Operation Explorations: REVIEW Malaquite Campground at Padre National Seashore

Malaquite campground is located just 1/2 mile North of the Visitors centre at Padre Island National Seashore.

Value 4.5/5
Only $8.00 per night but there are no hook ups.

Site Quality 4/5
Site was level, had barbeque pit, table and shade cover. No hook ups but has an RV dump at the entrance to the campground which is included with your park entrance fees not your campground fees so if you choose to camp for free down on the beach you can still dump. (CHECK beach driving conditions as it wasn't drivable when we were there and we opted to pay the $8)

Facility Fun 3.5/5
This rating is low as the amount of garbage on the beach made it not very enjoyable. It was also very windy, full of seaweed and Portuguese Man O'Wars.

Natural Surroundings 3.5/5
It was unfortunate that there was so much debris lying around the beach. Every foot or so along the shore line you would see a paper plate, empty bottle, netting etc. Turtle patrols went by constantly looking for turtles nesting and would drive over the garbage. It would have been nice to see them cleaning up the beach garbage as they pass. We picked up a bit but there was just too much. Otherwise the beach was beautiful. Nice and warm and shallow. Miles of beach to walk.

Bathrooms ???
Flush toilets and cold showers but I didn't go in to see if they were clean or not.

Staff 4/5
Fee booth guard was pleasant and the staff at the visitors centre were friendly and helpful.

Location 4/5
A bit remote but still fairly close to Corpus Christi which has everything you might need...except for a Costco! Plenty of Walmarts which the one we were at allowed Overnight RV parking. By the visitors centre there is a small store.

Overal 3.5/5
We weren't impressed with the garbage and the amounts of sea weed on the beach and in the waves. I was disappointed with the condition of the beach road which was supposed to be driveable for the first 5 miles with a regular 2 wheel drive. Due to present beach conditions we barely made it 1.5 miles. Of course the park can't help the natural occurances at the beach but it was still disappointng. Too many Man O'Wars to feel safe with the girls in the water.