The official links, all in one place
Fees, permits, hotlines, tides, ferry waits, and storm prep — every authoritative source for the Coastal Bend, so you can verify anything in this guide straight from the horse's mouth.
Prices change, piers close, storms reroute ferries. This page exists so you never have to trust a blog post (including this one) for anything that matters — bookmark it and go straight to the source.
Beaches, parks & permits
Two systems, two payments: the National Seashore charges a federal entrance fee, while the city and county Gulf beaches use an inexpensive annual parking permit.
Padre Island National Seashore
National Park Service
The 70-mile protected seashore. Entrance runs $25 per vehicle for 7 days, $45 for an annual pass (2026 rates); America the Beautiful passes cover it.
(361) 949-8068
PINS fees & passes
National Park Service
The current fee schedule for vehicles, motorcycles, camping, and annual passes — check here rather than trusting any cached number.
Driving down island
National Park Service
Beach-driving rules and current sand conditions. 2WD is fine to mile 5 of South Beach; past that it's high-clearance 4WD only, and the park won't tow you.
Beach parking permits
City of Corpus Christi
$12 for the calendar year (2026), honored on participating Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, and Nueces County beaches. Sold at H-E-B, Stripes, Circle K, Padre Balli Park, and City Hall.
Padre Balli Park & Bob Hall Pier
Nueces County Coastal Parks
The county beach park behind Bob Hall Pier, which reopened in February 2026 after its post-Hanna rebuild. Beachfront RV and tent camping too.
(361) 949-8121
Mustang Island State Park
Texas Parks & Wildlife
Five-plus miles of Gulf beach with reservable campsites and hot showers. Day use is $7 per adult, kids 12 and under free (2026). Reserve via texasstateparks.reserveamerica.com.
(361) 749-5246
Port Aransas beach parking permit
City of Port Aransas
Port A's own $12 annual permit, sold at City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce, and local stores. Free parking zones sit between the jetties and Horace Caldwell Pier.
Sea turtles, birds & the wild coast
The hotline that announces hatchling releases, the number to call if you find a nesting turtle, and the refuges where the rarest birds winter.
Hatchling release schedule
National Park Service
The official page for the summer Kemp's ridley releases at Malaquite Beach — typically mid-June through August, around 6:45 a.m., confirmed only a day ahead.
The Hatchling Hotline
National Park Service
A recorded line updated when a release is confirmed for the next morning. Call the evening before; no release is ever guaranteed.
(361) 949-7163
Report a sea turtle sighting
National Park Service
See a nesting turtle, tracks, or a stranded hatchling anywhere on the Texas coast? Call the sea turtle line so biologists can respond.
1-866-887-8535
Padre Island NS on Facebook
National Park Service
Where the park posts release announcements and morning-of updates, alongside the hotline and webpage.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Winter home of the last wild migratory flock of whooping cranes, roughly November into spring — see them from the observation tower or a boat tour.
Texas Beach Watch
Texas General Land Office
Weekly bacteria monitoring for every area beach, with advisories when levels spike — worth a glance after heavy rain.
The water, right now
The Coastal Bend runs on wind and tide. These are the live, official readings — no app subscription required.
Tide predictions — Bob Hall Pier
NOAA Tides & Currents
NOAA's tide tables for the North Padre Gulf beach (station 8775870) — the check before camping, shelling, or driving down island.
Live water levels — Port Aransas
NOAA Tides & Currents
The area's active real-time gauge (station 8775237): observed water level versus prediction, wind, and water temperature.
Beach & rip current forecast
National Weather Service
Daily surf heights, rip current risk, and beach weather for Corpus Christi, Padre, and Mustang Island from the local forecast office.
NWS Corpus Christi
National Weather Service
The forecast office for the entire Coastal Bend — forecasts, radar, and watches and warnings straight from the source.
Rip current safety
National Weather Service
How to spot a rip and what to do if one grabs you: don't fight it — swim parallel to shore until you're free.
Licenses, limits & trail maps
Texas Parks & Wildlife runs it all — the license you need, the limits that change yearly, and the mapped paddling trails.
Buy a Texas fishing license
Texas Parks & Wildlife
The official online license store. Resident saltwater package $35, all-water $40 (2026 rates); everyone 17+ needs their own, even on a charter.
Licenses & packages explained
Texas Parks & Wildlife
The Outdoor Annual's rundown of endorsements, tags, and current bag and length limits — flounder and snapper rules change every year.
Free fishing in state parks
Texas Parks & Wildlife
Inside a Texas State Park — including the surf at Mustang Island SP — nobody needs a fishing license. Limits still apply.
Mustang Island Paddling Trail
Texas Parks & Wildlife
Official maps and GPS points for the ~20 miles of marked back-bay trails: North Trail, Shamrock Loop, and Ashum Trail.
All coastal paddling trails
Texas Parks & Wildlife
The statewide coastal trail list, including the legendary Lighthouse Lakes mangrove loops near Aransas Pass.
Annual events, official sites
Dates move every year — these are the organizers' own pages, so you're never planning around a stale blog post.
Whooping Crane Festival
Port Aransas Chamber
February birding festival timed to the cranes' winter stay at Aransas NWR — boat tours, workshops, and registration.
Texas SandFest
Texas SandFest (nonprofit)
The largest native-sand sculpture competition in the U.S., held on the Port Aransas beach each April.
Buc Days
Buccaneer Commission
Corpus Christi's spring festival since 1938 — carnival, PRCA rodeo, illuminated night parade, and concerts.
Beach to Bay Relay Marathon
Beach to Bay
The country's largest relay marathon, run each May from the Padre Island surf to the downtown bayfront.
Texas Jazz Festival
Texas Jazz Festival Society
Three free days of jazz at Heritage Park each October — the longest continuously running free jazz festival in the country.
Merry Days by the Bay
Visit Corpus Christi
The bayfront holiday season — tree lighting, the illuminated boat parade, and downtown's Harbor Lights tradition, gathered in one official calendar.
Ferries, waits & the drive
One free 24/7 ferry, one causeway, and a lot of summer weekend traffic — here's how to see the wait before you're in it.
Port Aransas ferry
Texas Department of Transportation
The free state ferry across the ship channel — cars and pedestrians, 24 hours a day, weather permitting. Crossing takes under ten minutes.
Live ferry wait times
Texas Department of Transportation
TxDOT's live district message signs — check the posted ferry wait before committing to the line on a summer weekend.
Ferry & traffic cameras
Texas Department of Transportation
Live camera views of the ferry landing and the Corpus Christi district highways, so you can eyeball the line yourself.
Storm season, handled
June through November, these are the bookmarks that replace the rumor mill — track, plan, and alerts, all official.
National Hurricane Center
NOAA
Every track, cone, and advisory for the Atlantic and Gulf. When something is out there, this is the first and last word.
Hurricane preparedness
City of Corpus Christi OEM
The city's Office of Emergency Management: local prep guidance, shelter information, and how the city responds when a storm nears.
Evacuation routes & maps
City of Corpus Christi OEM
Know your route off the Island and out of town before you ever need it — the Island evacuates early.
ReverseAlert
Corpus Christi / Nueces County
The regional emergency notification system — register your phone so evacuation orders and alerts reach you directly.
Texas Hurricane Center
Office of the Texas Governor
State-level storm resources: disaster declarations, recovery assistance, and statewide preparedness guidance.
Want the context behind the links? The guides walk through how to actually use all of this.
Browse the guidespadreisland.cc is an independent guide and is not affiliated with any agency or organization linked above. Links point to official sources precisely because fees, hours, and conditions change — if something here looks out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.