State park offers true getaway

M ustang Island State Park, 13 miles south of Port Aransas straddling the island

Jetties at Mustang Island State Park, south of Port Aransas, offer a field day for shellers and anglers. The park extends across Mustang Island to Corpus Christi Bay as well. from the Gulf

of Mexico to Corpus Christi Bay, continues to draw visitors who are interested in a stay along the beach or a visit to a wetland - or both.

But even though budget cuts at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department have left Mustang Island State Park with some crumbling concrete and other things that need patching, park Superintendent Kenneth Ragan said funds have now been approved for needed repairs.

That will mean renovations of the bath house at the recreational vehicle parking area as well as the bath house at the beach. Ragan plans to build boardwalks on the bay side of the park bordering the old Fish Pass, and to the beach from the RV area.

He'll build a gazebo to provide a gathering spot and shade for visitors to the beach, and he'll pave roads on the bay side of State Hwy. 361, which bisects the park.

Further, Ragan expects the park's first-ever interpretive specialist aboard sometime this Fall, perhaps as early as June. An interpretive specialist will provide in-depth looks at some of the animals and plants found in the park.

Trailer and RV camping spaces will be expanded from the current 48 to 101.

Built on land acquired in 1972 and opened as a state park in 1979, Mustang Island State Park covers nearly 4,000 acres of land, wetland and beach. It fronts the Gulf of Mexico for five miles, including the abortive Fish Pass, built during the 1970s with jetties as an aid to water circulation between the Gulf of Mexico and Corpus Christi Bay. The pass soon silted in and hasn't been open since.

Starting with the influx of Winter Texans in December, Ragan said he can expect to see a full park virtually through the Fall. The park's busiest time is December-March, he said - and again from May through September, when school is out.

At any price, Mustang Island State Park remains one of the best bargains on the Texas coast.