IB Magee Beach County Park Campground

Date of Stay: November 2014

Nothing says Thanksgiving like the Texas coast, so off we went for a handful of days to celebrate feasting on turkey. Except we didn’t actually eat turkey cause we were at the coast. Anyhow, I digress.

IB Magee Beach Park is a mostly nothing county park that does have a thing or two going for it. That would be the access to the ocean/beach/water. The campground is just behind the sand dunes that provide a barrier between the beach and the inland. In other words, great access to the not exactly powdery white beaches of Port Aransas. Or Port A as us Texans call it (even us faux Texans).

To get to Port Aransas, and thus the campground, you have to take a (free) ferry for a short distance. Which is kinda cool when you are driving/towing your house.

Another point of interest is that there is beach camping in the immediate area. IB Magee Beach Park has a decent sized area for beach camping (including its own shower/restroom building). And if you buy a permit, you can camp all up and down the beach outside of the park. Who knew?

The campground at IB Magee Beach Park is open and pretty barren. In other words, it is on a Texas barrier island, so don’t expect a great deal of privacy (though site spacing is acceptable). There is zero shade, but one doesn’t go to the coast to seek shade, right? Nope, it is all about sun and sand!

Speaking of sand, you can walk down (I say down cause the park is at the upper end of the beach) the beach as long as you wish. Which can be a rather long way. We did 10 miles (5 out and back) one morning, well, cause we could.

There is also a rather long breakwater that you can wander out, so we did. Good times!

The main campground restroom and shower facility is actually up a couple of stories, adjacent to the park office. And they are pretty nice. Multiple showers means one doesn’t have to wait. Sorry, no pics.

Good Verizon and AT&T coverage as you would expect from a tourist area. Wi-Fi at the park - your mileage may vary.

Port A is a small town easily walked from campground. Or bike, golf carts are allowed int town. Showers are hot and clean. They have electric hook up and water. Or you can camp on the beach. A BIG warning. You may think you have a land yacht. Trust me, they don't float. As you will notice in the pictures the tide in combination w/record rainfall had a rather impressive way of ruining this RVer's.trip. His car was washed over by waves. Rendering his vehicle in op. Also a Harley was flooded...really a nightmare type situation. Needless to say the tow charge was 4 digits hefty... You can camp on the beach for 12/night. All the way down to the jetty. The jetty is a fairly popular fishing spot. So, you will have plenty of company. Great bars in town. Gaff is a great spot. Serves beer. Lots of locals and snow birds. Not many kids. They don't serve booze. Belt sander races are a must see. Lot's of chickens wandering around. Pizza is good.

This was our second stay at IB. Great place. Alicia in office is wonderful. She's the red head. Bathrooms are cleaned daily. Always nice. Bring your bikes. You can ride to anyplace in town w/no trouble. For those of you thinking of staying on the beach. You will find that your rig will be loaded w/sand and salt....lots of it. It's neat to go out and see the Gulf out your front window...don't hesitate to get a site at the county park. It's a lot of fun Port Aransas is a great town. You won't want to leave...

We went to Port A in January 2019. Park is closed. Has been closed since Hurricane Harvey. No signs of rebuilding office at this time. It's a shame. Nice place. Many of the condo's remain empty. Certainly the tallest of them are not ready for habitation. Earliest is 2020.

They reopened the RV park sometime summer 2020 to fully self-contained rigs as the bathhouse/office is not done yet. There are 64 full hookup sites each on new, large pavement/concrete pads. The county website has been down, so reservations are made by phone. We called a couple days before our arrival and were lucky to get a site for the week of thanksgiving. Check-in was quick and easy. They offer WiFi and a coded gate that closes overnight. There is a foot/bike access to the beach, making the trip very easy. Outdoor rinse showers are on the beach side of the access. Aside from the unlucky chance that we had neighbors for a couple nights playing loud music and not tending to their barking dogs, it was a pretty quiet place for how busy it was.

Stayed here 5 nights over New Years holiday. Great pads, full hookups , but no table or BBQ grill. Office wiped out in hurricane, restoration underway. Mgmt helpful, friendly. Close to town, multiple restaurants. I’d come back.

Nice spot super close to beach access if you want full hook ups. Very clean and quiet. No restrooms or showers, hence the discount

We stayed at IB Magee Park in Port Aransas, Texas with about a 2 minute walk to the beach. Although we couldn’t see the beach, due to the dunes, we could hear it. The sites were close together with new level pads and full hook-ups. However, there were no picnic table or grills. Due to the freeze, bathhouse and laundry was closed so prices were $37/night and will go up to $50/night when fully opened. We would probably not stay here again as this was just a stop over after boondocking but it was packed so lots of people liked it!
“Life is either a great adventure or nothing” Hellen Keller
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IB Magee is a great park literally 2 minutes from the beach. All the spots are smooth concrete pads, with good electric/water/sewer service, with good spacing between sites. There is no shade.
The nearby beach is really close, and has shaded benches lining the beach every 20 feet or so. Fun waves, even saw some people surfing.
Some of the nearby amenities are still being repaired from Hurricane Harvey, but didn't diminish our enjoyment.
Port Aransas bars and restaurants are all within short biking distance (5-10 minutes). Favorites include Lelo's,
La Playa, and Bron's for live music and fun outdoor games.

MAJOR WARNING FOR DOG OWNERS: There have been reports of multiple campers whose small dogs were snatched by coyotes from right outside their RVs, in broad daylight. Strongly recommend you keep your pets under a very watchful eye at all times.

Arrived and checked in at office with no problems. Was warned about the coyotes, which was the only “nuisance” of the entire 10day trip. 30min rain session on 2 mornings, but a nice 88* sunny average overall. Staff was very nice and helpful, along with Nueces County Parks & Rec patrolling every hour was comforting to see.

Clubhouse is still under construction from the hurricane, which is why the rates are lower but nonetheless the park grounds are in amazing condition. They cut the grass on Monday mornings, and waking up to a nicely mowed “yard” right outside tour RV door is heaven for the dogs. They love to roll around in it.

Full hookups and WiFi, but no cable. It wasn’t needed anyway, since we were on the beach the majority of the time.

Will be back next month.