South Padre Island, Texas - South Padre Island, TX - Gulf Coast Tourist Hot Spot Off of the Southern Tip of the Lone Star State

South Padre Island, Texas, is located on the Gulf Coast at the Southeast tip of the State, just northeast of Brownsville. The longest bridge in Texas, the 2.5 mile Queen Isabella Causeway, brings vehicles from the mainland, across the Laguna Madre Bay, to the southern section of this island. Two international airports, Harlingen and Brownsville, are located close by.

There are three roadways that run from south to north on the narrow island street grid. Padre Boulevard which connects with the Causeway is the longest. On the western side is Laguna Boulevard and on the eastern side is Gulf Boulevard. The island is 34 miles long and its coasts are covered in white sand on both the Bay and Gulf Coast sides.

In recent years South Padre Island has become a Mecca for meetings and conventions.

South Padre Island, Texas has recorded sightings of more than 300 species of birds. Dolphin sightings are also common from this island looking out onto the Gulf of Mexico.

Windsurfing, sailing, fishing and swimming are among the most common water activities for visitors and residents alike.

There is a bird sanctuary on the island and a Laguna Madre Nature Trail that extends for 4 acres provides for excellent bird watching in this area that is frequented by migratory birds for feeding. The trail is wheelchair accessible.

In the summer of 2008, the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center opened here on the Laguna Madre Coast with a 10,000 sq. ft. Visitor's Center hosting exhibits. As part of the same project the Nature Trail had new boardwalks and blinds for bird watching installed.

There are several full service medical clinics as well as dental and chiropractic services on the island.

Of the nearly 3,000 residents here roughly 47% are female while the majority is male. The median household income here is slightly higher than it if for the rest of the State of Texas. The median home value however is nearly twice as much here than it is on the average for the state. 75% of the island's inhabitants are white while 22% are Hispanic and the rest are of different backgrounds.

The crime rate here is much higher than the average crime rate in the US; crime is possibly attracted by the tourism, which is in large part business and convention related here.

South Padre Island, Texas, was first seen by Europeans in 1519 when Alonso Alvarez de Pineda was mapping the Gulf of Mexico and named it Isla Blanca. The now extinct Karankawa people inhabited the island at the time. In the years to come numerous Spanish Galleons were shipwrecked on the sandbars near the island frustrating Hernan Cortez in his efforts to ferry gold pillaged from the Aztecs back to Spain. For years pirates scoured the area and the island in search of the lost wealth.

Permanent settlements were never constructed here until modern times.