Padre Island National Seashore

QUICKLINKS:

Who We Are

Padre Island National Seashore, encompassing 130,434 acres, is the longest remaining undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world, and offers a wide variety of flora and fauna as well as recreation.

As a unit of the National Park Service, our mission is, as stated in the Federal Organic Act of 1916,: "...to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Peregrine falcons winter at the National Seashore.

Birdwatching

Because of its location on a major migratory route known as the Central Flyway, approximately 380 species of birds have been documented within the National Seashore. This is almost 45% of all bird species documented in North America.
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		Sea Turtle Science and Recovery In cooperation with several partners, the park conducts an extensive program to detect nesting by Kemp's ridleys and other sea turtles. Staff and volunteers, up to 140 per year, patrol North Padre Island repeatedly each day searching for daytime nesting ridleys. Eggs that are found are removed from the beach for protected incubation and the hatchlings are released. more...

		Natural Gas Management To protect the park’s natural and cultural resources and visitor values, the Superintendent at Padre Island National Seashore has the authority to manage oil and gas development through regulations found at Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part 9, Subpart B. These regulations, commonly referred to as the "9B Regulations," are designed to "insure that activities undertaken pursuant to [private and state oil and gas rights] are conducted in a manner consistent with the purposes for which the National Park System and each unit thereof were created, to prevent or minimize damage to the environment and other resource values, and to insure to the extent feasible that all units of the National Park System are left unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." more...

		Virtual Museum Follow this link to visit the park's virtual museum and to learn about the long history of Padre Island. more...

Write to

Malaquite Visitor Center
PO Box 181300
Corpus Christi, TX 78480-1300

E-mail Us

Phone

Visitor Information
(361) 949-8068

Fax

(361) 949-9951

Climate

During summer daytime highs can reach into the 90s (Fahrenheit) on the island, but rarely into the 100s. During winter highs are usually between 50-70 (Fahrenheit)and occasionally drop into the upper 30s. The weather is usually dry and clear with the most rain occurring in winter. Average windspeed throughout the year is about 5 to 25 miles per hour.
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Padre Island National Seashore

Padre Island National Seashore Information