Padre Island National Seashore: Grasslands Nature Trail (Blog Hike #1104)

Trail: Grasslands Nature Trail
Hike Location: Padre Island National Seashore
Geographic Location: south of Corpus Christi, TX (27.47255, -97.28633)
Length: 0.8 miles
Difficulty: 0/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: February 2026
Overview: A short, flat, asphalt loop through grass-covered sand dunes.
Park Information: https://www.nps.gov/pais/index.htm
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming January 26, 2027)

Directions to the trailhead: On the north end of Padre Island, take Park Road 22 south to the national seashore entrance.  Pay the entrance fee, and look for the roadside parking area for the Grasslands Nature Trail on the right just inside the entrance station.  Park here.

The hike: At 113 miles in total length, Padre Island is the longest barrier island in the world, and it is also one of the most popular vacation and recreation destinations on the entire 367-mile Texas Gulf Coast.  Despite the City of Corpus Christi at its north end and the City of South Padre Island at its south end, most of the island is sparsely populated and undeveloped.  The island is named for Father Jose Nicolas Balli, who owned the island in the early 1800s and started several Catholic missions in south Texas.

            Today the core central 70 miles of Padre Island are protected as Padre Island National Seashore, which was established in 1962.  The national seashore's main attraction is its 65.5 miles of Gulf beach, all but 4 miles of which are open to 4-wheel drive vehicles.  True to the island's character, the national seashore is lightly developed: its amenities include only a Visitor Center and 2 small campgrounds with a total of 82 sites.

            A good time at Padre Island National Seashore can still be had by people without a 4-wheel drive vehicle.  The Visitor Center offers stairs leading down to the beach, and you will definitely want to visit this beach: it is my favorite beach on the entire Texas Gulf Coast.  Also, the parking lot for the Grasslands Nature Trail is located on the paved main park road just inside the park entrance station, which makes it a popular add-on before or after a day at the beach.  This trail forms the only hiking option in the national seashore (except for the beach, of course), and it offers a short, flat, and easy introduction to the barrier island's grasslands.

Trailhead for Grasslands Nature Trail

            From the roadside parking area, pick up the asphalt trail as it heads northwest into the grasslands.  A shelter with an information board that introduces you to the grasslands habitat stands at the trailhead.  Very quickly the trail splits to form its loop.  For no particular reason, I turned right and used the trail going left as my return route, thus hiking the loop counterclockwise.

Hiking through the grasslands

            The asphalt trail continues north on a meandering course through the grasslands.  Other than a few benches under small wooden shelters, there is no shade anywhere on this hike.  Fortunately, the close proximity of the Gulf somewhat moderates the south Texas heat, and a nice breeze is often present.  Bluestem is the most common grass in these grasslands, but blazing star, mistflower, and globe sedge also appear.  As you approach the north end of the loop, Laguna Madre and the Texas mainland can be seen across the grasslands ahead and to the right.

Heading into the dunes

Hiking along the dunes

            At 0.5 miles, the trail curves left and heads into the dunes portion of the hike.  The trail remains rather flat, but grass-covered dunes rise 20 feet high on the right.  These dunes add some interesting depth and vertical scenery to what is otherwise a very flat landscape.  At 0.8 miles, you close the loop, and only a short walk remains to finish the hike.  If you haven't already done so, make sure you take the short drive down to the Visitor Center and check out Padre Island's beach.

Padre Island beach

Lake Corpus Christi State Park (Blog Hike #1103)

Trails: Longhorn, Catfish Point, and Kiskadee Trails
Hike Location: Lake Corpus Christi State Park
Geographic Location: west of Mathis, TX (28.05877, -97.88200)
Length: 2.7 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: February 2026
Overview: A barbell-shaped hike with views of Lake Corpus Christi, a bird blind, and the old CCC refectory.
Park Information: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/lake-corpus-christi
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming November 20, 2026)

Directions to the trailhead: Between San Antonio and Corpus Christi, take I-37 to SR 359 (exit 36).  Exit and go west on SR 359.  Drive SR 359 west 6 miles to Park Road 25 and turn right on Park Road 25.  The entrance to Lake Corpus Christi State Park is 1.5 miles ahead on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, pay the park entrance fee, then follow signs to the CCC Pavilion, where this hike begins.

The hike: Located about 40 miles northwest of Corpus Christi, 21,000-acre Lake Corpus Christi was formed by damming the Neuces River, a waterway with a much bigger role in Texas and American history than most people realize.  After the Texas Revolution of 1835-36 formed the more or less autonomous Republic of Texas, a boundary dispute with Mexico, their former government, emerged.  Texas claimed that the Texas/Mexico boundary was the Rio Grande, while Mexico claimed it was the more northerly Neuces River that flows through this park.  After Texas joined the United States in 1845, the United States and Mexico fought the Mexican-American War in part to settle this dispute.  The war lasted only 2 years, the Americans won a decisive victory, and the Rio Grande was established as the official border between the United States and Mexico.

            Lake Corpus Christi itself has its own interesting history.  The La Fruita Dam was built on this part of the Neuces River in 1929, but that dam failed less than a year after it was built.  In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal provided money for the dam to be rebuilt, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked here in 1934 and 1935 to build the park.  By the 1940s, the lake was silting in at an alarming rate, and a new and larger dam was completed in 1958.

            Today Lake Corpus Christi State Park is one of the best state parks in south Texas.  In addition to activities on the lake, the park offers a 108-site developed campground, some picnic areas, and 3 hiking trails.  The hike described here uses every trail in the park, and it offers a nice combination of wildlife viewing, lake scenery, and CCC history.  I wasn't sure I would be impressed by this park when I drove in, but I had a pleasant hike on the Saturday morning I came here.

CCC refectory

            There are several places from which you could start this hike; I started at the old CCC pavilion/refectory.  Either before or after your hike, you will want to check out the beautiful stone refectory.  A stone stairway takes you up to an observation platform that provides a fantastic southwest view across Lake Corpus Christi.  This would be a great place to watch a sunset, but the view is nice any time of day.

Refectory observation platform

Trailhead for Longhorn Trail

            When you are ready to start the hike, head northeast across the park road for the signed start of the Longhorn Trail.  The Longhorn Trail forms a horseshoe-shaped route through the western part of the park, and a colorful sign with a trail map marks the trailhead.  The dirt Longhorn Trail heads northeast through dense shrubby forest with some juniper and a dense grassy understory.  The short stubby trees provide little shade, making for a hot and sunny hike.

Hiking the Longhorn Trail

            At 0.2 miles, you pass the picnic shelter area restroom building and cross a park road.  0.3 miles into the hike, you cross a campground access road as the trail angles right through a sunny grassy area before heading back into the woods.  There are a few larger trees in this part of the park, but this hike remained mostly warm and sunny on the 80-degree morning in early February that I hiked here.

Larger trees on Longhorn Trail

            Just past 0.6 miles, you cross the main park entrance road, after which the trail curves right again.  At 0.85 miles, you reach the south end of the Longhorn Trail at another signed trailhead near the entrance to the Catfish Cove Campground.  To continue this hike, turn left to begin the Catfish Point Trail, the start of which is marked by another colorful trailhead sign.

Start of Catfish Point Trail

            The Catfish Point Trail forms a lollipop loop around its namesake point, and quickly you reach the fork that forms the loop.  As directed by some wooden signs, I turned right and used the trail going left as my return route, thus hiking the loop counterclockwise.  The trail traces a meandering course over mostly level terrain; the difference between maximum and minimum elevations on this hike is only about 40 feet.  Some interpretive signs identify common plants in the shrubby forest.

Lake Corpus Christi, as seen from Catfish Point

            At 1.3 miles, you reach the Catfish Point Trail's best lake view: a southeast facing view that looks downstream toward the dam that forms Lake Corpus Christi.  Some benches offer nice places to sit, rest, and enjoy the scenery.  More winding brings you to the close of the loop at 1.8 miles.  Angle right twice to retrace your steps along the Longhorn Trail back to the picnic shelter area restroom building.

Green jay at birding area

            At the restroom building, angle softly right to begin the short Kiskadee Trail, which takes you through the park's birding area.  Birding is a popular activity in south Texas: birds common to Central and South America can be seen here but nowhere else in the United States.  I took my time going through the birding area, and I saw the regionally famous green jay in addition to the more common cardinal, mourning dove, redwinged blackbird, starling, and woodpecker.  The Kiskadee Trail deposits you on the park road near the CCC refectory, thus marking the end of the hike.