South Padre Island Provides Relaxation and Conservation Opportunities For Travelers

This past June, I traveled to South Padre Island with a team from the Dallas Zoo on a conservation trip for a day working with the team at Sea Turtle, Inc. who rehabilitate about 100 sea turtles each year for return to the wild. Every year, multiple species of sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs on the beaches of South Padre Island and Boca Chica Beach. The most common nesting female they encounter is the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. Sea turtles with less than 75 percent of their flippers are deemed unsuitable for life in the wild and end up living at the facility to help educate the public. Volunteers who took part in this trip painted murals, helped with gift shop inventory, collected trash along the beach, got to view a nesting site, and attend an early morning release of baby sea turtles and experience the thrill of seeing them take their very first step s as they scurried across the sandy beach and into the ocean waters.

I was able to share my experience and talk more about the conservation efforts by the Dallas Zoo in a FRONT PAGE story which published in the September 10, 2021 issue of the Katy Trail Weekly. CLICK HERE to read it in its entirety. If you would like to participate in an upcoming conservation trip with the Dallas Zoo, visit their website to see what ‘s on their agenda!

Part of Padre’s charm is that it is relatively untouched by time. The island looks much the same as it did when I went there as a teenager in the 1980’s. Similar to Key West, the island has a laid-back, casual vibe that many enjoy. While there are activities to keep you occupied, what the island is best at is providing endless waves and cold cocktails to forcer you to unwind and decompress. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn during our stay. I enjoyed the beautiful pool area and nightly live entertainment. There was a nightly fireworks show on the beach around 8:00 pm that we could take in right from the pool deck of the hotel. Don’t miss that!

For dining options, I recommend The Painted Marlin Grill, Blackbeard’s Seafood & Grill, Yummies Bistro for breakfast, Wanna-Wanna Beach Bar & Grill, and Dirty Al’s. I also highly recommend taking a sunset cruise out to look for dolphins. The most important thing to pack is your sunscreen.