Padre Island National Seashore

The seashore protects about a hundred kilometres of Padre Island, which makes it the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island anywhere. Most of it is beach you drive on: the first few kilometres are passable in an ordinary car and beyond that four-wheel drive is required, with soft sand and no services for the remaining eighty. The park runs the recovery programme for the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, the most endangered sea turtle species, which nests here - public hatchling releases at dawn in summer are announced at short notice depending on when the nests emerge. The other constant is rubbish: currents deposit large quantities of marine debris from across the Gulf, and volunteer clean-ups run regularly.

What you actually see

• A hundred kilometres of undeveloped island - the longest such stretch.
• Beach driving - four-wheel drive beyond the first few kilometres.
• Kemp's ridley hatchling releases - at dawn, announced at short notice.
• Heavy marine debris - deposited by Gulf currents.

When to go

March to May and September to November; turtle releases are in summer. A full day.

Honest expectations

Beyond mile five you need proper four-wheel drive - vehicles get stuck regularly and recovery is expensive. There are no services on the down-island beach. Summer heat and mosquitoes are severe. Release events are announced hours ahead, not scheduled.

Nearby

Corpus Christi is north; South Padre Island is far to the south.