Heads up this is from a view of an overnight camper-…read more Me and my husband were looking for a place to camp near Houston for Christmas Eve night. We looked around Houston and everything was booked or rained out! So we found Goose Island and it had decent reviews! We decided to book a campsite for one night- our campsite was 201. When we arrived my goodness!! I've never seen so many deer - one minute outside of the park, there were about 5 deers hanging out- not scared of me or my car or the noises. It was beautiful! When we entered the park, we first was looking for our campsite and drove in many circles- it was in the "wooded area" so it was a bit hard to find! When we arrived it was around 3pm And we started setting up camp. I am thankful the parking was right in front of the campsite but also that whole area I think 201-204 Is shared. I was lucky it was Christmas so no one else Booked the area next to us but it wouldn't have been as fun if others did! We stayed overnight- everything went well as planned! One thing I didn't like the restrooms were driving distance or a longer walk away but this was an amazing weekend getaway for us! In the morning we checked out the pier area. It was nice and very different than our campsite area! Highly recommend this park even for a daytime park!

We got a site on the beach!! It came with a casita/wind shelter with picnic table. Walked to the…read morelong pier. Very windy the time we spent here but sites are spacious and some not level at all, but all wort effort. Many very large rigs can hang out here and chill, bbq, and fish. Great spot! Texas did it again! Great spot. We pulled in on first come first served basis. And hikes in park too!

This is my dog's favorite dog park she has a blast, looking for squirrels and running the Dog…read morePark. They have a good water station and the little pool for them to dip their paws in and they have a lot of trees that keep it nice and cool The dog park is good walking areas it's just a very enjoyable experience.

I absolutely love this park! It is one of my absolute favorite places in South Texas…read more The city of Rockport does an immaculate job maintaining the park, from trimming grass on the side of the paved paths to making sure that the natural trail is always trimmed low. There is a group of people who walk/jog in the early mornings here. The park opens at 6 AM. The part that is paved near the soccer fields and the playground is well lit. But the part that is closer to the ponds towards the back of the park is not. So if you do decide to walk here in the early morning, for safeties concerns, I always kept to the front half of the park. But the dog park is on a whole other level! Between the small and dog park it has to be a little over an acre. It is extremely well shaded with lots of trees. There are obstacles for your dog to play on. They have a fresh source of water as well as a self filling water station. I absolutely love that they have a pretty significantly long natural trail. My joints don't love pavement but they do love natural trails and oftentimes parks they are overlooked or paved over. This park is a gem for the people of Rockport and those who visit.

TLDR: Very family-friendly beach with super shallow and calm water plus a playground. $10 daily…read morefee, $40 per year. This beach is perfect for kids, especially toddlers. The water is super shallow (saw people going super far and it was still only up to their knees) and very calm. The sand in the water is also soft and free of rocks (my kids took off their water shoes). The water was warm (end of July) and pretty clean (not clear). It was really clean on the first day we visited and two days later, some seaweed floated in. Ocean conditions change obviously but it was never unpleasant. There's a playground on the beach although we didn't actually go to check it out. $10 daily fee ($40 per year so if you're here for a week or something, consider upgrading to save). It gets crowded on weekends (naturally) so arrive early to secure a parking spot (before 10am is usually a good call). They have indoor bathrooms and showers. Loved this beach! Perfect for a calm beach experience. If you're looking for waves, go to Port Aransas.

This beach is about 2 1/2 hours from my house, is the only place we go at the coast. There's a $10…read moreper car fee or if you frequent you can buy a season pass. Have clean restrooms available, an area for shower and rinsing off. Nice parking, not far to walk to the sand. We love the beach, highly recommend!!

Excellent park for kids, families, and amazing play ground that is all abilities friendly, splash…read morepad (that can be enjoyed in the summer) & great walking trail and fields.

This mile-long running/walking and biking path winds around from the parking lot near the Super…read moreWal-Mart along some marshes and swamps through some live oak trees and ends up at Enterprise Boulevard near Memorial Park. There's plenty of dedicated parking, and the marsh nearby the entrance has some cool stuff on how Rockport is a migratory bird and butterfly refuge, where all sorts of winged creatures come to roost due to the tranquil nature of this seaside town. There's always a variety of lizards and bugs around here too. Be sure to bring some bug spray! The pathway is about ten feet wide, and paved- so it's perfect for walking your dog or riding your bike or even roller skates! The pathway is usually picked up well, so it's beautiful. There were a lot of trees down after Harvey, but the city has been working on picking those up and restoring the trail to its former glory. There's not much at the end of this pathway, so I turn around and head back along the mile to the start. It's a very nice walk, and I recommend checking it out if you have some spare time.

Fantastic job the Rockport garden club has done restoring a segment of native marsh. 50 years ago…read morethe entire Texas coast was largely undeveloped. These days if you sit in one spot too long you're likely to get bull dozed and paved. So,hats off to anyone governmental,NGO,Clubs, Associations etc who try to preserve a piece of nature as it has been for 100s of years . Right across the street from this oasis sits a Walmart. I bet the Karankawa Indians could never have imagined that. Unbelievably I saw many species of ducks,birds,butterflies and insects I'd never seen before. But the real surprise was two white tail deer I spooked. If you're in the area definitely seek this lovingly," set aside" piece of The Texas Coast. Go!

Quick, immersive walk into some wetlands! Heard frogs a and birds, and plenty of plants and trees…read moreto learn about from markers along the way! Wish it were a longer trail, and I was surprised it wasn't dog-friendly! If those two things were changed, it'd be 5/5 for us!

Superb service by Staff and keeping the rules for the Pier enforced. On another note!…read more Re:Service Animals on Fulton Fishing Pier. The following is just for information purposes only. ! Having been employed at the Disability Office at one of the Colleges in San Antonio for over five years, I became very familiar with the Federal and Texas ADA LAWS! Further, I am a 100% Disabled Veteran with mobility issues. Your small pet that is decked out with a chest cover that says ADA is not classified as a Service Animal. Look it up on the ADA website and you will find a wealth of information on Service Animals. FYI: I am a Dog lover! Doberman or German Shorthaired are my favorite! Please research the laws before you go. Here is some general information I copied from a website; "Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Texas law, a service animal is defined as a dog (or in some cases, a miniature horse) individually trained to perform specific work or tasks directly related to a person's disability. Emotional support animals are not protected as service animals." When you see people at HEB or Walmart or any other business, with a small animal in their cart or being carried, you can pretty much bet that they are not covered by the ADA. Please take the time to read ADA Laws. One more thing. Any Business can "Trespass" you from their property for any reason. Once they do you must leave the premises.

Went out on a Thursday night and the place was packed. Felt like half the town was there…read moreelbow-to-elbow. The lights on the water were excellent, but all I was pulling up on the sabiki were tiny bait fish -- piggy perch, small whiting, you name it. Basically running a daycare for baby fish under those lights. Dropped $20 on croaker and got nothing out of it. Even tried the artificial fish bites, and still just fed the little guys. Didn't see anyone else land anything worth bragging about either. Honestly, just way too many people for not much action.

Great stop to check out black-bellied whistling ducks or ducks for that matter!…read more Do you like nature? Check this place out. Parking can be found across from Walmart or K-Bob's Steakhouse. On the nature trail I appreciated the stops explaining the plants, birds and hummingbirds. We also spotted a deer hiding in the shrubs. One of the visitors showed us that he snapped a photo of an alligator hiding in the water. Be sure to bring insect repellent since this is a marsh.

This garden is a cool marshy area with a walkway, a bridge, and some informative signs! The park is…read morelocated right along Business 35, the main street in Rockport. It has a small parking area at a trail head, and a nice wooden bridge that takes you over a marsh. The Thule Marsh is a tranquil, placid body of water that looks like it might contain alligators. There are lots of birds here with long legs and sharp beaks. Fortunately, there are signs that tell you what you're looking at- very informative! There's also hummingbird feeders, and places for squirrels to hang out. The wetlands were rather untouched by the hurricane- the nature trails were closed, but the bridge and all the info signs were unscathed! There was a piece of the Wal-Mart gas station in the marsh, but that'll get fished out eventually. The place was picked up, and a safe place to relax in the shade or ride a bike!

TLDR: Very old (1,000+) oak tree that has withstood a vast number of hurricanes. Quick stop, with a…read morenice walking loop around the tree. Located inside a state park and requires an entry fee ($5 pp) to access. Visually, this tree is not as beautiful as some similar senior oaks. For instance, Angel Oak in SC has that magical sprawling limb look while this tree has had many limbs trimmed. It's still amazing to know how long this tree has been around (estimated longer than Angel Oak, placed at 1,000 years at least). Even more impressive is how many hurricanes it's withstood due to its proximity to the Gulf (40-50, according to my research). This tree is located inside Goose Island State Park and thus, requires you to pay the entrance fee to access. $5 per adult; kids 12 and under are free. So you can either cough up the money to see the tree and leave or you can try to find other activities in the park. Personally, I didn't really find anything else for our family to do there that was superior to other activities in the area. There's a fishing pier but it seemed narrow and crowded with fishermen. If you fish or hike, you might find more stuff to do but we came here with toddlers so there wasn't much else for us. This is a nice quick stop. You can do a short walking loop around the tree -- it's very child-friendly. My kids enjoyed running around the tree. There are benches to sit, if desired. I found the poem on the sign a bit comical -- it was solemn and reverent and then at the end, you discovered that it was just an appeal for a donation. Ha. Well done, tree.

You can tell it's had work done: it's nice being in nature and all: it's a beautiful day here in…read moreRockport .

Get orientated! This park is right along Business 35 in…read moreRockport. It's a great example of the public works of art that makes Rockport such an artistic, cool destination! This park has a private little lot right off the highway. Once you arrive at the park, you can't help but notice the giant palm tree that's survived storm after storm. It's long since fallen, but continues to grow, sideways and upwards. To me, it's a symbol of Rockport's resiliency. It's been knocked down, but continues to survive and flourish, making it even more interesting. You don't get old by being weak! The park is full of native flora and fauna. There are colorful examples of local flowers and plants to check out. The park is situated along a labyrinth on the ground- you walk along it in a meandering spiral within the circle of the compass rose with some sort of meditative mindset and it's supposed to be relaxing. The labyrinth is an ancient symbol of wholeness, and the journey from the outside in and back out again helps clear the mind. The compass is right on, according to my measurements! You can come here and set your own compass to the giant directions made from marbles on the ground. The compass is true! The park offers a great view of the entrance to Rockport, and the bay, with the beach in the background. It's an exquisite spot for taking in the scenes of Rockport! My only gripe is there aren't enough places to sit in the shade here, and there are no facilities like a drinking fountain. North, South, East or West, this place is a the best park around!