Magee Beach Park offers amenities to visitors

Visitors enjoy a bird’s eye view of the Gulf of Mexico. The I.B. Magee Beach Park sits right on the beach between Cotter Avenue and Beach Street. It offers camping, beachfront bathrooms and showers and a wetland pond for bird watching

The headquarters building offers a view of the beach and the Gulf of Mexico from a third-floor observation deck. Also available for campers are wireless Internet access and climate-controlled restrooms and laundry facilities.

To make a reservation, contact the park office at (361) 749-6117 or (888) 878-9126.

Overnight stays in the park are $25 per night for RVs and $20 for tents. That includes a water and electric campsite with dump, water and shower for up to eight people, with a three-vehicle parking limit. There is also a weekly rate of $150 for RVs and $125 for tents, and a new monthly rate of $450 for RVs and tents from Oct. 1 to March 31. Monthly rates are not available from April through September.

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.

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). The day use area along the park offers picnic tables and a protected swim area free of vehicle traffic. South from that point, a beach parking window sticker is required at a cost of $12 per year. Overnight camping at the jetty requires a beach camping permit.

Primitive beach camping is available for $12 per night, with access to the shower house (four quarters for four minutes) and bathrooms . Please, no glass on the beach.

The Horace Caldwell Gulf of Mexico fishing pier, at Beach Street and the Gulf, is open 24 hours a day from Memorial Day to Labor Day and 12 hours a day in the winter. The pier also has a restaurant that serves lunch and dinner as well as beer, and has many other products for fishing including pole and surfboard rentals, bait, tackle and souvenirs.

The park, operated by the Nueces County Coastal Parks Dept., was named in memory of I.B. Magee Jr., a Port Aransas resident widely known for his community support. Magee lived near the park, where he enjoyed the sight of visitors relaxing in a campground near the beach.

For more information, call the park office at (361) 749- 6117.