We left the McAllen/Edinburg area and headed for South Padre Island. The weather was a little dreary, but has been wonderfully sunny since our arrival on the island. En-route we passed several orange groves and sugar cane fields. Below is a sugar mill awaiting the next harvest.
In the past we had stayed at Cameron County’s Isla Blanca Park. It is a fabulous park with 600 pull through sites and is located at the southern tip of South Padre Island. Unfortunately there was no space available.
Isla Blanca is surrounded on three sides by water.
There are a few other RV parks on the island and some across the inter-coastal in Port Isabel. Except for one, none of them appeared to be very modern or roomy enough for our rig. Our salvation was availability at the KOA campground located just outside Isla Blanca Park.
(My ladder isn’t that tall so I borrowed the photo from their website.) The KOA is a little pricey, but they have all the comforts and facilities. We have a good spot about three spaces from the clubhouse.
We are really impressed with the growth in the area since our last visit about 5 years ago. All the towns along Highway 100 are showing improvements, most notably Los Fresnos and Port Isabel. South Padre Island itself has added several new housing and condo areas. The northern part of the island has been one of the last uninhabited beachfront locales in the country. We’re not certain how it will stay this way. For the first time we noticed for sale signs offering property from bay to the gulf. Hopefully this won’t signal the end to one of our favorite playgrounds.