Boca Chica Beach

FYI we were really looking forward to camping here, but in the end we didn't stay. First off, there is more trash washed up on this beach than we've ever seen anywhere. It's really most unfortunate, but I suspect that much of it washes down the adjacent Rio Grande River, for none of the other beaches we've seen in this area of South Texas seem to have that much rubbish.

The other big concern that arose was for our personal safety. At the southern end of Boca Chica Beach, the only thing that separates it from the Matamoros, Mexico side is about 50 feet of waist deep, placid water. Walking across the border here would be a trivial exercise. See the photo that we're attaching to this review, and then check out this article from 8/2019 in USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/27/playa-bagdad-us-mexico-border-town-occupied-drugs-crime-cartel/2131161001/ If the article is to be believed, the drug cartels maintain complete control of this exact corner of beach adjacent to Boca Chica Beach, and at the time I took the photo I was wholly ignorant of just how dangerous taking that photo was.

Boca Chica Beach would be an absolutely spectacular place to boondock, were it not for the prodigious trash and the drug running immediately adjacent to it. It's a shame, but it wasn't for us, and we moved to Isla Blanca County Park on South Padre Island instead.

We have stayed here twice during our annual winter trips to south Texas and camped on the beach for 7 days both times. There are NO services and no dump station in this state park and shopping is 25 minutes away, so pack everything you will need for your stay. On both of our stays we were virtually the only ones camping on the beach. The few people that drove the beach there to either fish, site see or picnic. The beach was well patrolled by US Boarder Patrol and so we felt safe the entire time, even when we were the only ones camping. This is one of our favourite spots in south Texas to free beach camp.