Isla Blanca Park in South Padre Island, TX, is home to El Cristo de los Pescadores or "Christ of the Fishermen" statue. My first thought was how huge the statue was. This depiction of Jesus Christ was created in the late '90s in memory of Gustavo De La Lastra and Jose Edwardo De La Lastra. Their June 1988 deaths by asphyxiation aboard a shrimp boat occurred "after using a chemical preservative on their catch." A lawsuit by the parents against chemical's manufacturer, General Chemical Corporation, ensued. I didn't know about this tragedy beforehand, however, the statue remained absolutely beautiful. I wish that the island wasn't so trashy on May 28, 2025 when my daughters and I visited. If that wasn't enough, daily vehicle passes were $12. I'd probably go here to view SpaceX launches from afar, but not to RV camp. It looked so crowded! Works Cited https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/general-chemical-corp-v-891520387 https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/how-the-statue-of-the-christ-of-the-fishermen-got-to-south-padre-island/ read more

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Fantastic way to spend an afternoon. There are public bathrooms, outdoor showers and parking. I love the area with tables and umbrellas which make it a great family friendly place. read more

Isla Blanca Park - Beaches Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

Entry fee $12. Open 6 am to 11 pm. Great staff. Beautiful clean space with a lot of fishing spots and plenty of parking. Amphitheater is great place to bring lunch and hang out while enjoying the beautiful beach. Vibe here is very relaxing. read more

Isla Blanca Park - Parking on south end looking toward Space X launch site - Beaches Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

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Great shade areas lovely views Clean beach You can walk or bike in for free Great place for groups lots of picnic tables and a boat ramp although it gets crowded because there only one for both in and out boat traffick read more

Isla Blanca Park - Leaving off the boat ramp - Beaches Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

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Beautiful, Dogs friendly as long as they are on a leash and please remember to pick up after your pets!!! Everyone should walk out on the jetties, it's amazing!!! Nice beach area. read more

Always a good time at south padre island. Lots of live music, seaside bars, fish and chips, sun and surf. Love the winter texans read more

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Good size spaces, had 50 amp even though the guy said it was only 30. Only issue was the amount of mosquito and Noseeums. We really couldn't enjoy sitting outside because they were so thick. Kinda noisy on the weekends but the week was quite nice. read more

White island! You know why it's called white island? Cuz it's covered in bird crap. There's birds everywhere here! Seagulls, terns, pelicans, you name it. Caw! Caw! Caw! It's a RV park that has restricted access to the public. You normally have to pay admission to get in with your car, or RV. Many of the RVs look like they're from far origins, often Canada, and these Winter Texans come down and live here on the beach for months on end. Nice. At the south end of the park, be sure to check out the Christ of the Fishermen statue. It memorializes a tragedy at sea around here. It's a huge, striking statue. They also have a public restroom, with a snackbar. There wasn't a lot of seating in the shade, and the smartest people brought their own chairs, coolers, and umbrellas to watch this stuff. The whole place is dog friendly! When we went, we used this space as a vantage point to see the SpaceX launch tests, where they blasted the rockets! PewPewPew! read more

Beautiful beach park in South Padre Island. Great boardwalk and amenities - showers, chair and umbrella rentals, restrooms, concessions and grills/picnic area. Day passes are $12 and you can purchase an annual pass for $100. Entrance is free on a bicycle. Popular place for surfing, kite boarding and just enjoying the day! read more

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I came to visit Brownsville for my Grandma's birthday, but we also had to squeeze in a quick visit to South Padre. In order to maximize social distancing, we decided to enter through Isla Blanca Park. Parking was a breeze, we parked right next to the boardwalk. The boardwalk was scarcely used, and Dad was able to sit back there and enjoy since his hip was bothering him and he couldn't stay on the sand too long. The park is a quick walk to the Jettis, too, so if you're looking for a great spot to take some pictures, I recommend shelling out the $12 to park close out here. (Cash only, and there's a discount for Veterans) read more

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It's closed. You can't get in, the security at the gate turns everyone away. Normally this would not warrant a review but we could not find this information online anywhere! So hopefully this review helps you. The beach is still accessible if you park elsewhere and walk over. Actually, I would highly recommend doing this if you don't mind the walk because there was almost no one there. The pic is from doing this. read more

Isla Blanca Park - Beaches Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

Not too crowded but a nice beach. Clean and quiet. They also have food available. Next time I'm in the area, I'll visit again. read more

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VERY IMPORTANT. If you are camping, you MUST be here before 8PM If you are not here by 8PM, the park will NOT let you in It does not matter what you've paid They will not email you a code If you're not here by 8PM, you're not getting in Otherwise, it's a great place to camp and the views of the Spacex launch facility are awesome read more

Great location for a camping experience. Was there during the Space X launch. It was awesome! I think a little more time can be invested in tidying up the sites prior to patrons arriving, that is my only negative take on the park, besides that, everything was great... read more

Cabana was great if you keep your expectations in check. Not a hotel booking. It has AC and heat, beds are not standard. Full size width but much longer. Best to bring flat sheets and thuck them in. 3 inch pad on plywood frame. Not thick but better than a cot or sleeping on hard ground. Shower is nice. Sweep out the floor before you load your stuff to get the fine sand in control. Take comfy pillows and towels for shower and a small one for the floor to wipe feet when you come in. Full size fridge (Ours wasn't very cold even after making it as cold as it could get.) Freezer worked well. Has a sink but no microwave. Ask for a picnic table. Not all cabanas have tables. Take an electric skilit and a long extention (25 ft or longer) cord to make breakfast on the picknik table outside. Enjoy the great views and easy accessibility to the beach sunrises and peaceful evening moonrise walks on the beach or the boardwalk if you don't want to go in the sand. read more

This park is okay. They aren't kept up and some are very tight. The grass has stickers everywhere. You can't walk the dog without digging out the burrs in their feet. Do your research on a good spot and be prepared to lay down something on the grass area. Also the ants are everywhere so bring bug killer. read more

Isla Blanca Park - Beaches Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

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Beware cancellation policy. You have to pay in full upon reservation- because of a prior one day schedule change- then a death in the family causing us to cancel an AZ to Tennessee trip- we are out $200 four day reservation. Out of 7 reservations this was the only one to charge the full amount up front and the only one that did not give a refund. BEWARE cancellation policy! read more

We have an old vintage camper (no bathroom) and we were definitely the only ones without a newer much bigger RV. We went over thanksgiving. We reserved online. We arrived around 5:30 PM so the sun was setting and the man at the gate was very annoyed that he didn't have paperwork for us. He let us in but wouldn't give us tags or bathroom codes or a map... we couldn't find our site in the dark. We went back to him and he was still unhelpful. We found our site and even though it was a premium site it was so small and no picnic table and had back to back Rvs so we found another site online which was larger and available. We set up in the dark and had no access to the bathrooms. We went to the office at 8AM and were again facing really unpleasant people. They very begrudgingly let us change sites. They made it known they do not do this. (Normally the office would have been open when we arrived, but it was a holiday - they just need to have something in place for people who reserve online and show up on time and they didn't have anything set up). We paid more for our non-premium site because they wouldn't refund the difference- we were ok with this, they said we couldn't have a tent - including a screen tent - when there were swarms of mosquitoes- but I'd say at least 20% of sites had a tent on site, she just either lied to us - or they don't care that some people have them? But the rules say that you can have a tent on certain sites- so I'm not sure she was being honest. We didn't like: how angry and grumpy the staff was, the mosquitoes were pretty unbearable, no campfires allowed, and not having WiFi or park maps was a downside. The nice things: are that it's near the beach, the few people we met - all long timers - were very nice. It was quiet- dog friendly- and you can see space ex if you go during a launch period. We won't go back- seems like other beach camping closer to Houston may be preferable. If we did go back- we'd stay in a similar site (larger non-premier sites) and we'd set up a screen tent without asking - like everyone else did- and bring a ton of bug / mosquito repellent. Weather was grey and drizzly, but we didn't mind. Lots of ants and birds. Also prickly burs that cling to feet, socks, blankets and dogs. read more

Basically a run down RV park. Everything is old. The fresh water that comes out of the spigot smells horrible.

We had reservations for Thursday-Monday. We we're caught in storms on the way and advised the reservation dept we would be checking in late. They told us that they leave the office about 8:15 pm and to email them confirmation we would be checking in late. Mind you they have never answered their phones after days of trying to contact them. We sent the email. We arrived at the park at 7pm on Thursday, the office we spoke to prior was closed and could not check in or get in the gate. The following day we were able to check in. Some sites have sketchy electrical set ups. The restrooms have not been cleaned one time since being here. People at the gate were rude every time we entered A bloody pad could be found in a shower stall day after day! We will never return to this park! read more

Very poor park layout. Map on line indicates pull though sites, but most are not or over grown entrances. About 1/2 of the sites do not have a concrete patio surface. Not good since there are grass burs (stickers) EVERYWHERE! Our dog even picked them up while walking in the street. Check in was terrible. Even though you register on line you have to fill out the entire form again. And, initial 3-4 pages of rules that you are not offered a copy. The park feels safe with constant patrols by park and county police. Great beaches and area to watch Space X launches. Very close to local venues. read more

Beautiful waves, soft sand. This side of the island (south...southeast more specifically) is very family friendly and peaceful. Besides Spring Break-avoid the island on that crazy week. Anyways--I was really happy to see families playing frisbee, toddlers & kids playing in the sand, married couples and quiet singles lounging on the end of the island. Loved it so much I didn't touch the north end of Padre, as my local friend said it was the more party-geared end. It's no Florida beach, but it definitely smashed my bias against Texas beaches. Really a beautiful area. All in all-I definitely recommend this area and rate it a 5 for a Texas beach. In the world-3 stars. read more

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Jetty fishing access into the Intercoastal waterway that goes into the Gulf from the Laguna Madre. . A small bait shop will open on the weekends only it seems. RV and tent camping. A nice beach front .. Umbrellas and chairs set up.. apparently they charge for them on the weekends only as I sat here all day thursday drinking under one and was prodded to pay for them on Saturday. Bathrooms and showers to rinse off all your sand. Public Boat Launch. 4 dollar entrance fee read more

Isla Blanca Park - Beaches Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

Isla Blanca RV Park was very nice, the beaches were clean and the RV Campsite was beautiful. We swam in the warm gulf waters, beached combed for sea shells, chased after crabs, got down and dirty in the sand like children and built sandcastles. What a beautiful day! See photos click here http://brigittethompson.hubpages.com/hub/South-Padre-Island-Texas-RV-Park-Isla-Blanca-RV-Park-Reviews read more

Isla Blanca Park - Isla Blanca RV Park South Padre Island TX - Beaches Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

They did not honor my online reservation and would not refund the $46 they charged me because my camping van wasn't a $100K manufactured RV. The rundown checkin office is staffed with petty, vindictive bottom of the barrel government bureaucrats who's only joy in life is ruining someone elses family vacation. Stay away at all costs. read more

This place might just be heaven. What a wonderful place to spend the winter months. Beautiful clean beaches, right across from SpaceX, and shrimp you cant beat. This place is wonderful! read more

A beautiful selection of beaches. Lots of parking. Watch out for the many fishermen if swimming. A 4 because the price is high to enter--$12. Cash only. Surf to the left of the jetties. We enjoyed the small, but ridable waves. read more

Found the entrance workers to be incredibly rude. When our car blew it's alternator inside the park, the cab was not permitted to pick us up inside the park. Then when I drove back to pick up the small children, the employees were rude and unclear in giving directions. And of course they charged me an additional $10 to enter. In addition to their rudeness, we found the park riddled with litter. I'll definitely never return. read more

We had a very good time at this beach. We would've paid for the 30 day pass since we went almost every day during our vacation because it pays off, even if you're there only a week but we didn't think of it. The pros: Bathrooms and showers nearby, as well as food & misc items. They also rent 2 chairs & umbrella for $30 in case you forget but bring your own! It's way cheaper. The cons: Since you pay $10 fee you would think the area was maintained but there was a lot of trash & debris around. The worst part, we were there for about 10hrs and 1 shower head was broken, going practically at full stream the entire time! We tried fixing it but couldn't so I can imagine how many gallons of water wasted :( read more

Wish we coulda spent more time here. Got to walk in free of charge. ( 10 dollars for day use in a car). Got to walk down the jetties Catch some rays. Enjoyed the beautiful blue water. read more

I came to this area expecting a grassy and well maintained public park. But in fact it is mostly a place to park mobile homes and trailers. So it was rather boring for me. Each lane for trailer parking is named after a body of water, so that was kind of interesting. If you want to park here it will cost $10 at the gate. If you really want to go then I recommend parking somewhere for free further up North and walking down the beach. read more

Not a safe place to stay. If you must stay, always go places in groups. Male or female. If you are elderly skip this place all together. They need to make some serious security changes. read more

This place is a dump. They never mow, unless you hound them day after day. We just checked out and the grass was about 1 foot tall with tons of stickers. The place is only about 20% occupied and the county still doesn't maintain the property. The mosquitos were horrible. The bathrooms are disgusting and almost unusable. The water trickles out of the few showers that even work. Don't waste your money going. The county invests $0.00 on improvements. The county commissioners think they can do massive county expenditures to renovate this park, but their current personnel can't even handle very minimal maintenance. The price has gone up every year with zero park upkeep. The long term tenants are the only ones that make personal site improvements because the county doesn't use any profits for maintenance. Vote the Cameron County Commissioners out of office. They are not in touch with the community. They need to come take a look now at the lack of effort given to maintain the bare minimum upkeep of this park. They have no clue!!! read more

This is a beautiful beach! Besides the gorgeous ocean, there is also a snack shack, picnic tables, and a playground for the kiddos. We visited at an off-peak time (early May) so parking was easy because they have a decent-sized lot. It might be a lot harder to find parking and enjoy this beach during Spring Break. read more

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Great proximity to the beach. Staff friendly at check in but some what lacking in rules and regulations. Code enforcement is not enforced. Facilities are not up to par. For $680 a month one would think that the facilities would be better. Park showers were recently remodeled, so that's a plus, however the lack of ventilation only invites fermentation ( yes I said fermentation) and germination of various unspeakable things. The person who designed the restrooms and showers obviously has no idea what they were doing. Parking is getting better, however still an issue. The beach is beautiful, only when the day crowd and weekenders arrive, then the beach becomes a dumpster. People lack common sense and respect for nature. Trash is left behind every time. Kudos to those that try to clean up the beach every morning. I hope they get things right and fix some of the issues. It has unlimited potential, it's just not being used to it's full potential. read more

For $5 you can get a day pass that will let you in and out of the park. You can do it all here. Camp, fish, sun, and swim. They have helpful flags up providing you with warnings about conditions. The pavilion was kind of sad. Wish there was a place to buy drinks and snacks. I had heard you could rent umbrellas but we didn't see anyone. They have bathrooms available to rinse off. We went on a Friday afternoon and it wasn't very crowded at all. read more

This was our second year here! Made our reservations all ready for next year! The beach is within walking distance of the RV sites. The place is clean. The bathrooms are clean and they have great showers! This has become our place for our family vacations every year! read more

Beautiful park with spacious sites BUT watch out for stickers/cockleburs in grass. They are every where and terrible in dogs feet. Sites are amazing. Super clean. You can watch dolphins, seagulls and pelicans 24-7. Great location, great value. Lots of extended residents who are extremely nice. read more

Love this place. I visit almost every beach holiday weekend. My parents own a camper which they park every summer May-August for the last four years. The area is super family friendly!! The park has spacious rental areas and you can even view the firework show from Louie's Backyard! Renters are constantly grilling, riding bikes/golf carts. Perfect place for nice family vacation RV spot! read more

This place has cheap entrance fees (about $5) and lots of parking. Parking is difficult in most parts of the island (since it's free), so if I don't feel like dealing with traffic/people, I just automatically drive here. There's also areas with restrooms and showers, but honestly they're usually not very clean. That same restroom area also has a roof with some benches. Feel free to bring your own food and drinks (although I'm pretty sure glass isn't allowed). The beach has been very clean every time I've visited, and it's usually filled with families. But keep your eyes open, because I've watched people encounter a ton of jellyfish during some seasons. read more