Magnolia Beach Camping

A big delay earlier in the week had us pulling in to Magnolia Beach midday on Sunday before Memorial Day. Beach was PACKED with tailgating cars and horse trailers. No spots left any where along the actual beach. Got a spot down at the end by the fishing pier....super windy and the rig was splashed by sea water all night. In the morning when we drove out the beach area was nearly deserted with a few RVs and travel trailers. We will definitely try again here but next time avoid a holiday weekend!

We stayed here for 7 nights in late April. The weather wasn't too bad, but very muggy. Seemed like RVers did a good job of spreading out along the beach, and I don't think anyone would have any issues getting a spot. A good amount of people come during the day for beach trips then leave. They do have shower and bathroom facilities, but they are not anywhere as clean as other reviews seem to suggest. In their most basic sense, the water is fine for showering and you can use it, but I opted to use the shower in our RV due to the cleanliness. My thought was it may not be cleaned as often as before due to COVID, but not sure. Never felt unsafe on the beach! We stopped for groceries at Walmart in Port Lavaca, which is about 20 minutes away. Keep in mind it is pretty hard to find anywhere to put your trash as it is a pack in, pack out beach. We found a business that allowed us to throw our trash away, but you may have to wait til your next stop, so be prepared.

We just moved into our 29’ travel trailer on April 9th and drove straight down here (lot docking on the way with Cracker Barrels) so we don’t have a lot of experience to compare this too - that being said, as a newbie to camping and a first time driving on a beach I am VERY happy we chose here over Crystal Beach. The chances of getting stuck here is really slim given it is shell and barely any sand.

The bathroom facilities are okay, cold water showers inside and out. Maintenance is on point with cleaning bathrooms and emptying the numerous trash barrels on the beach, yet I still pickup trash left behind by the locals everyday when they come down to fish and grill.

Fishing is big here. We can 13 days ago and it was quiet and not terribly warm (windy and rainy the first few days) now as I type this on our last day is has been hot and sunny and pretty busy at the beach. Nothing compared to what we hear it is like during peak season.

We would come back again but only in the shoulder season for sure. We are waiting to dump at our next campground but boondocked here for 13 days no problem as a family of three and a dog. Lots of dogs, lots of traffic on the weekend. A few RV neighbors that were fantastic, friendly and clean. A few that didn’t pick up their dogs poop and were on the louder side (we were young once too! We get it).

The crap weather definitely kept the traffic light which was probably a blessing with a toddler who is a very light sleeper. The view is weird as we are used to beaches in RI and beach houses. Here the lots are just a carport for the owners RV(s) to have shade and usually a deck. Only a few true houses when you drive in but the residents here all live in RVs themselves or rent them out.

J&T one stop has a little bit of everything including laundry. The “town” isn’t far and has all the stores you could need and then some. We got pizza from Roma (really thick and doughy wouldn’t recommend) and then went over to Port O’Connor to try locally caught fish at Cathy’s and that was yummy! Very poor area in general but never felt unsafe.

We’ve been here a week already and we aren’t leaving just yet! First, it’s free. How can you go wrong with free?! Second, you’re camping 20 feet from the water! That’s about as good as free! Magnolia Beach is a tiny town but there is a gas station/convenience store. For everything else you’ll need to drive 15 minutes to Port Lavaca. Come with empty tanks and full water because there’s nowhere around that will let you dump and fill. The closest I’ve found is Victoria City Park and that’s 40 minutes each way. Other than that, this place is amazing! I also teach online and both my Verizon and T-Mobile phones pull a great signal!

We’ve been here a week already and we aren’t leaving just yet! First, it’s free. How can you go wrong with free?! Second, you’re camping 20 feet from the water! That’s about as good as free! Magnolia Beach is a tiny town but there is a gas station/convenience store. For everything else you’ll need to drive 15 minutes to Port Lavaca. Come with empty tanks and full water because there’s nowhere around that will let you dump and fill. The closest I’ve found is Victoria City Park and that’s 40 minutes each way. Other than that, this place is amazing! I also teach online and both my Verizon and T-Mobile phones pull a great signal!

We stayed here for a quick one night stay just to get an "on the beach" experience. We love how close you can get to the water due to it being on the bay side where the tide does not get up very high and the sand stays packed hard to drive on. Being close to the water really enhances your experience of beach camping. We will be back!

Brian & Michelle
LivinRVision

A county park with easy beach front access. There is room for any size rig. The back of our trailer can't be more than 20 feet from the water. Not really a swimming beach but you certainly can go swimming. The beach is made of shells not sand so you do need some sort of protection for your feet.

It's a good place to just chill and let the sounds of the waves relax you and sleep well at night.

Loved our time spent on Magnolia Beach. The hard-packed shell beach was easy to maneuver our 31' Motorhome with towed Hyundai . We found it pretty busy during the Easter holiday, but by Monday morning, there was a ton of space between us and our neighbors. Had to pick up some people's trash (cig butts and dog poop) before we set up, but it wasn't too bad. Now and then, someone would drive by sharing their music a little loud during the day, but we didn't hear any at night. Fairly level parking. Pretty windy a lot of the time, but the waves were still pretty mild and the sound of them at night lulled us to sleep. Our two dogs really loved the crushed shell beach and watching the birds.

Overall, a nice, peaceful stay. We will be back again someday!