National Parks Near Corpus Christi
National Parks Near Corpus Christi. There’s so much more to the Lone Star State than their great barbecue. In this article, More Than Just Parks goes deep in the heart of Texas.
I’ve been to so many of these amazing places since retiring from teaching in 2018. Did I mention that I taught history? I spent a lifetime teaching about the history behind these momentous sites. Then I got to see them firsthand. And now I’m sharing the stories of these incredible places with you. It doesn’t get any better than that!
To be clear, this list includes national park sites (as in sites managed by the National Park Service) as opposed to full-fledged national parks. To learn more about the difference between the various National Park Service designations check out our article that explains everything!
Now let’s go ahead with 5 reasons why you’ll want to hop in your car and make a day’s drive from Corpus Christi to one of these truly amazing places.
Table Of Contents
- Why Trust Us About National Parks Near Corpus Christi?
- Meet The Parks Brothers
- El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail
- Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
- Padre Island National Seashore
- The Alamo
- Map Of National Parks Near Corpus Christi
Why Trust Us About National Parks Near Corpus Christi?
You should probably know that we don’t just make this stuff up out of thin air. My sons have spent their entire adult lives exploring and filming America’s national parks and public lands.
As for me, I’m a retired lifelong educator and a proud dad of these two wonderful guys who are hopelessly obsessed with the national parks. I taught history for over a quarter of a century. Now I enjoy researching and writing articles for More Than Just Parks. I’m always on the hunt for topics where nature and history intersect so please feel free to share any ideas that you might have with me.
We’ve worked with the National Park Service, the Department of Interior, and the U.S. Forest Service for years creating films on important places and issues. Our work has been featured in leading publications all over the world and even some people outside of our immediate family call us experts on the national parks.
Meet The Parks Brothers
We’re Jim Pattiz and Will Pattiz, collectively known as the Pattiz Brothers (and sometimes the Parks Brothers) and we absolutely LOVE the national parks.
Our goal here at More Than Just Parks is to share the beauty of America’s national parks and public lands through stunning short films in an effort to get Americans and the world to see the true value in land conservation.
We hope you’ll follow our journey through the parks and help us to keep them the incredible places that they are. If you’re interested in joining the adventure then please sign up below!
Best National Parks Near Corpus Christi
1. El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail
Distance From Corpus Christi: Three hours & 27 minutes via I-37 N & 35-N.
Once upon a time the land which is today Texas was a part of the Empire of Mexico. This empire was connected by a series of routes or “royal roads.” One of these was the El Camino Real de los Tejas. It was the primary overland route for the Spanish colonization of what is today Texas and northwestern Louisiana.
El Camino Real de los Tejas served as a political, economic, and cultural link between Mexico City and Los Adaes (and all points in between).
Settlers, missionaries, soldiers, servants, and indigenous allies followed various roads and trails along the 2,500 miles of this route to populate the settlements, missions, and presidios of eastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana. (Source: NPS)
Exploring The Trail Today
Today there are countless ways to explore this fascinating trail. Whether you’re in search of knowledge or nature or just some good exercise there’s something for everyone on the El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail.
If you’re interested in learning more about its history (like me) then check out the museums and visitor centers along the El Camino Real de los Tejas. There you will find interpretive exhibits, information, and programs.
Or you can take it a step further by hiking in the footsteps of history along the El Camino Real de los Tejas. Points of interest include: Mission Tejas State Park, Caddo Mounds State Historic Site, Floresville Hike & Bike Trail and Lobanillo Swales.
There are also a number of beautiful parks and historic missions waiting to be discovered along the trail too.
RELATED: 18 SURPRISING New Mexico National Parks
2. Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park | National Parks Near Corpus Christi
Distance From Corpus Christi: Three hours & 15 minutes via I-37 N.
While America’s 36th President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, is often associated with the Great Society, landmark Civil Rights legislation and the Vietnam War, his administration also passed an unprecedented amount of legislation designed to protect the nation’s land, air, water, wilderness, and quality of life.
Author Adrian Benepe believes the U.S. president with the strongest environmental track record is President Lyndon B. Johnson.
In his article, How the White House Went Green, Benepe writes, “Lyndon Johnson signed more than 300 conservation measures into law. These measures established the legal foundations for how we protect the nation’s land, water and air.”
“The first important legislative success for the environmental movement was the Wilderness Act, which President Johnson signed into law on September 3, 1964.
The act was neither the first environmental law nor the most important. Yet the scope and ambitions of the Wilderness Act were strikingly new.
The law immediately set aside 9.1 million acres of federal land as part of a new National Wilderness Preservation System.
Defining wilderness as places “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain,” the law largely barred industries such as mining and logging from the newly designated wilderness areas.”
–James Morton Turner & Andrew C. Isenberg, The Republican Reversal: Conservatives And The Environment From Nixon To Trump
A Transitional Force of Environmentalism
Environmental historian Martin V. Melosi refers to the Johnson administration as “a transitional force in the evolution from old-style conservation to modern environmentalism.”
We will seek legal power to prevent pollution of our air and water before it happens.
We will step up our effort to control harmful wastes, giving first priority to the cleanup of our most contaminated rivers.
We will increase research to learn much more about the control of pollution.
-President Lyndon b. johnson
RELATED: Is It Time For Another Bipartisan Era Of Environmental Activism In America?
Things To Do At The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park tells the story of our 36th President beginning with his ancestors until his final resting place on his beloved LBJ Ranch. This entire “circle of life” gives the visitor a unique perspective into one of America’s most noteworthy citizens by providing the most complete picture of an American president.
Things to see in the park include the Visitor Center, President Johnson’s Boyhood Home, Sam Johnson Sr.’s Cabin, and the Texas White House.
As a retired history teacher who’s fascinating with the life and times of America’s 36th President, I would recommend what I (and a lot of other folks) consider to be the best biographical series written on LBJ.
The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power; Means of Ascent; Master of the Senate; The Passage of Power by Robert Caro is a four volume collection which won the coveted Pulitzer Prize.
If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology.
We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it.
-president lyndon b. johnson
Be Sure To Visit The Texas White House
I recommend beginning at the Visitor Center. It features exhibits on President Johnson’s life and his legislative accomplishments. There are two 25-minute films in the visitor center that can be viewed upon request: “LBJ: The President” covers his presidential years and “Lady Bird” highlights the life and accomplishments of Mrs. Johnson.
From there you can see the Johnson boyhood home that he lived in from the age of five until his high school graduation in 1924.
Visitors are also able to do a driving tour of the LBJ Ranch. You can stop at sites along the way such as the President’s birthplace, Johnson family cemetery, and the Johnson’s ranch house known as the Texas White House.
3. Padre Island National Seashore | National Parks Near Corpus Christi
Distance From Corpus Christi: 43 minutes via TX-358 E & Park Rd. 22.
If you visit Padre Island National Seashore then you’ll experience a truly magical place which includes 66 miles of coastline, dunes, prairies, and wind tidal flats teeming with life.
It’s a nesting ground for the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle and a haven for over 380 bird species.
Padre Island has a rich history that also includes the Spanish shipwrecks of 1554.
Things To Do At Padre Island
I’m a history guy, but when it comes to Padre Island the surf’s up. On this 113-mile island, the second-longest island in the contiguous United States, there are so many wonderful aquatic activities including: beachcombing, beach driving, bicycle riding (on the beach of course!), bird watching, fishing, picnicking and swimming.
And, if you’re planning on camping then the good news is that their campgrounds are open year round.
While you’re there I recommend checking out Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a favorite place for resident birds and their snowbird cousins, fish, mammals, amphibians, and countless insects.
You also ought to visit the South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary. It includes a five-story viewing tower and more than half a mile of raised boardwalks and bird blinds. There’s 50 acres of protected wetlands and the creatures that live here.
4. The Alamo
Distance From Corpus Christi: Two hours via I-37 N.
A mere two hours from Corpus Christi is the most important historic landmark in the state of Texas. Do you remember the Alamo? Few Texans will ever forget it! The Alamo is to Texans what the Statue of Liberty is to Americans. It’s a historical landmark which symbolizes the struggle for liberty.
The Battle of the Alamo during Texas’ war for independence from Mexico lasted thirteen days, from February 23, 1836-March 6, 1836. In December of 1835, a group of Texan volunteer soldiers had occupied the Alamo, a former Franciscan mission located near the present-day city of San Antonio.
While the Mexican Army under the leadership of Santa Anna prevailed slaughtering all of the soldiers inside of the fort, it was an important event in the Texas Revolution and American History because it rallied the rest of Texas to fight against the Mexican army eventually leading to a victory over Santa Ana at the Battle of San Jacinto.
CHECK OUT: 10 MUST-SEE HISTORIC SITES IN TEXAS
Things to do at The Alamo
The Alamo complex houses a museum and artifacts from the revolution. The chapel houses the national or state flags of all the defenders, along with personal artifacts and memorabilia.
Visitors can explore the walls inside and outside the chapel which still bear witness to the shots fired during the battle.
What once was the barracks for priests and troops now houses a museum telling the story of Texas’ history from the original colonial settlement through the Texians’ battle for independence and victory.
“The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender nor retreat.”
― William Travis, at the Alamo
Map Of National Parks Near Corpus Christi
List Of National Parks Near Corpus Christi
- El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail
- Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
- Padre Island National Seashore
- The Alamo
Our goal here at More Than Just Parks is to share the beauty of America’s national parks and public lands through stunning short films in an effort to get Americans and the world to see the true value in land conservation.
We hope you’ll follow our journey through the parks and help us to keep them the incredible places that they are. If you’re interested in joining the adventure then please sign up below!
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