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Map of Padre Island National Seashore in Texas. The long, narrow park curves like a parenthesis close to the coastline of Texas in the Gulf of America. Texas is shown in beige and county lines are shown in gray.

Extended Description

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway separates the mainland from Padre Island. Baffin Bay cuts west into the state about a third of the way down the map. Other bodies of water between the state and island are The Hole and Laguna Madre. The islands of El Toro and Mesquite Rincon between The Hole and the laguna.

State Route 22 enters the park near its northern border to pass the Entrance Station, Novillo Line Camp (historic structures), Park Headquarters, a campground, Malaquite Visitor Center with a picnic area and showers, and Beach vehicle barrier.

Text near North Beach reads, “North Beach access (to Bob Hall Pier, Padre Balli County Park, via beach),” and red text next to Malaquite Beach reads, “Driving is not permitted on Malaquite Beach.” On the western coastline of the island are North Bird Island, South Bird Island, Grasslands Nature Trail, Bird Island Basin, which has a boat ramp, and a site with wind surfing and a primitive campsite.

Milepost numbers on the beach begin at the Beach vehicle barrier and continue south. South Beach is between miles 0 and 5, and text here reads, “Primitive Gulf Beach: From here south, conditions are suitable for 4-wheel-drive vehicles only. Be alert for high water and soft sand. Mileposts are located every 5 miles.”

Little Shell Beach is south of Milepost 10, and Point Penascal at the opening of Baffin Bay is across the Gulf Intercoastal Way in this area. A 4-wheel-drive road crosses the width of the island near Milepost 15 and Yarborough Pass. Cuba Island is near Milepost 20, and Big Shell Beach continues south of here. The mileposts end with Milepost 60 at Mansfield Channel, where black text reads, “No possible crossing by vehicle.”

Most of the island is shaded green with yellow along much of the eastern coastline. Yellow is also speckled across the other areas of the island, and some sites are shaded brown, including island-like formations to the north, at Yarborough Pass, and at the southern tip.

Port Mansfield is marked on the coast of Texas across the Mansfield Channel. State Route 86 leads south from Port Mansfield and continues “To US Route 77” off the bottom edge of the map.

Legend

A scale along the right edge of the map measures distances of 1, 5, and 10 kilometers and 1, 5, and 10 miles.

The first of two sections of the legend represents land cover within Padre Island National Seashore. This section reads as follows:

Yellow for Beach and dunes,

Green for Grasslands, flats, and other, and

Brown for Dredged materials.

The next section, titled Water, reads as follows:

Pale blue for Tidal flats and lakes and

Darker blue for Open water.

Red text here reads, “Do not use this map for navigation. Use NOAA charts instead.”

The legend continues with a red line for Paved road and black double dashed line for Unpaved road. Two columns of symbols represent Picnic Area, Boat Ramp, Showers, Wind Surfing, Campground, and Primitive Campsite.