, and will be staying on the beach $22 per night until march 19th. Maybe we can hook up to at least a coffe? 409-886-4434

John

Joebus · March 08, 2010, 09:59:13 AM

Thanks John, I will call you next Monday, and we will get together for a coffee

jok · March 08, 2010, 10:04:51 AM

We stayed on North Padre Island three years ago with our 40' Prevost. We stayed at Malaquite Campground. It is right off the beach and just a short walk to the water.

http://www.nps.gov/pais/planyourvisit/malaquite_campground.htm

We took the ferry at Port Aransas with no problem, except for scarring the hell out of my wife. She was afraid the ferry was going to tip over. We drove the bus onto the ferry with the Suburban still hooked up. I enjoyed it.

John

Sean · March 08, 2010, 04:20:09 PM

We've been to North Padre twice. Both times, we walked or rode our scooters out onto the beach road (and yes, folks, you can drive right onto the sand and camp there), and determined it was too risky for our 48,000-lb bus.

On our second visit, fully-laden tractor-trailer rigs were running up and down the beach with no trouble (there are several commercial facilities within the Seashore boundary that can only be accessed this way). However, there is a short stretch of soft stuff between the end of the graded road, and the firm part of the beach (where the moisture content of the sand is high enough to support the traffic). For a tractor-trailer with high ground clearance and good, open-shoulder M&S-rated traction tires, this stretch is no problem with a running start.

We felt that our mere ~8" of ground clearance and unpowered singled tags made it very likely that we would sink far enough into the soft sand on this stretch to bottom out the rear frame, unload the drivers, and get us stuck -- right in the middle of the traffic lane. And that is despite the fact that we also have open-shoulder, M&S-rated traction tires on the drivers.

I'm pretty sure we could have made it across if we dropped the tire pressures down to 30psi and wet the soft section down with a sprayer and a garden hose. That would have at least gotten us onto the "road" part of the beach.

However, you can't camp on the firmer "road" part of the beach; for one thing, you'd be right in the traffic lanes, and for another, you'd be below the higher high tide line. So once you get to the part of the beach you want to camp on, you'll now need to turn inland for at least a couple dozen feet. Here the sand is very soft, and I was 100% certain that our bus would get stuck.

To be fair, we saw several class-A S&S rigs parked on the beach. But I used to have one of these, and I know that the pressures involved are not comparable; these things weigh a fraction of what a bus weighs. Furthermore, I'd have no qualms taking tires down to 20psi on those rigs, whereas 30 is about as low as I am comfortable going on the bus.

Both times, we ended up at our fall-back option, which was the Malaquite Campground, still within the park and just a few miles north of the beach access road. $8 a night for dry camping, with the beach a few steps away.

Bottom line: you might be able to do it, but have a backup plan, and don't count on it. Remember that your towing coverage (if any) such as Coach-Net, AAA, etc. does not cover rescuing you from the beach, and the NPS will NOT help you if you get stuck. Commercial wreckers will charge at least $1k to come get you; more if you are further down-island. Carry sand mats or ladders as a precaution; a shovel is mandatory.

Here are the rules for driving down island:
http://www.nps.gov/pais/planyourvisit/upload/Traveling%20Down%20Island.pdf

Camping on the beach is free, not $24. However, you must first pay to enter the National Park. $10 gets you admission for 7 days, an annual pass is $20. If you already have a National Parks Pass (or the senior or access versions thereof), that covers your entry.

Spring Break is a non-issue on North Padre; that's a South Padre thing. The day use area at the north end of the beach gets crowded during break weeks, and I would guess Malaquite fills up then, too, but this is not beer-bong/bikini central as happens in South Padre.

There is no problem whatsoever with the free ferry at Port Aransas. Yes, it will tilt as you drive aboard; first nose-up, then to whatever side you are on (unless they've loaded a semi on the other side; these ferries carry 80,000-lb trucks all the time).

Our blog posts from North Padre (with photos, and worth reading if you go):
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2005/01/we-are-at-north-end-of-padre-island-at.html
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2008/04/sticky-on-padre-island.html

Quote from: wal1809 on March 08, 2010, 07:58:47 AM
... Are you intending to board the island at Port Isabel and go north from there?

You can't get to North Padre from Port Isabel, which is on South Padre Island. There is a "pass" through the island in the middle which is impassable. Furthermore, I don't believe driving is allowed north from South Padre.

North Padre and South Padre are a long, long way from each other -- roughly 120-130 miles by paved road.

HTH,

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

luvrbus · March 08, 2010, 04:42:47 PM

Being from that area parking on the beach a piece of old carpet is your best friend if stuck in the sand.
Always park within 100ft of pavement and your towing service if Coach Net will cover you.
I got stuck on the beach last year from stupidity and found a piece of carpet and got out before Coach Net found a service and keep in mind wet sand is harder than dry sand

good luck

Dreamscape · March 08, 2010, 05:05:29 PM

"Wow, lots of answers to questions other than the one asked."

Have you ever seen a thread that didn't go that way! It's all good information anyway, don't be so picky.

Paul

traindriver · March 08, 2010, 05:23:25 PM

At Port Aransas there is a county camp ground that is next to the beach. Although you can camp on the beach there, with your bus being so heavy, you would probably be better in the campground. Not a very fancy place, but ok, and is within walking distance to the beach. I really like Port Aransas, my favorite place in Texas. Didn;t get to go this winter and I really missed the place.

Sean · March 08, 2010, 05:33:31 PM

Quote from: Dreamscape on March 08, 2010, 05:05:29 PM
Have you ever seen a thread that didn't go that way! It's all good information anyway, don't be so picky.

Oh, OK. I guess I'm overly sensitive about this, but, sheesh, it would be nice if folks at least wrote "sorry, I can't answer your question, but here's another suggestion" or some such before answering a completely different question (or asking an unrelated one of their own).

I'm removing the offending verbiage from my post...

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

Sean · March 08, 2010, 05:45:35 PM

Quote from: traindriver on March 08, 2010, 05:23:25 PM
At Port Aransas there is a county camp ground that is next to the beach. Although you can camp on the beach there, with your bus being so heavy, you would probably be better in the campground. Not a very fancy place, but ok, and is within walking distance to the beach. I really like Port Aransas, my favorite place in Texas. Didn;t get to go this winter and I really missed the place.

Port Aransas is a nice place, but it is not on Padre Island. It is on Mustang Island, one island to the north and separated by Packery Channel (historically, Newport Pass). AFAIK there is no free camping on Mustang Island as there is on Padre Island. FWIW.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com