Resaca de la Palma State Park: Tram Road to Wildlife Viewing Platforms (Blog Hike #1105)

Trails: Tram Road, Mesquite, Mexican Olive, Fly Catcher, and Ebony Trails
Hike Location: Resaca de la Palma State Park
Geographic Location: northwest of Brownsville, TX (25.99577, -97.56897)
Length: 4.7 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: February 2026
Overview: A loop hike passing all 5 of this park's wildlife viewing platforms.
Park Information: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/resaca-de-la-palma
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming January 1, 2027)

Directions to the trailhead: Northwest of Brownsville, take I-69E to FM 1732 (exit 9).  Exit and go west on FM 1732.  Drive FM 1732 west 2.5 miles to New Carmen Avenue and turn left on New Carmen Ave.  The signed park entrance is 1.4 miles ahead on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, and park in the large parking lot in front of the Visitor Center.

The hike: Located in the lower Rio Grande valley just northwest of Brownsville, Resaca de la Palma State Park is the southernmost state park in Texas.  9 parks in the lower Rio Grande valley, including all 3 of the region's state parks, combine to form an official area called the World Birding Center.  Indeed, birding is one of the most popular activities throughout south Texas' lower Rio Grande valley: birds that mostly reside in Central and South America come to south Texas but to nowhere else in the United States.  During my February 2026 hiking trip to the lower Rio Grande valley, I hiked in all 3 of the region's state parks, starting with this one.  I enjoyed the birding and wildlife viewing all 3 of these parks have to offer.

            The winding Rio Grande left many resacas, which is Spanish for oxbow lakes, as its course changed over time, and those resacas give this park its name.  This parkland first opened to the public in 1977 as a Texas Wildlife Management Area, and it was converted to a state park in 2008.  True to its birding and wildlife history, Resaca de la Palma State Park is heavy on nature and light on amenities.  The park is open for day-use only, and it features only a Visitor Center, picnic area, and a tram road for amenities.  The park does offer 5 wildlife viewing platforms that overlook the resacas, and my goal on this hike was to visit all 5 of those platforms, thus doing the best wildlife viewing this park has to offer.

            The wildlife viewing platforms are reached by hiking the short bird watching trails that are connected by the 2.8 mile paved tram road loop.  Private vehicles are allowed nowhere in the park except the Visitor Center parking lot.  Thus, to see anything at this park, you will have to either rent or bring a bike, ride the tram, or hike.  The tram was not running on the day I came here (it only runs seasonally), so I ended up hiking the tram road to get from one short birding trail to the next.  Such is the design of this hike.

Start of the tram road

            2 of the 5 wildlife viewing platforms are accessed by the short Ebony Trail, which starts near the Visitor Center.  You could hike that trail either at the beginning or at the end of this hike; I chose to do it at the end.  To start this hike, I headed down the asphalt tram road where it starts to the left (north) of the Visitor Center, thus heading clockwise around the tram road's loop.

Dry resaca near the tram road

            At 0.3 miles, the tram road crosses the resaca on a bridge.  Looking into the resaca here will give you your first hint as to how much wildlife viewing you will be doing on this hike.  The water in the resaca is what attracts the wildlife, so if the resaca is dry, as it was when I came here in early February and is most of the time, your wildlife viewing will be limited.  In spite of the dry resaca, I still saw an armadillo, some cardinals, a green jay, some vultures, and a hawk when I came here.

Start of Mesquite Trail

            At 0.5 miles, where the road curves sharply right, get off of the road for awhile by continuing straight to start the Mesquite Trail.  True to its name, the Mesquite Trail follows a wide dusty track lined with mesquite bushes and a grassy understory.  Almost all of this hike is in at least partial sun, and this will be a hot and sunny hike in the summer with water available nowhere except the Visitor Center.

Hiking the Mesquite Trail

            Just past 1 mile, you reach a trail intersection where the Mesquite Trail continues straight.  To head for the first wildlife viewing platform, turn left to begin the Mexican Olive Trail.  When you reach the next intersection at 1.4 miles, turn left to quickly arrive at the first wildlife viewing platform.  All of these wooden platforms overlook the resaca, so your wildlife viewing fortunes will depend on the water levels.  Even if you don't see any wildlife, the bench at the platform makes a great shady place to sit, rest, and rehydrate.

1st Wildlife observation platform

            To continue, backtrack to the previous intersection, then continue straight to get back to the tram road at a tram stop with some nice picnic tables.  Continue straight across the tram road to hike the short Kiskadee Trail and reach the 2nd wildlife observation platform at 1.8 miles; it offers a view similar to the first platform.  Next backtrack to the tram road, then turn right to walk south 0.4 miles on the tram road to reach the Flycatcher Trail.  Turn left on the Flycatcher Trail to head for the 3rd observation platform.

View from 2nd wildlife observation platform

            Just shy of 2.5 miles, turn left to begin the Hog Trail.  This short spur trail ends at the 3rd wildlife observation platform just past 2.6 miles.  The view from this platform is similar to the first 2.  Next backtrack to the tram road, then continue straight to stay on the Flycatcher Trail.  Staying on the Flycatcher Trail allows you to both avoid another segment of the tram road and cut through the middle of the tram road's loop.

View from 3rd wildlife viewing platform

            At 3.2 miles, you intersect the west side of the tram road; another tram stop with some nice shady benches is located here.  At this point, you cannot delay walking a long segment of the tram road any further: the only option without significantly extending this hike is to turn right and walk north on the asphalt tram road.  The tram road was a warm and sunny hike on the mild day I came here in early February, but the expansive grassland/savannah offers nice scenery and potentially offers good wildlife viewing.  I saw the hawk I mentioned above while walking the tram road.

Hiking the tram road

            At 4.3 miles, you get back to the Visitor Center.  All that remains to complete your visits to this park's wildlife viewing platforms is to hike the short Ebony Trail, which takes you through a dense mature ebony-anacua forest.  The denseness of this forest makes off-trail travel difficult for us today just as it did for Spanish explorers in the 1500s, and it is one reason the lower Rio Grande valley was sparsely settled for a long time.

View from final wildlife observation platform

            The final 2 wildlife observation platforms sit only a couple hundred feet from each other.  You reach them at 4.5 miles, and they offer final views across the resaca.  Retrace your steps to the Visitor Center to complete the hike.

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