Goose Island State Park Campground

We actually stayed here for almost a week bouncing campgrounds spots. We did a lot of fishing off the pier which is ridiculously long and wonderful to see sunsets off of. The park is well-maintained. Bathrooms are clean tone service is OK. Not great but it works. We stayed at Mustang Island after that and I wish we could’ve just stayed here, Mustang Island is great but I felt like this was nicer. Definitely better easier fishing. Take the time to see the big tree that is 1100 years old. She is an amazing creature.

There is a boat launch about 100 yards from the bayside campground loop and during duck season, it gets frequented by a ton of duck hunters in airboats *who start arriving at 4:30 am*. Airboats are exceedingly loud and it results in an extremely unpleasant wake-up call every morning. On top of that, they rev the engines as they load and unload the boats so it's not a constant hum, it's abrupt, back-and-forth revving noises for about an hour as all the hunters get into the water. Then, over the course of the afternoon, you get serenaded to the whole process in reverse as the hunters leave. It's just plain unpleasant and will ruin your trip.

Beyond that, a few things:
- Yes, the view from the bayside sites is amazing
- Yes, the wind at these exposed sites is also quite significant
- There is a constant ocean-y smell which, I guess, comes with the territory
- You get zero privacy and the sites are quite small
- Don't back up too far. There is a pad of stabilized gravel at each site but it's pretty small and if you go beyond it, the sand can get soft.
- The drive into the campground is very tight with live oaks hanging over (and into) the road. If you're in a large class A or fifth wheel, you could potentially have some trouble.

I was looking for a warm place to stay during spring break with my pop up camper, but didn’t decide until late in the game to find a campsite. Despite that, we landed a spot on the water (complete with dolphin viewing), which was great. In talking with a local, the weather can still be hit and miss this time of year, but we hit the jackpot.

I don’t have a lot of needs, so I found this site very satisfying. Only noise to speak of was the occasional airboat, but that is a part of the culture. I didn’t find them too objectionable. Showers were hot and clean and campground host was friendly and knowledgeable.

We used the campsite as a base for exploring the area. Our four day stay was about right. We visited the Aransas Wildlife Refuge (alligators, birds, and a Cottonmouth), local restaurants, a public swimming beach, the pier, and the tree.

The trip served its purpose!

While this state park is beautiful with good birding and fishing it is not maintained well enough. They warn you about some of the sites having low branches, but they did not warn us about the loop roads themselves having low branches. So instead of spending the afternoon birdwatching and hiking we had to borrow a tall ladder and tape a plastic bag around the refrigerator vent and caulk up the bathroom skylight in preparation for the big rainstorm coming in. And we just have a travel trailer which is not as tall as fifth wheels and motorhomes. I don't understand why the maintenance staff doesn't trim the branches back away from the road.
Then when we went to hook up to the electric there was crackling sounds and nothing worked. They had to come and replace the circuit breaker.
The bathrooms are nice with wheelchair accessible showers.
And it was fun watching the pelicans vying for fish heads at the fish cleaning station.

Numerous loud airboats launch from Goose Island State Park boat ramp. People in the wooded area and beachfront can hear them and are awaken by the loud noise every morning starting before 6AM.
Texas State Park Rules and Regulations are not being enforced at Goose Island:

…4) create a disturbance capable of negatively affecting other park users by causing excessive noise by any means.

…(o) Soliciting. It is an offense for any person to solicit funds or donation of any item, or offer to sell any goods, wares, merchandise, liquid, or edibles, or render any service for hire, or distribute written material, in a state park, except by authority of a concession agreement approved by the director.

…(6) moor, dock, or berth a commercial vessel at any part of a state park except by permit from the director.

I sent a complaint to park supervisor 'edwin.quintero@tpwd.texas.gov'
We would like to return to the park, but this violation must be stopped.
Visit tpwd website, bottom of page for more contact information.
Please help keep our state parks enjoyable for all.
Native Texan, Rae

It was a really nice park, tons of wildlife, close to the water. We had plans to stay in the wooded area for 3 nights and then the water front for 2 nights - but due to area flooding decided to head inland so we missed our water stay. But we did go down to the pier and fish one day. The mosquitos were super super bad in the wooded area. Couldn't even walk around but they seemed to be none near the water. Restrooms-showers were mainly clean, no complaints. We loved that we had a fire pit and grill and picnic table. Very reasonable pricing. We'd come here again!

I know there is a lot of great free beach camping on the south coast of Texas, but if you want an electric and water hookup with the convenience of a toilet block with free hot showers, then get a reservation here. LOTS of people fishing so this must be a go to location - both behind the campers and also our on the boardwalk. A 1,000+ year old oak tree is in the state park and is worth checking out. Sites are somewhat close together, but the dedicated shelters with picnic table provides privacy. Pets allowed.