Forum Discussion

Hamp's avatar
Hamp
Explorer
Aug 14, 2013

Gulf Coast Trip

We plan on a 10 day trip along the Gulf Coast from Dec 19 - Jan 1,2014. We will be leaving New Mexico and would like information on what to see, do and where to stay for this trip. Need to be back in NM by Jan 2. No kids, just us two and the cats. We will have a toad. Any and all information will be welcome. Thanks!

15 Replies

  • Here's a hodge podge of older post, maybe something will be of help:

    :C What I have on the San Antonio Area & the :C Texas Hill Country and I-10 to San Antonio.

    What I have on the :)Big Bend Area. We really enjoyed Balmorhea State Park & checking out Fort Davis Nat'l Historic Site. And the new Boquillas Port of Entry.

    US 90 Route from Van Horn to San Antonio Sections of I-10 between San Antonio & Van Horn, Speed Limit is 80 mph, it can seem like a raceway.

    In Texas on I-10 west of San Antonio, I have never stopped here, but have been tempted to do so, Caverns of Sonora, they say is a National Natural Landmark, a unique cave located 8 miles west of the town of Sonora, Texas, and a world-class cave. It does have camping as well.
    http://www.cavernsofsonora.com/

    Sonora is East of Ozona. Seems I remember a Rest Area before getting into Sonora, up on a hill, with great view of the countryside. Might be the same one mentioned above by TexasShadow. Should be a good place to overnight. Rest Area 394mm

    South Llano River State Park adjoins Walter Buck Wildlife Management Area, south of Junction was a nice place. S. Llano River SP.

    The Museum of Western Art near Kerrville is really good, a must see for sure if possible.
    http://museumofwesternart.com/ Should be easy to find RV sites as well. Used to be a state park by the river, but not a state park now.

    I found Cascade Caverns at Boerne to be extremely neat (my first cave) when I was about 12 or 13. Not sure how it would hold up now for me. Ha! Cascade Caverns
    I see they do have camping there now.

    :C South Texas & Padre Island Sites & Sights and More Texas Sites & Sights

    :C South Texas RGV & close to South Padre Island.

    A nice area for sure. Rockport & Fulton Area on the Texas Gulf Coast close to Corpus Christi. In & on the Texas Coastal Bend. Info can be found on them in one of the links above. But as a preview:

    Goose Island State Park, surrounded by the St. Charles and Aransas Bays, is located north of Rockport & near Fulton in Aransas County. Nice area by the Gulf of Mexico. I want to do this one someday. We have driven by this area, but have not stayed here. It is one I have on my to do list.

    Mustang Island State Park with about 5 miles of beach on the Gulf of Mexico in Nueces County, south of Port Aransas. We liked this one for the beach. We spend several days here one summer. Also near Corpus Christi & Mustang Island, Padre Island Nat'l Park could be also a nice stop.

    We enjoyed the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. It was really neat. There is an old Navy Aircraft Carrier next to it as well, the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay. Enjoyed them both. The South Texas Institute for the Arts might be cool to see.

    We enjoyed getting a bunch of Shrimp from a Sea Food Market on the way to & from Padre Island. So fresh, so good. We just had to buy some crab boil and boiled them, one of my favorite ways to do them, just behind doing them on the BBQ grill. There are markets in Rockport/Fulton Area as well. I can not remember the one on the way from Corpus to the Island, we got ours from on Causeway Blvd. We did the same thing in Port Isabel when staying on South Padre Island.

    We enjoyed the Texas Free Ferry from Port Aransas to Mustang Island. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge might be neat to see as well, time allowing.

    One could take US 90 at Van Horn to Alpine & on to Uvalde. At Uvalde, take US 83 south to Mission & the RGV & on to South Padre Island. Or continue on US 90 to San Antonio area. To keep off the interstates.
  • From Las Cruces head east to Van Horn, TX. Take US 90 East to Marfa, TX. Plan on spending the night and view the Marfa Lights at the viewing center just east of town.
    Continue on US 90 to Langtry, TX and the Judge Roy Bean Museum. You can dry camp there. Just ask the Host for the location.
    Continue to San Antonio, TX. Visit the Alamo and do the River Walk.
    Then head toward the Gulf by the way of Corpus Christi.
    Visit Padre Island National Seashore. There is dry camping with a dump station & Water.
    If you think you need more Gulf, head toward Rockport, TX. Several camping opportunities on the way.

    Have Fun...
  • A friend fof mine went ot Corpus Christy Tx form Clovis NM in about 12 hrs. He had family there. I would do MapQuist and get it on. Sounds like a fun trip. I plan on doing the same in near future. Have a Great trip. :)
  • The Gulf Coast is rather large, and we could give you endless possibilities. You might want to try first searching a bit on this forum and then try asking more specific questions. I've done a fair bit of camping on the Gulf Coast and could go on forever about it.
  • Where are you starting from and what route do you plan to take into Texas? It's about two days drive from west Texas to the coast.