October 2025.
Corpus Christi, Texas.

Along the Gulf Coast in Texas, a chain of barrier islands protects the shoreline from the open water. On our fall trip last year, we overnighted in Corpus Christi, keeping to our self‑imposed six‑hour driving days. The next morning, we headed out directly from our hotel, following Highway 358 across the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway onto Padre Island. Our destination: Padre Island National Seashore, a stretch of dunes, grasslands, and Gulf shoreline preserved as one of the world’s longest undeveloped barrier islands. It wasn’t long before we spotted two caracaras in a wooden blind meant for people to grab some shade and hopefully catch a glimpse of wildlife. Apparently, the caracaras had the same idea.

The main road through the national seashore offers several turnoffs to pristine beaches, a popular fishing pier, and access points for both day-use visitors and anglers. One of the most convenient stops is the visitor center, where a boardwalk stretching roughly 300 feet (91 m) carried us over the dunes and out to the Gulfshore.

The Malaquite Pavilion houses the visitor center, a bathhouse, a picnic area, and the boardwalk to the beach. During our visit, the late-2025 government shutdown left only the restroom doors unlocked, and the rest of the facility was closed. Even with a beautiful day drawing visitors to other shoreline access points, the pavilion’s parking lot was completely empty due to the closure.

The Bob Hall Pier and the nearby beach were the busiest parts of the seashore that we saw on that warm October day. Even during our morning visit, people enjoyed the cool surf in the 80‑degree (27°C) temperatures. A landmark at Padre Balli Park, the pier has a long history of battling Gulf storms, including total destruction by Hurricane Allen in 1980 and severe damage from Hurricane Hanna in 2020. After years of planning, demolition, and reconstruction, the new 1,253‑foot (382 m) pier opened to the public on February 24, 2026, built with a modern, storm‑resistant design intended to better withstand future hurricanes.

I’ve focused my camera on the eastern side of the national seashore’s main road, where photos of sand dunes and beach scenes are plentiful. Looking to the west, a vast grassland dominates the island. That day, with fair‑weather clouds and a breeze off the ocean, the tall grasses waved to the rhythm of the wind. The coastal prairies stabilize the island and provide habitat for birds, small mammals, and countless insects.

At one of the first pull-offs on the main road, the entry sign stands before a pair of interpretive placards describing the surrounding grasslands. It’s a great spot to pause and get a sense of how quickly the landscape shifts from open prairies to shifting sand dunes. The park is open 24 hours a day year-round, and while visitor center hours can vary by season, it’s well worth the modest entry fee to explore this protected stretch of coast. You can check current conditions and planner details on the official Padre Island National Seashore website here.

About the Photos: I wanted to capture the full range of detail and dynamic light this beautiful seashore offered. I shot all images with a Nikon Z7 II and the NIKKOR Z 28–400mm f/4–8 VR lens. I did most of the processing in Adobe Lightroom Classic, but the beach scene required Adobe Photoshop’s Generative Fill to remove distracting objects and manually refine the wet sand where the AI removal didn’t produce a consistent look. The visitor center image was slightly overexposed in the clouds, so I used a Lightroom brush mask to reduce highlights and add a touch of texture and clarity to restore lost detail. For those who like to pixel-peep and check metadata, the gallery is available in 2K HD on my Flickr site here.

John Steiner.