Bird Island Basin Campground - Padre Island National Seashore

Parking was very tight Jan. 5 , 2020 the campground was not full so some spaces between sites. Nice view of water very shallow but easy to kayak from. Traffic up and down the beach was frequent and annoying since road very close to rv sites. Weak Verizon cell signal alright with booster. Did not check facilities supposed to be cold water showers. . Worth the 4 dollars but not much more. Coastal paddling was pleasant and many birds usual plastic junk on shore. Continuous wind when I was there. No significant bugs noted.

It’s a rough place. We went there to sail and stayed 5 nights. You camp on a very rough rocky concrete. Spaces are very close together. It’s right on the water with a great view. Expect wind and when there isn’t wind expect bugs. No water or electricity at the site. Bathroom were clean. We will be back

For the money, this is a great place. Washrooms open, dump and water available at Malachite Beach. Quite, less wave action on this side of the island. Had three days of rain before we arrived, so mosquitoes were an issue. Lots of birds to see!

We camped at Bird Basin in our RV in January 2018, and the effects of Hurricane Harvey were still evident. Only about half of the 34 campsites were open. The sites are nothing more that narrow (18' wide) parking areas in a gravel lot. No electricity or water (but fresh water is available at another site 4.5 miles away). Restroom was being rebuilt, but is far from the campsites. On the plus side, the campsites are right on the Laguna Madre, which can have excellent fishing and birding. There is also a windsurfing center nearby, and it was fun to watch the windsurfers on the Laguna.

October 2012 - vehicles on the beach accepted. We parked a 26 ft RV about 200 yards from the entrance. Could have gone further due to packed sand. Check sand conditions before driving an RV. Same goes for the South Shore.