Beach park offers comforts of home

Headquarters at the I.B. Magee Beach Park. I. B. Magee Beach Park is your beach home away from home.

The park headquarters offers a breathtaking view of the beach and the Gulf of Mexico from a third-floor observation deck. Opened in 2007, the $1.8 million building combines the offices that were in the former headquarters building and the showers in the old central building, which was demolished.

Owned and operated by the Nueces County Parks Department, I.B. Magee Beach Park offers beachfront bathrooms and showers as well as camping spaces – both tent and trailer.

RV camping in the campsite area of the park is available for $23 per night, and includes a water and electric campsite with dump, water and shower for up to eight people, with a three-vehicle parking limit. A $5 deposit is required for a key card to access the showers.

There is also a weekly rate of $135 and a new monthly rate of $425 from Oct. 1 to March 31.

A tent campsite with water and electricity, including shower access for up to eight people, also costs $20 per night.

Day parking on the beach from the south jetty to Horace Caldwell Pier is under county jurisdiction and is free (no beach access permit required). South from that point, a beach parking window sticker is required for a cost of $12 per year.

Primitive beach camping is available for $10 per night, with access to the beach shower house and bathrooms on the beach.

The park office is open from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. seven days a week; shower facilities are available to registered campers 24 hours a day.

The park was named in memory of I.B. Magee Jr., a Port Aransas resident who was widely known for his community support.

Magee lived in a house near the park, where he could watch and enjoy the sight of visitors relaxing in a campground near the beach.

For more information on I.B. Magee Beach Park, call the park office at (361) 749-6117.