Mustang Island State Park

This is a great place to sit on the beach and enjoy the waves! You can drive your vehicle on the beach, so no having to carry all your beach gear a long ways. We have been here multiple times & we always love it. Don’t touch the pretty blue jellyfish that have washed up on shore!There are portable potty restrooms nearby (at the parking area for those who don't want to drive on the beach). There are also nice regular restrooms and outdoor showers to rinse off sand near the camping area, and restrooms at the park store.

We probably would not stay at this campground again because it was so humid. You could not see the beach from the campground, but you could walk around the dune about a quarter mile to actually get to the beach. The bathroom facilities were very nice with many shower stalls too. We had 50 amp service with good water pressure and there was a dump site near the exit to the RV campground. There were lots of tents around the RVs, which made it not as nice and there were zero trees. The wind was very strong 100% of the time I was afraid I would have to stake down my truck (just kidding). I can’t believe anyone would camp in a tent here because it’s so hot and so humid you couldn’t possibly have a good night sleep. If you were looking for a place to relax this probably isn’t it. It is very windy and very hot and humid. The people in tents must’ve been miserable. Had we known we didn’t have to buy a $12 annual pass to park on the beach at Aranza’s beaches, not at the state park. You could go on any beach with this annual pass, some people had their RVs on those beaches.

Spent a day at this state park for the beach. Drove thru the camping area to check out for future camping. We tent camp and was happy to see it was grassed. It's a short walk to the beach on a very nice trail thru the dunes.There were around 6 covered picnic tables available on a first come basis and 1 large covered area that has to be reserved. The beach was amazing! The water was warm and clear with gental waves. The kids enjoyed body surfing, swimming, and hunting for hermit crabs. We saw hermit crabs , plenty of beach crabs, flocks of pelicans, small fish swimming in shallows, flying fish, diving white birds, annoying black birds, and seagulls. This beach was not crowded at all.

We picked this place because it was the shortest drive from San Antonio with a CLEAN and BEAUTIFUL beach! Wow so impressed! Headquarters has clean restrooms and bogey boards and snacks for sale. There is also a “bath house” to rinse yourself after the beach and porta potties throughout the beach. Had so much fun and like that entry was limited so not too packed. Kiddos had so much fun catching hermit crabs!

I spent the weekend camping at the park. Beach access is very close to camp ground. You need to walk on the road because there's no walking path to it. Beach has a parking lot if you don't want to drive on the beach. Camp ground has bathrooms and showers. Camp sites have electricity, water hookup, picnic table, and small grill, but no firepits. The park is a couple miles from town for shopping and restaurants.

Great place to go hang out with family or go fishing off the Jetties. Fair warning, the Jetties appear as if granite blocks from Minecraft were dropped randomly in a group. Some parts are slick, and some are fairly wide apart. Be careful traversing them. Fishing was outstanding. However, access was limited for those wanting to use the Jetties.

This is a really nice beach near Port Aransas. We spent about five hours here, swimming, relaxing, and enjoying the sunshine. There were shells that washed up on the beach, but many of them were broken. The only whole ones we found had inhabitants already so we left those in the ocean. It was very windy, but we really enjoyed it! Part of a state park so there are Rangers nearby and they have a Ranger station and a souvenir shop.

It was a great stay!! Very nicely kept. Staff was so friendly and helpful. Amenities well kept. Short walk to the beach if you want to walk or drive. Very peaceful.

I was very pleased with the awesome photos taken during a photo shoot! I was very pleased and excited to be able to drive on the beach and just enjoy the view and sound of the water. People were very nice and friendly. Definitely a place you want to come and check out. A quick note, you cannot stay parked on the beach all night! However, it sure would have been nice

We arrived early morning to enjoy the sunshine, water and views. Not sure if the mosquitoes are seasonal but it definitely impacted our time there. Make sure you bring bug repellant because those mosquitoes are tenacious. Also, be aware of the flag as it indicates if the water is safe to swim in. Swim at your own risk!

I absolutely love this beach, you can drive right on and it's big enough where you can have your own spot, not too crowded. The staff and rangers are all real cool, and it's easy to find. Camped out here one night and it was beautiful.

I love Mustang Island State Park! The beaches here are much calmer than other public beaches around the Corpus Christi area. They are clean and fun to spend the day. I haven't camped here yet but want to try it out!

Always go with a park when going to the beach if you want a more up-kept, peaceful, natural , serene & amenity rich environment, in our experience. It's nice to have showers and bathrooms, less trash & more peace of mind (can call a ranger over quick if in trouble or find trouble like when we came across a large diamondback or knowledge in general like conditions/status/warnings like strong rip current signs). Mustang island state park was gorgeous and had more exploring to do than just playing in the waves, like venturing through the dunes spotting butterflies and squirrels and herons & other wildlife. It's a short walk from the parking lot to beach. I like how paying a small entry fee (5$) which is really less than a beach parking sticker anyways weeds out a lot of traffic.

Arrived here on Saturday Sep2,23 Labor Day weekend. Perfect weather of course in the hotter side in the 90's and with the ocean breeze,comfortable. Water temp perfect (warm waters) Wasn't sure if the restrooms were open on the other side of the road besides the port-a-potty.

Pretty bare bones style park in the island. There is camping with hookups available with restrooms and shower. Besides that and some beach access, that's about it. No piers or anything extra built to accommodate tourism.

Never disappoints. Beaches are clean and the area is nice. The bathrooms and shower areas are well taken care of also.

First time here. We are in Corpus Christi and did the USS Lexington tour in the morning. The travel book seems to recommend this state park for beach exploring. Was hoping to see sea turtles, but no such luck. $5 admission for each person. Today was super windy, but a windy beach day beats a snow day in Minnesota always. I found some intact and not broken sea shells. There was lots of bottle cap litter that washed ashore. Not cool fellow humans. The wind was so fierce, I couldn't shut the Porta potty on shore. Noone was around. The gift shop was sparce. Better weather would have been nice. Worth the drive. Review 36 in 2023.

Stayed three nights at a water/electric site. I wouldn't return. We chose this park so we could walk to the beach and it served that purpose. Pros: Walking distance to the beach (didn't see accessible access to the beach). Flush toilets Showers Water Electric The beach was nice- no trash! Cons: MOSQUITOS- these beasts swarm you the second you step outside. Like 15 on your body within seconds. Sites were right on top of eachother. Showers were luke-warm at best. Used gender-neutral/ handicap shower because there was the women's shower area was barely lit by comparison to the mens. The beach was nice but there were Jellyfish everywhere on the beach. Some were large and easily noticed but others were smaller than the size of your palm. There was no "condition" flag warning of the jellyfish.

Less crowded! Clean and excellent shower rooms for a public beach :) must make reservation

It's cool and has a good beach, but there is tons of mosquitos so make sure to pack some bug spray.

If you are going to Port Aransas for a beach trip, check out Mustang Island State Park. It's $5 per adult for a day pass, but everyone in your car gets in free with a state parks pass. Here are some of the benefits to visiting this part of Mustang Island near Port A, instead of the public beach areas. 1:) they have *hot indoor showers*, each one in a private stall with a door on it. Also, real toilets with running water. These aren't on the beach, but you can drive to them on the way out of the park. 2:) You can choose to drive onto the beach and park, OR you can choose to park in the paved parking lot about 100 yards from the beach to prevent from getting so much sand in your car. This small stretch of the beach that has no parking is also a lot quieter and has fewer people. 3:) They have about a dozen semi covered picnic tables in the stretch of the beach that you can't park on. This is a definite plus for taking a break from the blazing Texas sun. They have over 5 miles of coastline to walk along, and the beaches are just as clean (if not cleaner than the public beaches in Port A). If you want to drive down to Port A for some drinks, dinner, or clubbing, it's a short 15 mile drive down the road. 20 miles of kayak/paddling trails are available on the bay side in the shallow waters. Camping with electricity and water, as well as primitive camping on the beach. Why slum it? Get yourself a Texas State Parks pass and check this place out - the hot showers make it worth it alone. It's a state park, so no public display or consumption of alcohol allowed, but I know you can find a way around that. ;-)

Whoever designed the camping area must have never used an RV. Every RV in the US has its door(s) and awnings on the passenger side. But every other site at this park has the picnic table and cover on the driver side. Makes no sense. There are other options, both private and city/county, that we'll use next time we go to this part of the state. And the hike to the beach is a long one. Driving to the beach is a better option. Usually we're big fans of Texas State Parks, but of the 10 or 12 we've been to in the last 6 years, Mustang is our least favorite.

This is probably a beautiful state park on a beautiful day. Our troop camping trip. But the weekend we visit was a rainy one. The rain wasn't consistent yet it was a bit of standing water on our rsvp camp spots. Serval ants piles that needs servicing. The souvenir shop was closed since Katrina or hurricane Ike. Only souvenir you'll get here is shells you'll collect or to keep your receipt.

Best beach camping in Texas. The fall is a perfect time to enjoy the beach and cooler temperatures.

Very nice beach location that you can drive on and a area with no vehicle access. This was very nice place to enjoy the beach with my family. $5 per person for access, no alcohol.

It's nice out here. It's what we have for fun in South Texas so gotta appreciate what we got. Seagulls, pelicans, cranes are out here too. And can't really knock mother nature but... Hoping everyone does their part to take care of this lovely piece of earth.

White soft sand and clear shallow waves. Perfection. This spot is the best for little kids! My 9 month had a blast playing in gentle shallow waters. And my 8 year old had the time of her life bouncing in the gentle waves further out. My son was just interested in sand play near the waters edge. No jellies on the beach this time so was grateful for that. No complaints about this little spot of heaven in Texas.

Great beach. This is a state park beach so they only allow so many people in for the day and I recommend going online and getting reservations. The beach is divided into two parts. One you park and walk in to the beach, the second part you can drive onto the beach. Both are separated. If you wanna drive onto the beach I suggest you use a 4 wheel drive to get there and not a heavy one. When you're done with your day at the beach there are bathrooms with individual shower stalls and warm running water. The beaches are clean and not crowded. The bathrooms are nice and kept up. It was well worth the money to pay to come here rather than going to the public beaches. I have been coming here since I was a kid and after going to a public beach once with my kids this is the only beach I will go to after that experience.

I love this beach the sand was soft and white . The water was warm and felt amazing. The birds were fun to watch . Definitely bring your sand toys and boogie boards ! Oh ! And you can't forget sunscreen! Gotta bring sunscreen ! If not you will get sunburn really bad and quick !

I'm in town for work but wanted to see the beach while in Corpus Christie. Mustang Island State Park and Fish Pass are worth even a quick visit. Softest sand I've ever felt and the shells are numerous and whole. Great quarried rock beaches to enjoy with friends & family or even alone. Leave it better than you found it!

Living in San Diego, where the beaches are always crowded during spring and summer break. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's actually one of the things that I love about living in San Diego. With that being said; I can't believe Mustang Island State Beach is one of the best and beautiful beach we have ever been and it's in Corpus Christi Texas. It felt like we were in a private beach and it was endless. I would have never thought that having less people/crowd would be this enjoyable. All smiles, wind blowing, warm water, sea shells, and I was truly amazed by how soft the sand was. Dude! We had so much fun and truly appreciated this moment. I love the feeling of the fresh air on my face and the wind blowing through my hair. - Evel Knievel -

Mustang State Park is a great place to go to watch the sunrise. If you want to go during the day, you need to be sure to get there early, because you have to buy tickets that cost five dollars per adult and the park limits the amount of cars and people that can attend the beach during the day. Fortunately, we stopped by early in the morning to grab a ticket, and when we came back later, they had already sold out around 3 PM. The beach sand is a lot whiter and cleaner looking than further down on the shoreline. There's also a great area for fishing or looking for seashells and hermit crabs in the Rocky pier. We recommend going to the spot and it was the nicest beach that we found in Corpus Christi! this part of the beach allows you to drive your car right on and park near the water. There are no areas to wash off on the beach and Porta potty's in the parking lot, but there is wash area and restroom further out past the parking lot.

All and all this place is nice most of the people are chill but watch out for the occasional speeder on the beech side that you can drive on. I had a potential oh sh$% moment where I forget my lighter for the bbq and the little gift store had what I needed. As far as the beach goes it's clean and they have wood cabanas to sit under if you don't have the amenities to keep out of the sun, and you can have camp fires if you are staying the night. My wife did see a jelly fish but it was dead but none the less be-careful.

This is a great place to have instant access to the beach. Wished there were facilities separate from the day campers and the overnight campers. By the end of the day facilities were pretty yucky. Also if you are overnight camping, be prepared for no shade. You are truly here for the beach and if you love that and then this is the park for you. The staff was kind and helpful.

A state park where you pay $10 to enter, but have come-n-go privileges for that fee until 10pm, which is cool! There wasn't much of a stretch of beach on the end toward the jetty, but the plus is - it wasn't overly crowded! The waves were crazy rough compared to Galveston, but we had fun body surfing and playing in the gulf. It was a very clean beach ( unlike the areas on Galveston we were recently at). They have bathrooms ( not so clean thanks to messy visitors), and WARM showers for rinsing off! They have campsites, off the beach with no beach view. We were just there for a few hours / but it was a peaceful and enjoyable visit!

A beautiful beach that stretches for miles. This is a vast area of beach with beautiful water and great access for swimming. You can drive your car right up to the beach in most areas. Even during peak season for tourists, there is still so much room where you are not crowded with other visitors. There are scattered covered picnic tables throughout this park which makes it a nice break from the bright Texas sun. For a relaxing and enjoyable experience, this is a great escape.

Beautiful sunrise from the drive-on beach. We stayed the night at the campsites and would certainly come back.

We loved how clean this beach is and Jelly fish free!! We came during the week and we were even able to get my Camry on the beach!!

I am a huge fan of beach camping. The set up here is nice - every space has it's own secured picnic table bench with pergola area. Makes for convenient tent setup. Our friends had an RV over in the park area. The grounds are well kept and maintained in both areas. The shower/restroom situation is immaculate, stocked with soap, toilet paper, and cleaned. I recommend for a friend's getaway, a romantic hiatus, or family retreat. Fishing is great, sand is soft and clean, and the sunsets are breathtaking ... even on the bad days of which we experienced a pretty rainy evening one night. Couple of things, unrelated to Mustang Island - if you're going to beach camp, know this: the temperature drops so be prepared, ocean fronts tend to be windy and carry moisture - keep your clothes in a bag and finally, I know you want to wake up facing the ocean, but might I recommend you facet your tent door diagonal to the coast. If you face the door of your tent towards the coast directly, minuscule bits of sand and water will permeate your tent. Have fun and enjoy!! PS. Pups totally welcome!

Very clean beach access park. No flushing toilets, but port-a-pottys are available. Plenty of picnic tables and you can make a small fire in the sand. Worth $5 a person to have all day/evening access to the beach. You can see a variety of birds fishing in the ocean and along the beach. You can walk or drive down to the jetties and sit on the large granite blocks and visit with loved ones or reflect on your own life as you watch the waves and feel the ocean breeze. Great spot to fish as well, as we saw many people doing so. We even saw a sea turtle in the ocean, coming up for air and looking at the people. You can walk the beach and find shells and sand dollars. Some people were even in the cool water in December! Too cold for me but the weather was very nice. We took our parrot to mustang island state park to show him the ocean. He had a great time as we did too.

This review is for camping only. Hope I can save.someone else from camping here. Let me start by saying that I am experienced in all sorts of camping. Have hiked Mount Reniner in Washington state. Primitive camping at my different altitudes. Also have camped on beaches in different states. Eleven years active duty Army. Thats my experience. During our stay we had sustained winds of fifteen to twenty miles an hour. My tent is a cabin style with a high profile. If you camp here, bring smallest tent possible. It was in the 90 degree range at night. Could not open the Windows because the fine sand would blow through the screen of the tent. Somehow my tent survived the winds sustaining just one small rip. The positive side of this was the wildlife. Many sea birds and shellfish to watch. Swimming in the water was not pleasant. Many jellyfish. My son got stung once, but said it wasn't too painful. I enjoy scuba, surfing and any other water activities. Love the ocean. Not a place I would swim, and that was my reason for camping on the beach in Texas in the summer.

This was our first time here over 4th of July 2021 so we didn't know what to expect with the facility or the beach. The newly built bath house was really nice. The staff is still in temporary facilities since the hurricane took out the office/store building. Don't expect a lot from the sites, it's just a very large parking lot w/a standing grill & a covered picnic table. What is strange is one of you has the picnic area just outside your door as it should be but your neighbor has to walk around their rig to get to their picnic table/grill area which means you share that "common" area. Not a fan of that at all and don't understand their thought process. Not so bad if you come with others however.... Also, we did see 2 hosts rigs but never actually "saw" them. The reason I mention that is-#1. The site has been recently mowed and long clumps of grass were left behind. Stuck to our shoes and feet and ended up dragging grass in our rig. We are so used to better run Texas State Parks (like Mother Neff) where the hosts are visible and they RAKE YOUR SITE! #2. I'm assuming that small sectioned off beach is the property of the state??? It was littered with trash. Single lost flip flops, containers, plastic bottles etc. Couldn't the park hosts spend maybe 30-45 minutes taking a nice little beach walk and pick that up? Just saying... earn your free stay. Ok, that aside we enjoyed watching the sunrise and sunset. The water was clear and the waves fun to ride on our $4 Dollar Store "body board". We even watched a fisherman catch a small white tip shark. The beach, on a holiday was surprisingly not at all full/ busy. So if you are looking for a low key beach with clean, clear water and don't mind stepping around trash, this is a good stop. I would still consider going back despite the negative.

This is a beautiful beach! My family went during spring break and the beach was not too crowded. The state park is clean with a soft sandy beach that was great for building sand castles. Entrance fee is five dollars a day with children twelve and younger free. Before arriving we stopped by an HEB for a parking pass to park on the beach which was 12 dollars and well worth it. You can drive down and find a little spot to spend the whole day. Having your vehicle close by makes a quick loading the kids out and keeping bellowings locked away. Leaving was quick and fast.

We stayed 3 nights with our 41 fifth wheel. We are from out of state but looked at booking online and was able to find a spot last min. We did stay during the week most ppl told us this place books out way advance. The sites only have water and electric but the dump is not far. The restrooms very clean for a beach restroom they have plenty of warm showers. Not a far walk from camp to the beach. The beach has nice picnic tables with shade not many but if you get there early works nice. Beach was clean lots of sticks from the tide kids liked using them for sand castles. When booking double check your site so you can walk out to the front door to the picnic table. If not you have to walk around your rig sit and the table provided for you. Our 50amp was not working so we had to use 30amp not a big deal but just have to be careful how much your amls your pulling. We did tell the rangers and they said they would be over to look at it and never came. Would come back.

I loved the beach here, definitely the best beach I've been to(though, that's not saying much)!

Great beach, enjoyed it has shallow waters even deep in the ocean enough for you to stand and catch waves

Well... I was expecting showers and for some reason I didn't see them this time. Water was great, with a warm temperature. There are some wood tables with benches. No lifeguards, swim on your own risk. Bathrooms, on the entrance but we didn't go, I haven't had a chance. We just spent 1 hours around 7:20pm Bring water to rinse feet. Walk in with your cooler, chairs, etc. Fee at the entrance, annual pass is $70 or $5 dlls per person.

Just a hop, skip and a jump away from San Antonio. This state park has some perks and stars. Not far from the reality from the hussle and bussle of the city. Entrance fee is $5 a day person and children under 12 are free. Primitive camping is $10 a day. Primitive camping allows you to drive on the beach, camp and have a fire. Porta potty are available every 200 yards along with cold showers. As you drive on the beach there are tons of people in the first mile stretch. As you drove further down less and less people are camping out which is great of you want privacy. We stay within 100 ft from a porta potty since we have small children. It was convenient. Although I do wish they would clean the ports johns a little more frequently. It was nasty. Waking up from camping and watching the beautiful sunrise over the ocean while sitting in front of a camp fire all while enjoying a cup of instant coffee. We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days. No TV, no video games. but we did have our mobile phones which we rarely used. We enjoyed lounging around and doing nothing most of the day. Play with sand, water, and sleep. It was a pure relaxation from city life. We can't wait to visit this place again.

Love this place. I live in San Antonio so for me it's about a 2.5 hour drive to get here but to me it's so worth it if you are simply looking to spend the day at the beach which has picnic tables, bathrooms, showers and most importantly a beautiful beach. Well if we're being honest it's a Texas beach so it doesn't compare to some other amazing beaches in other states in country's. However, it is in my opinion the best place to visit if traveling a 2-3 hour distance to get here. Also, what I love is that you don't have to cross the ocean via the ferry which can sometimes have ridiculously long wait times. If you are like me and you simply wanna get to a nice beach in tx ASAP I SO recommend this state park beach. Oh yeah and it's $5 per adult fee and dogs are allowed. Have fun!! And don't forget to wear sunblock!

Loved it!!! Will for sure camp here again!! Big spaces, quite and just a short walk to the beach which was beautiful!!

During my stay here, my family and I were pleasantly surprised with it! It was a nice rv site with friendly workers. Be warned though because one night in the shower house there was a bunch of boys on the roof looking into the women's shower house. Because of the poorly designed vents at the top, they were able to see right in which was very disgusting. We alerted the park rangers who said this was a reoccurring problem but it seems like nothing has changed. They said they would only get in trouble if law enforcement saw. Everything else was good! Just be very watchful around the showers and bathrooms because even in the bathrooms you can see in, same with the family one.

This is a nice beach just outside of Port Aransas. You gotta pay admission to get to this park, but it's only $5-10. The beach is maintained with bulldozers and tractors to make sure that the seaweed is picked up, and there's good camping spaces. You can get access for the day, or a camping permit that lets you just go out o the beach and set up a tent, with little to no real amenities. They are generally okay with you setting a bon fire along this beach. If you find some wood in the dunes, I think it's there for erosion mitigation, so don't set it on fire. There are port-a-potties available, and places to toss your trash, so please help keep Texas beaches beautiful. They offer a bunch of picnic tables and covered areas. There's always plenty of parking along here, and it's a beautiful stretch of the beach. The sand is nice and soft, and well- sandy. The beach is always picked up, and there's plenty of wildlife to check out while here. However, I have never seen a Mustang running around here, unless it was built by Ford.

BEACH GREAT, OUTDOOR SHOWERS, GROSS BATHROOM. Had a great time on beach. May have stepped on a sting ray's tail as I stepped on something rod-like but didn't get stung so maybe debris. ‍ Beach was clean. We didn't spot any jellyfish. Mostly families playing and having a good time. They don't allow "public display or consumption of alcohol" which we actually like. We chose Mustang Island since we were daytripping and paid $20 ($5 per person) to enter so that we could shower at the end of our swim. Turns out the shower house is under construction so we weren't able to take full showers. At first I was frustrated by this but after using the outdoor shower I must say it was way better than indoor public showers, which tend to be crowded and hot. Also, there are 6 shower heads, which keeps people moving through and the cold, fresh water was so refreshing. I did hear a small child crying because it was too cold but my 10 & 13 year olds loved it. Big bummer was that there was literally only 1 DISGUSTING bathroom that doesn't even lock. We visited the bathrooms 3 times over the course of the day and the line was steady. Most people were washing in the outdoor shower and then standing in line to change in the 1 bathroom, which took forever. I gave up waiting and decided to keep my swim clothes on. Just had me thinking that the reason we chose Mustang Island was for the bathrooms and showers. Wish they would've told us when we entered or posted a sign. All in all it was a beautiful day on beach and we were just feeling grateful for the time and ability to enjoy.

This is a fantastic beach! If you are in the Port Aransas or Corpus Christi area, come check out this beach for sure! Here's the highlights: -This is a Texas State Park. That means if you have an annual State Parks pass, you get in with it since it's included. -If your kids are into the Jr. Ranger program, you can check in at the visitor center to pick up an activity pack. -Tons of covered picnic areas. There's more than enough tables for everyone to have their own place to set up shop on the beach. -Nice sandy beaches! -The beach is well maintained and very clean. I don't think I saw one piece of garbage around when we visited. -If you are into primitive beach camping, they have a lot of spaces available. The visitor center even has amenities like laundry and hot showers. -There was also camper areas with electrical access for the travel trailer campers. I would recommend this beach for people wanting a day at the beach or for camping out. I will be back on my next trip to Port A Or to Corpus.

This was a very nice campground. Showers were clean, spaces each had a covered ramada over the picnic table. Close to town. No road noise.

It was so nice, so clean, with cute picnic areas. The sand was so soft and the waves hit just right. Charge $5 entry but totally worth it, would 100% recommend!

Mustang Island State Park is our favorite dog friendly beach! Beautiful 5 miles of Dog Friendly beach on the Gulf of Mexico! The Jetty Rd and day use parking lot will remain closed due to flooding & debris. But the Park plans to reopen the beach camping area Sunday July 4TH!