Gulf Coast Trip

[Hamp]

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!

[Hamp]

Thanks to all who provided suggestions for the trip. We have decided to go straight to Corpus Christi and do day trips from there.

[Kit_Carson]

Gulf Shores SP is a must. Close to Lambert's in Foley, Ala.

[noe-place]

Check rvpark reviews for places to stay on your trip. Check each states tourism pages for places that interest you. You're going to get deluged with places to go from everyone on here.

[burlmart]

OP?

[MikeRP]

My advice is to leave earlier! Maybe a month or so. So much to do.

[shoe777]

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is a pretty drive. I wouldn't really call the sand "white" on the Mississippi coast. At least not like the Alabama and Florida beaches. We stayed in Cajun RV Park in Biloxi. Short walk to the beach.

Fair Hope, Alabama is a neat little town. South of Mobile.

[burlmart]

5 days ain’t gonna get ‘ya to Tampa/Orlando, but you can make a rush to Pensacola (as mentioned) and maybe to Topsail SP in Sandestin (Henderson SP in Destin will be filled w/ snowbirds).

Mississippi will give some of the best and longest stretches of waterfront/white expansive beach roadside views of any of the states.

Ocean Springs is a nice National cg just beyond new Hwy 90 Biloxi Bridge.

You MUST go to Dauphin Island and walk dogs on the beach at the Cg also next to a historic fort, a gulfarium (not my thing), an’ a bird sanctuary you also can stroll. $50, but take the ferry across Mobile bay to Gulf Shores and on to FL.

But before all that…

In Texas, head to Corpus, get on north Padre, see Port Aransas, camp on Gulf, proceed to Fort Goliad SP for Cinquo de Mayo Battle site and stroll Goliad town square. There are RV spots along Port Lavaca, Placious (I want to see this spot based on an YV.net tip a few years back). Brazos Bend SP is an hour from MD Anderson and is practically in suburbs of Houston. Watch for gators (not in Dec.)

Galveston and ferry to coastal backroads into LA. Lake Charles has Jeff Davis SP in north end of town. Shoot down to Holly Beach, camp and crab on the beach. Take coastal scenic drive and stay in Palmetto SP south of Abbeville (our newest SP, and sans mosquitos in winter). Get some Steens Cane Syrup in Abbeville, and some boudin and seafood, and talk to a cajun, chere..

Grand Isle SP takes you too long – it is a Gulf Coast fishing village and hurricane target.

Fountainbleu SP puts you on the North Shore of Lake Ponchartrain. One hour across causeway and $100/nite letrs you RV camp IN the French Quarter.

[shoe777]

Double post

[shoe777]

Fort Pickens Campground on the Island of Pensacola Beach is a great place to camp. Walk across the road and you're at the beach. Visit the naval air museum. We also spent one night at
Big Lagoon State Park

[tatest]

Gulf Coast where?

In south Texas, beaches at Padre-Mustang islands, birding in the back bays. Fishing either on the beach or in the bays.

More to the north in Texas, Galveston island, beaches and bays, historic sites from colonial eras forward, including military and hurricane stories. WW2 aviation museum, drilling rig museum in Galveston.

Big gap from Beaumont to Lafayette where it is hard to reach the coast, but fisheries, fish farms, alligator attractions.

Between Lafayette and New Orleans, you get to cross one of the Mississippi's old outlets, bayou country. This is a great place for getting into a boat and exploring the swamps. It is also a place to have a look at the offshore oil industry, operating out of Lafayette. The area also has it's own subculture, languages, cuisine.

New Orleans is a big attraction by itself, people visit for weeks and keep coming back for more.

Into Mississippi, beaches south of the bays (but still on Mississippi Bay rather then the Gulf) and casinos. Into Alabama, more beaches at Gulf Shores, major port city at Mobile. USS Alabama memorial.

Into Florida, best beaches on the Gulf are between Pensacola and Port St Joe. Naval Aviation history at Pensacola, resort living at Destin.

Much beyond Carabelle, it is a bit difficult to reach the Gulf Coast again until you get past Spring Hill, the coast is beyond the wide forests and wetlands, with a few road running west to small coastal towns from US-98 or US-19.

From Spring Hill, you can follow the coast, or close to it, all the way to Venice. History of sponge industry at Tarpon Springs. Well developed retirement living Dunedin to St Pete, and Bradenton to Venice. Ringling home and circus museums in Sarasota.

Roads then go inland to Fort Meyers (Ford and Edison winter homes), then back out to the coast to Naples. Naples is about the end of the Gulf Coast you can visit, from there to the south it is Everglades, can't tell where land ends and water starts, and can't really get near the Gulf.

There it is, Corpus Christi to Naples, 1400 miles of Gulf Coast. Another 160 miles from Corpus to Matamoros, but as with some other places along the coast, you can't really get to the coast.

My preference is for the New Orleans to Mobile Gulf Coast, and a close second for what Florida calls the Nature Coast (Cross City to Spring Hill) where you don't really get to the coastline but you learn a lot about coastal wetlands.

If you are a beach person, I suggest Padre-Mustang Islands, or the middle of the Florida Panhandle beaches, around Destin to Fort Walton. Urban explorer, consider New Orleans, Houston-Galveston (Houston is as much on the coast as New Orleans), or Tampa-Saint Petersburg. Even coming from as far as New Mexico, Fort Walton is less than a day further than Corpus Christi.

[DesertHawk]

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.

[rv2go]

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...

[Looney2nz]

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. 🙂

[Robert78121]

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.