CAMPSITE REVIEW: Malaquite Campground, North Padre Island, TX

Cost: $14/night ($7 if you have a Senior or Access National Park Pass)
Hookups: None
Dump/Water On-site: Yes
Amenities: None
GPS: 27.4299335,-97.2983914

We stayed here for two weeks in the end of March, beginning of April 2019 in spot #18. It is $14 per night unless you have a senior or Access (disability) National Park pass, then it is $7 per night. There is an entry fee to the park as well, but we have the annual park pass. Absolutely worth either price. You are right by the beach! No hookups, but they have fresh water and a dump before entering the campground. It is nice because there are two dumps and two fresh water stations. We planned to stay a night or two and then camp on the beach for free, but after seeing the crowds at the beach and the tide, we decided to stay here the whole time instead. I’m glad we did. The weather didn’t cooperate most days, but we had several days of gorgeous sun. It was constantly breezy which kept the bugs away but made it a bit too chilly for hanging out on the beach all day. The campground filled up most days but was quiet and relaxing. Everyone adhered to the quiet hours and was considerate. We have a solar setup and any site would be perfect for it. No trees to block the sun. Despite the cloudy days, we had no trouble with no generator backup. There is no cell reception at all with AT&T. None. However, we have a WeBoost cell booster and we were able to get enough for me to work remotely. There were a few times it crapped out, but for the most part it worked well, especially considering there was none without it. We arrived around 1pm and didn’t have any trouble finding a spot on the beach side. IMO, the beach side on the right (as you come in) is better. The spots are angled and when you open your door, you can see the beach and ocean easily. Here is the process for getting a spot. If you have arrived after check-out at noon, find an empty spot and claim it. There are occupied signs at campground host site (to the left of the registration area) or put out chairs or something to show it is occupied. You have one hour after claiming the site to pay. Since you have a spot claimed, you can go fill your tanks if necessary or just park your rig. Within an hour, go back and pay at the self-registration area. You will see the self-registration area immediately to the left when you arrive at the campground. It is cash or check, and they have an area you can write your credit card information if you want to do that. If you arrive before noon, you can pick an empty spot with no occupied sign or evidence it is occupied and follow the same process. You can also review the board to see if anyone in a spot is set to leave that day. The board is to the right of the self-registration area. It has slots for each camping site. The papers in the slots are filled out by campers as part of the registration process and it shows when they are leaving. I believe the camp host removes the papers in the morning for people who are leaving that day. If there is no paper in the slot, the site (in theory) is available once the person currently occupying it leaves. If you see a spot like that, I would recommend talking to the current occupants and confirming they are leaving that day. If they are leaving, I would recommend registering and paying for the site immediately. That will prevent other people from claiming it since your paper will show evidence the spot is taken. Then you can setup as soon as the other person leaves. The stay limit is 14 days. There are several access points to the beach, and you can be there in about 100 feet depending on site location. There are picnic tables at the campground and at the beach. There are showers, restrooms, and spigots for sand removal. Dogs are allowed at the campground and on the beach. As always, they must be leased and picked up after. Corpus Christi is about 45 minutes away so I would recommend bringing anything you may need with you, but in a pinch, you can go there for shopping. There are gas stations and a few stores on the island, but nothing close to the campground. The constant breeze helped when the temperatures increased in the late afternoon. It was a perfect time to be there temperature-wise with no hook-ups. There was some rain and it was humid some of the days, but overall, we loved our stay and will definitely be back.