Goose Island State Park - I smell a camping trip!

Last Sunday, we left Port Aransas a day early to drive to Galveston because we hadn't seen it since Hurricane Ike. We didn't get far before we found a State Park we needed to scope out. Goose Island State Park is in Rockport, which is about 30 minutes north of Port Aransas. So, a couple hours longer drive than Galveston, depending on whether you are hauling a camper, but what a neat park! Plus, Galveston Island State Park is closed right now - more on that in another post.

Here are some of the water front sites. These aren't really on a beach. You could fish here, but see the wall that separates the water from the sites? It wouldn't be fun to swim here, or try to launch a kayak. Still, they are neat looking campsites.



There is a nice long fishing pier in the park. It is so shallow that they have stairways leading down to the water, where you can wade out to get deeper.



A pretty bird!


View of the pier from the end of the pier. We walked all the way down. It goes straight, then off to the left in the picture. I love how they have little tables set up, and even some rod holders. There is a fish cleaning station at the beginning of the pier. Very nice (for a fishing pier).

An island made of shells, accessed from the pier!

I guess this is where Goose Island gets its name.

Hey little buddy!

We loved the pier so we decided to fish a little while. Didn't catch anything, but this old redfish was slowly swimming close to the surface of the water. I took a picture, and we both frantically dangled our baits and lures in front of him. He wasn't having any of it. LOL!

We had to see what this "Stinky Beach" sign was all about. It really did stink.

There is an onsite bait shop. Nice!

Now, check out these campsites. These are tent sites. Don't those trees look neat? They look sort of African safari-ish.

And here is a site with hook-ups. Hard to believe this is a BEACH state park. It looks just like any other state park at the lake, with all the trees. It really is the best of both worlds. There is a swim beach, and other RV sites with a beach, but I didn't get any pictures of those. So, great fishing areas, good places to launch kayaks, wooded campsites, and a beach. What more could you want?

Oh, and the bathroom we went into was spotlessly clean and brand new. It had hand sanitizer in there. FANCY!!

We will definitely come camping here sometime. It was a great park.