Texas - Matagorda Bay Nature Park

[Frank&Mike]

Has anyone camped at Matagorda Bay Nature Park on the Gulf of Mexico and can offer any suggestions on how it was? Activities to do there? Any other input as well (restaurants, entertainment, etc.)? We're spending Friday April 9th and Saturday April 10th there. Following is the link to the park:

LCRA - Matagorda Bay Nature Park

[pienjim]

We were there two weeks ago with the Heart of Texas Camping Unit. The camping area itself is like any RV park with spaces fairly close together with no visual separation. The sites are concrete pads with a nice table and lots of well-kept grass (clover, actually). The restroom/bathhouse was clean and functional. The photos on the website are fairly accurate. Matagorda, the town, has little to offer for the shopper, however a few restaurants exist and the seafood is excellent.

Activities: walk on the beach, rent a kayak (or bring your own), hike some trails, fish (lighted piers), swim, check out the Nature Center, watch birds. It was windy while we were there and the jetty was under construction, so lots of big trucks and construction equipment were running up and down the road adjacent to the park. My grandsons thoroughly enjoyed watching that activity. The park stayed full with the exception of the day the last big cold front blew through.

Hope this helps. Paula

[Frank&Mike]

Thanks for the information Paula. Sounds like we better shop for groceries before we leave Austin and arrive well stocked. Hopefully the water will be warm enough to at least wade in. When I made reservations it sounded like the place is still pretty much at capacity. Surprised me ... I thought that the Snowbirds would be heading north about now. But I guess not.

[pienjim]

Agreed. Get your groceries ahead of time. The corner convenience store lacked some of the basics. We did buy fresh shrimp and they are really good.

The water should be just fine for wading...maybe even swimming if you're tough!

Paula

[kingfisher24]

that is the LCRA park at Matagorda???....we stayed there in early march...just before you guys rallied there...it was almost vacant then
and we had a blast.....great oysters and the shrimp was delicious also....

[Frank&Mike]

Correct, it is the LCRA park. Actually we were not aware of the Rally that had just occurred there a couple of weeks ago. But it turned out to be a really nice getaway.

It's really quiet, a very interesting Nature Center with exhibits, a pretty beach with lots of neat shells to collect, the Colorado river also right there, a very well kept RV park with full hookups and a really great restaurant in town for seafood. There were a lot of jelly fish though (pointing at one in the second photo) ... not sure if it is the season for jelly fish or if they just happen to like that part of the coast.

I'll attached a couple of replies here with photos.

We would highly recommend Matagorda Bay if looking for a quiet getaway, or a getaway with a group of friends/family.

[Frank&Mike]

A few more photos.