DID YOU KNOW?
The island was inhabited by the Karankawa and Coahuiltecan tribes centuries before the arrival of European explorers. Artifacts from their cultures can still be found on the island today.
In the mid-1700s, the Island was known as Isla de Santiago. It was later renamed La Isla Padre after Padre José Nicolás Ballí, who owned the island in 1804 and served as a missionary priest. He also founded the first mission in present-day Cameron County.
In the mid-18th and 19th centuries, South Padre Island was a haven for pirates. South Padre Island is a tropical island - roughly the same latitude as the Bahamas.
South Padre Island is part of the greater Padre Island, the longest barrier island in the world—113 miles. South Padre Island is home to a large nesting population of Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles.
The Queen Isabella Causeway is the longest bridge in Texas (2.5 miles long) and the only road connecting South Padre to the mainland.
Located along the Central Flyway, Padre Island is a globally important area for over 380 migratory, overwintering, and resident bird species (nearly half of all bird species documented in North America). Thirteen of these species are considered species of concern, threatened, or endangered.
