Bird Island Basin Campground

The main area is just a parking lot with a picnic table at each camping site space. So you are right next to your neighbors. Everyone was quiet and respectful, but there's not much privacy or room to spread out. Lovely views of sunsets.

In the tent area, a bit north of the entrance, you park and then walk a few hundred yards to select a site on the beach. This beach faces the lagoon, so you are protected from the harsh winds off the gulf/ocean unlike the other beach camping at this park.

Right next to a rental place with kayaks and windsurfing. One pit toilet, which was clean.

Bird Island Basin is a great place to stay if you want a little peace and quiet without camping on the beach. The campsites are close together and face the Laguna Madre and Intercoastal Waterway. There is less sand to get everywhere like on the beach and the water is cakm. Usually during the day you can see some kite surfers.

The beach is an easy drive from this campsite. My wife and I stayed on the beach during the day and camped here at night. You can the birds and see the fish jump in the Lagoon.

Everyone is friendly and the camping area is clean.

Campground located within the Padre Island National Seashore park on the bayside of the island. Malaquite campground is nearby with beach access & close to the visitor center. Malaquite has a dump station & water. Pay attention to where you fill as there is also non-potable. Bird Basin offers windsurfing & seasonal kayaks. Sites are very narrow but doable even with big rigs. Boat ramp nearby.Would have given a 4 star but the sites are so narrow.
Would stay there again.

Campground located within the Padre Island National Seashore park. The campground is on the bayside of the island. It's quiet and was not crowded when we were there (early January 2023). It seems to be a popular campground for fishing and windsurfing. In fact, they have windsurfing rentals and beginner lessons if you're there at the right time of year. They also rent kayaks. There are no hook-ups or water. Generators are allowed from 6am-10pm and we did hear a couple while we were there. Mostly in the evenings. Sites are close together but we've never seen it very full and most everyone spaces themselves apart. We try to come to PINS each year and have camped on the beach several times. Bird Island Basin is a great alternative if you're worried about getting stuck in the sand, changing tides, or storms (we've experienced all three). It's located on the bayside with solid ground to park on and looks out over quiet waters. The turn for Bird Island Basin is maybe 1/2 mile after the National Park gate. There is a fee at the gate unless you have a National Park pass. Campsites are first come and cost $8 but if you have a senior or access pass they're $4. It's easy access and parking for any size rig. We had some phone service with T-Mobile and no booster but it came in and out. If you need a dump station, the Malaquite Campground within the National Park has one and is just 4 miles south from Bird Island Basin. We also saw people filling their fresh water tanks there but signs said "non-potable." Another mile south is the Malaquite Visitor Center where they have indoor and outdoor cold showers. In the park store you can pick up a free tide chart and ask about weather conditions.

My husband, pup, and I stayed on December 27th, 2022 in our Mercedes Sprinter based Class B RV/campervan. We had initially planned to camp for a week on the dispersed camping on the beach allowed at PINS, but were aware before we arrived that the beaches were closed except to 4WD vehicles due to a recent storm. We had dispersed camped at another beach for a few days before arriving, so just wanted a nice overnight stay while transiting through the area. We arrived around 3:30pm, and I would say that at least half the campground was full, which surprised us because on a previous trip the year before this campground seemed completely deserted (same time of year, but perhaps since the beaches were closed more people were in the campgrounds instead of camping out on the sand - I do think the campground ended up being completely full before dark). We opted for site 1 since our slider door would open to the grass/sand instead of into another rig, but this was technically the camp host site so it may not always be available. The one negative of this campground is that you will be quite close to your neighbors as well as day-use areas. In any case, we immediately got our kite out because we had been waiting for the right place and conditions to finally use it and we really enjoyed running around on the shores of the Lagune Madre with our kite. We did end up packing it in a bit early because the biggest coyote I've ever seen was a little too interested in our kite. Normally I don't think anything of coyotes because they are typically so skittish of humans, but we've read reports of a lot of coyote attacks on dogs in nearby beaches and communities (including leashed dogs being walked by their humans) so we definitely didn't want the coyote coming any closer to our campsite. While my husband walked our dog, I saw the coyote again hunting some deer just across from the campground, so just a friendly warning to be so careful with your pets and small children because it seems like this may be becoming a real problem in this area. We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset, a nice quiet night of sleep, and a pretty sunrise the next morning. Easy access, level parking, trash receptacles, and restrooms made this an easy spot for a simple one-nighter for us and we'd certainly stay again if in the area.

Even though it was cold and windy it was a fun quick trip with lots of miles of intercoastal shoreline to walk and very few people and it was a Saturday. I'm sure the weather had something to do with that. The few staff that we did see in the entrance and park store were friendly. Restrooms were clean and trash cans emptied. Now, for a couple of very minor cons, the park rules said quite time between 10PM and 6AM that included generators, but I guess people took it as a suggestion because most campers had their generators running all night and the sites at Bird Island Basin Campground are very close. If someone would have parked next to us and had slide outs we would not be able to pull out the awning. Besides a few inconsiderate campers and tight fitting sites I would camp here again.

Looking for a place for the husband to fish without the fierce coastal wind sending his lure back in his face we happened across Bird Island Basin. The campground is on the inside of the Corpus Christi Bay waterway, separated from the Ocean by about a mile of moors. It is THE place for windsurfers in the area. There is a windsurfer store that rents and sells equipment and gives lessons.

The sites are all up against the water. Dry camping and the sites are relatively level, it only took one llego block to bring us plumb. There are pit toilets, don't know their condition, we used our own. There is a day use area just beyond the campground. No cell service, no internet. So very peaceful!

Cost is $8, we paid for with the America The Beautiful pass. We will definitely return.

Dry camping but nearby malachite cg has free dump , potable water and cold water showers. There is a vault toilet and it was very clean. Sites are right on water Laguana Madre. Fun to kayak and wind surf , paddle board or fish. Sites are somewhat small. A few have picnic table. Camp host Larry is very nice and helpful. You can also take windsurfing lessons there.
Only complaint are the awful sharp rocks that have been place along entire shore making it tough to wade in fish or get in kayaks. We both cut our feet and hands on sharp boulders. Why???