North Beach Dispersed Camping

We LOVED camping here, for the 5 days that we were at Padre Island until our last afternoon when we opened the door to walk our dog waves were lapping at our wheels! We packed up faster than we ever had and got ourselves out of there.

Padre Island is an incredible place to camp, though I don't think I'd do it again.

Can't beat the price, or the view; How often do you get to camp *on* the beach? Just pick an empty spot on the beach and have fun. Enough said.

Free camping on a beach. Just do it!

We stayed here in January and there was a ton of wind throughout the week. Upon our arrival at PINS the wind and choppy sea led us to spend the first few nights at the paid campgrounds. Once we finally got out to North Beach mid-week it was unbelievable!

The access road is just outside the entrance gate to PINS and by the lone cell tower in the area. Once you get to the beach it becomes fairly clear what all this "beach-road" talk is about. There is a very well packed part of the beach just above the normal high tide line that is somewhat well trafficked throughout the day. We simply drove down a ways and found a spot that we could tuck up between the road and the dunes.

The downside here is the stress of watching high tide come in and hoping that it stops where it should. On one windy day, the tide came right up t within a foot of our rig. Knowing that it had turned and was heading back out, we didn't want to leave the beach but we had to move because we were now blocking traffic which had moved up closer to the dunes with the "road" under water. We tucked up closer to the dunes without any problem though, this is a fine sand that packs pretty tight.

After a few days the wind started coming out of the east and brought the water up to the RV hours before high tide, so we decided to leave and head back to the paid sites for the remainder of our stay.

The Malaquite Campground has a dump station with potable water for use by all guests to PINS, it is only a few miles away and is near the visitors center. Verizon 4G is a weak signal but offered plenty of bandwidth speed for us to work throughout the day.

If the weather is good, then boondocking simply doesn't get better than this spot. When it is bad you can take comfort in the paid campgrounds inside PINS that are only a few miles away.

We loved it here. The tide can come a bit uncomfortable close, but never really too close. The short beach is separated by a fence from the other sides, so cars cannot pass, though pedestrians can.

This location is directly on the beach and about 8 miles from Corpus Christi. Very quiet. Very lovely. Gorgeous beaches.
If you’re in a class A it could be a little bit precarious getting in an out with the loose sound but it’s doable.

Easily accessible beachfront boondocking spot on the Texas coast. Pulled in on a Monday after camping on South Beach at Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) to seek less traffic and better cellular data service. Views are incredible and the ocean noise is calming. My kid had a blast searching for seashells, playing in the sand, and briefly enjoying the brisk winter sea. The first few days held 75 degree sunny days in the middle of winter, and as the vortex came through only a few hours below freezing temperatures with most days getting to the at least to the mid 40's (remember this is a worst-case winter situation here), so no worries about freezing tanks and excess propane usage. Access to the beachfront is provided by a paved road. Before accessing the beach there is an information kiosk and large dumpster. The transition to the beach area was smooth when we were there but we were warned these conditions could change. Camped during the highest tides of the month (+1.5) and there was at least 25' of beach between the camper and gulf at max tide without having to tuck into the dunes. Only traction challenge was getting the camper moving from stationary when leaving which was easily solved by turning on 4wd on stock tires. You'll find marine debris (small trash pieces) washed up onshore daily (a phenomenon caused by gulf currents); this wasn't a big deal for us and PINS gives out free trash bags to assist cleanup at the park visitor's center. A dump station is just up the road through the gates of the park with potable water (which was quite slow on 2 separate occasions). Cellular service was reliable for voice, data, and even streaming when connected to a booster (we have a WeBoost). Nearby Padre Island has a grocery store ($$$$), hardware store, multiple fuel stations (with propane cylinder exchange), and restaurants; Corpus Christi (30 min drive) is large enough to provide additional services needed. This and nearby South Beach were so enjoyable they will become an annual trip for us; hard to beat free beachfront camping!

At ranger check in we were told there is no water available. Sinks were off in visitor center. Go with tank filled or call to confirm. Luckily we had 1-4 tank so all was well. Camped on north beach. Was a bit rutted and or stabilizers gathered some sand. Glad to have 4WD. Used our weboost and went from 2 bar 3G to 3 bar LTE. Easy turn around for our big rig

Awesome free camping right on the beach. There is no sign but google maps will take you right to the turnoff. Ignore the entering fee area sign. I confirmed with Rangers that this is a free area. They just ask that you fill out slip at kiosk so they can keep track of 14 day limit.

Set up between the “road bed” and the dunes. If high tide is less than 1.9 and no storm surge then no issues. The visitors center has tide tables information by the month to take. Wonderful beach camping experience.