South Padre Island is a fun resort town located in Cameron County, Texas, in the United States. It's part of a bigger area that includes the cities of Brownsville and Harlingen. In 2020, about 2,066 people lived there.

The town sits on a long, thin island also called South Padre Island. On one side is the calm Laguna Madre, and on the other is the big Gulf of Mexico. This makes it a great spot along the Texas Gulf Coast. You can get to South Padre Island by crossing the Queen Isabella Causeway from the town of Port Isabel. The island is named after José Nicolás Ballí, a Catholic priest and early settler.

The only way to reach the island is by the Queen Isabella Causeway. It has become a very popular place for tourists. Many people visit in the spring, summer, and even during winter. There are lots of fun things to do, like fishing, snorkeling, visiting Beach Park at Isla Blanca, parasailing, surfing, and horse back riding. You can even watch SpaceX Starships launch from the SpaceX Starbase facility across the Brazos Santiago Pass in Boca Chica, Texas.

How Hurricanes Have Affected South Padre Island
- Major Storms That Hit the Island
What Makes South Padre Island Special?
- Fun Things to Do on South Padre Island
- The Port of Brownsville's Role
Fun Activities and Recreation
Where is South Padre Island?
What is the Weather Like?
Who Lives on South Padre Island?
Learning and Schools
Getting Around South Padre Island
Images for kids
See also

How Hurricanes Have Affected South Padre Island

South Padre Island has faced several strong storms over the years. These storms have sometimes caused a lot of damage.

Major Storms That Hit the Island

In September 1967, Hurricane Beulah caused a lot of damage to the town.
On July 23, 2008, Hurricane Dolly hit the island as a strong Category 1 hurricane. It also caused a lot of damage. For example, the Bahia Mar Condominium was so damaged it had to be completely rebuilt inside.
In September 2008, Hurricane Ike caused some damage to the island.
In July 2010, Hurricane Alex brought heavy rains, but the island was mostly safe.
On June 19, 2024, Tropical Storm Alberto caused some damage and brought strong winds and heavy rains.

What Makes South Padre Island Special?

After rebuilding from Hurricane Beulah, South Padre Island became a popular place for college students on spring break. It also became a favorite vacation spot for families. Many tall resort hotels and condominium buildings have been built along the Gulf of Mexico coastline. The Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark, a big water park, opened in South Padre Island in 2001.

South Padre Island is known for many different fun activities. This makes it a popular place for visitors.

Fun Things to Do on South Padre Island

Beaches: South Padre Island has beautiful sandy beaches. They are perfect for swimming, sunbathing, and looking for seashells. USA Today even named Isla Blanca Park in South Padre Island the best beach in Texas!
Water Sports: The island offers many water sports. You can try kiteboarding, windsurfing, and jet skiing.
Surfing: The ocean floor drops off quickly near South Padre Island. This creates bigger waves than you usually see in the shallow Gulf, which is great for surfing.
Fishing: South Padre Island is a top spot for both deep-sea and bay fishing. People who love to fish come from all over the world to visit.
Bird Watching: The island is home to the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. Here, you can see many different kinds of birds in their natural homes.
Eco-Tours: Tours that explore nature are popular. You can go on dolphin watching tours, sea turtle trips, and nature walks.
Amusement Parks: Places like Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark offer fun water rides and entertainment for families.
Nightlife: South Padre Island has a lively evening scene. There are many bars, restaurants, and places with live music.

The Port of Brownsville's Role

The Port of Brownsville is very important to the economy of South Padre Island. It is one of the biggest ports in Texas. The port helps a lot of ships move through the channel south of the island. This helps the local economy grow and creates many jobs. The port handles different types of goods, like oil, farm products, and manufactured items. These are all important for trade in the area.

The port's impact helps many parts of the economy. This includes shipping, logistics, and transportation. It creates a strong network that supports the local community. New projects at the port, like making the channel deeper, help it work even better. This leads to more economic activity in the area.

Protecting the environment is also a key part of the port's work. They try to reduce how much shipping affects the local nature. This helps protect local animals and ocean life. They do this by controlling pollution and restoring natural habitats.

The port also affects tourism on South Padre Island. Even though the industrial work is in certain areas, the money from the port helps the island grow. This makes life better for people who live there and attracts more visitors.

Fun Activities and Recreation

South Padre Island beach in June. Boardwalks provide access over the dunes.

The warm, tropical weather all year long brings many tourists. They can enjoy 34 miles of beach, over 300 days of sunshine, and all kinds of fun. This includes water sports and live music. Renting personal water craft, parasailing, and dolphin watches are very popular. Other favorite activities are horseback riding on the beach, visiting the Sea Turtle sanctuary, and the Birding Center. You can also take other nature tours that explore the Laguna Madre and the Gulf of Mexico.

Fishing is also a big draw. Every summer, the Texas International Fishing Tournament happens in early August. It offers almost a quarter million dollars in prizes. Other fishing events include the Ladies Kingfish Tournament and the Ron Hoover Tournament.

In March, the island is a popular spring break spot for college students. The rest of the year, it's a favorite family vacation place, with July being the busiest month.

In January 2011, the island hosted the NBA Development League Showcase at the South Padre Island Convention Centre. It is also known as the "Official Island Escape" for the NBA team, the San Antonio Spurs.

The island also promotes its closeness to rocket launches at the nearby SpaceX South Texas launch site in Boca Chica. These launches attract thousands of tourists.

Where is South Padre Island?

The town of South Padre Island is at the southern end of the larger South Padre Island. The town stretches about 6 miles from Isla Blanca Park in the south to the end of buildings north of Wharf Street. The Queen Isabella Causeway is the only road that connects the island to the mainland. It crosses about 2.5 miles over Laguna Madre to the city of Port Isabel. The city of Brownsville is about 25 miles southwest of South Padre Island.

The town covers a total area of about 6.0 square kilometers (2.3 square miles). Of this, about 5.5 square kilometers (2.1 square miles) is land, and about 0.5 square kilometers (0.2 square miles), or 8.44%, is water.

What is the Weather Like?

Weather chart for South Padre Island

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temperatures in °F
precipitation totals in inches

Metric conversion

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
48 20 11	44 22 13	38 24 16	38 27 19	56 29 23	63 32 24	49 32 25	44 33 25	160 31 23	102 29 21	58 26 17	36 21 12
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm

South Padre Island has a warm, humid subtropical climate. This means it has hot, humid summers and mild winters. The average high temperature in January is about 68°F (20°C), and the average low is about 52°F (11°C). In July, the average high is about 90°F (32°C), and the average low is about 77°F (25°C).

The warm season is long, with high temperatures usually between 80°F and 89°F (27°C and 32°C). Low temperatures are often around 77°F (25°C). The air can feel very humid from June to September. Rain tends to be heaviest in the summer and fall, usually 2 to 6 inches each month. September gets the most rain, averaging 6.3 inches.

Because the island is next to the ocean, temperatures rarely go above 100°F (38°C). However, during the 2021 Texas freeze, temperatures on South Padre Island dropped to at least 25°F (-4°C).

Since South Padre Island is surrounded by water, it gets a bit more rain than cities further inland in the Rio Grande Valley. In March, many tourists come to the island to enjoy the warm weather. South Padre Island was even ranked #1 in Best Spring Break Destinations by U.S. News & World Report.

Climate data for South Padre Island, Texas (1991-2020 Normals, Extremes 1992-2018)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	83 (28)	88 (31)	94 (34)	94 (34)	94 (34)	96 (36)	96 (36)	105 (41)	99 (37)	94 (34)	90 (32)	83 (28)	105 (41)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	68.3 (20.2)	71.2 (21.8)	74.5 (23.6)	79.1 (26.2)	84.3 (29.1)	87.8 (31.0)	88.7 (31.5)	89.9 (32.2)	88.9 (31.6)	84.8 (29.3)	78.3 (25.7)	71.7 (22.1)	80.6 (27.0)
Daily mean °F (°C)	61.4 (16.3)	64.3 (17.9)	68.5 (20.3)	73.9 (23.3)	79.2 (26.2)	82.9 (28.3)	83.6 (28.7)	84.6 (29.2)	82.9 (28.3)	78.9 (26.1)	71.5 (21.9)	64.4 (18.0)	74.7 (23.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	54.5 (12.5)	57.4 (14.1)	62.6 (17.0)	68.7 (20.4)	74.1 (23.4)	77.9 (25.5)	78.5 (25.8)	79.2 (26.2)	76.9 (24.9)	72.9 (22.7)	64.6 (18.1)	57.1 (13.9)	68.7 (20.4)
Record low °F (°C)	31 (−1)	25 (−4)	39 (4)	45 (7)	57 (14)	69 (21)	63 (17)	68 (20)	57 (14)	40 (4)	40 (4)	36 (2)	25 (−4)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	1.2 (30)	1.5 (38)	1.2 (30)	1.7 (43)	2.7 (69)	2.7 (69)	2.3 (58)	2.3 (58)	4.4 (110)	3.1 (79)	1.5 (38)	1.4 (36)	26 (658)
Source: </ref>

Who Lives on South Padre Island?

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1980	791	—
1990	1,677	112.0%
2000	2,422	44.4%
2010	2,816	16.3%
2020	2,066	−26.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

In 2020, there were 2,066 people living in South Padre Island. There were 1,477 households and 892 families.

Learning and Schools

Children who live in South Padre Island go to schools in the Point Isabel Independent School District. Students attend Garriga Elementary School (Pre-K to 5th grade), Port Isabel Junior High School (6th to 8th grade), and Port Isabel High School (9th to 12th grade). All these schools are located in Port Isabel.

Also, students in South Padre Island can apply to schools in the South Texas Independent School District. All of Cameron County is served by Texas Southmost College.

Getting Around South Padre Island

The island is served by two airports: Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport in Brownsville and Valley International Airport in Harlingen.

A new, second bridge to South Padre Island is being planned. It will be called Texas State Highway 104. This new bridge will be about 3 to 4 miles north of the current Queen Isabella Causeway. It will be just north of the South Padre Island Convention Center.