There are hotels, condos, campgrounds, and beach homes here to rent. Although the town has a winter population of around three thousand, it swells during spring break and summer with tourists. You can't access it from the park itself, but from Port Isabel and the Queen Isabella Causeway. South Padre Island - No, this is not in the park, but it is close by. Over four hundred species of birds have been viewed in the park. Only three quarters of one mile long, but home to great views of birds, grasslands, and the dunes. Grasslands Nature Trail - Near entrance station. Little Shell Beach (Milepost 10-15) and Big Shell Beach (Milepost 20-25) - Currents meet and deposit shells of differing sizes along these two beaches. Over time, the pass filled in, was redredged, and now has been completely overtaken by beach again. Dredged in 1941 after a large fish kill in 1938 due to salinity in the Laguna, the pass allowed the less salty gulf water to dilute it. You can only see that from the dunes, not close up. There's not much left of Black Hill and Green Hill except some fencing, but at Novillo, there's a well, bunkhouse, wind mill, other small buildings, and corrals. The Line Camps - Novillo, Black Hill, and Green Hill were part of the Dunn family ranch spread fifteen miles apart on the island. There's also a bookstore and free ranger programs. Malaquite Visitor Center - Milepost 0, includes a small museum, information desk with ranger orientation, observation tower, restrooms, cold rinse showers, and picnic pavilions. They come ashore every two years to lay eggs each female can lay hundreds of eggs in one season. They are the smallest of the gulf sea turtles, on average around 25 inches long as adults. And the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, one of five species that ply the Gulf of Mexico, have become one of its stars. Now the pleasures of the park go further back to the beach, Gulf of Mexico, the variety of birds that wade through the estuary and marshes and take flight in flock. Those shipwrecks still sit in the water, but not viewable for the regular public. Yes, the Novillo Line Camp is there, but not open for visitation. Very little of the past can be seen in the park. No matter why you come, you'll marvel at the vistas over the Gulf of Mexico, or for some, that marsh water on the Gulf Intercoatal Waterway side, Laguna Madre, that has all those birds. For some, it's those sea turtles and being there at the perfect time the hatchlings hatch and make their way to the water. For the majority, it's the beach that brings them for fishing, sunbathing, and water activities. It's actually a bit inside the actual entrance, but this is the area most people focus around. Today, you'll be entering the park from the north where the Malaquite Visitor Center sits around Milepost 0, not far from one of the legacy ranches. He would ranch it and that legacy would continue after he was gone. The land had been granted to his grandfather in 1759 by the King. Padre Balli' and the name, owned the island, served as missionary priest, and finance director of the missions in the entire Rio Grande Valley. At one time, Father Jose Nicolas Balli', i.e. Too far south and you'll need your feet or a four wheel drive vehicle. This is North Padre Island and a shoreline so long and wonderful, you'll spend countless hours just wandering up and down it. It's not far from Corpus Christi, and no, it's not the South Padre Island known more for Spring Break. Below: Sand dunes reaching toward the Gulf of Mexico at Padre Island National Seashore. Photo above: Existing buildings of the Novillo Line Camp ranch. Modern salvage efforts began in the 1960s. Over thirty-five thousand pounds of treasure were found, but fifty-one thousand still waits at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. There had been $9.8 million worth of treasure on those ships. When news of the shipwrecks reached Spain, a salvage mission was sent. The local Karankawa Indians offered food as assistance, then attacked them. Of the survivors who made it off the ship, more hardships were to come. Three hundred and the four hundred people on the voyage died. On April 29, a storm hit, and three ships, the San Esteban, Espiritu Santo, and Santa Maria de Yciar ran aground on the sand bars. Wreck of the 300 - On April 9, 1554, four Spanish ships left Veracruz, Mexico, for home, but only one made it past Padre Island. Novillo was the northernmost camp, followed by Black Hill and Green Hill. It was a ranch that needed few fences, due to the natural water boundaries, except for the south boundary near Mansfield Channel. He moved down to South Padre from Corpus Christi and built three line camps fifteen miles apart on the island with an initial herd of four hundred. Novillo Line Camp - Over three quarters of the island was a ranching operation operated by Pat Dunn from 1879 until 1937.
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