I B Magee Beach Park
Managed by County of Nueces
118 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Port Aransas
40% of Port Aransas’ land is conserved: 2,286 acres
17 miles of mapped trail cross Port Aransas, 1.9 per square mile of land. 191 acres are parks and preserves, 58 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: I B Magee Beach Park (1.2 mi), Port Aransas Nature Preserve (1 mi), Robert's Point Park (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #25 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
40%
2,286 acres · of 8.9 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
191 ac
58 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.0 mi
0.5 mi lanes · 2.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
3 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Port Aransas?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Port Aransas have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Port Aransas is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #25 of 642 in Texas. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Port Aransas’ overall grade.
Conserved land40% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land58 acres of park per 1,000 residents (191 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home49% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 96%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Port Aransas’ 40% is ahead of 99% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 96% of them.
Water is 35% of Port Aransas’ area (5 of 14 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 26%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is I B Magee Beach Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Port Aransas Nature Preserve
Managed by City of Port Aransas
1,342 acres1 mi of trail
Nature TrailCharlie's Pasture
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
I B Magee Beach Park118 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · County of Nueces
DirectionsPort Aransas Nature Preserve1,342 acres · 1 mi of trail · City of Port Aransas
DirectionsRobert's Point Park16 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsUT Wetlands4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsLeonabelle Turnbull Birding Center30 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Port Aransas
DirectionsPort Aransas Community Park19 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Port Aransas
DirectionsJoan and Scott Holt Paradise Pond2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Port Aransas
Town Center1 acres
Who protects it
2,286 conserved acres
40% of Port Aransas’ land. Water is left out: Port Aransas has 8.9 square miles of land and 4.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Port Aransas’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Joint1,354 ac
Town or city1,354 ac
State parks815 ac
County232 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,354 acLocal Conservation Area · 1,354 acResearch or Educational Area · 815 acLocal Recreation Area · 116 acRecreation or Education Easement · 116 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Aransas Nature Preserve at Charlie's Pasture Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 1,354 | Restricted |
| Red Fish Bay State Scientific Area Research or Educational Area | State parks | 815 | Restricted |
| I.B. Magee Jr Beach Park and Horace Caldwell Pier Local Recreation Area | County | 116 | Open |
Things to do
19 places to go in Port Aransas
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Port Aransas
Holiday Beach
DirectionsPlus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Port Aransas
Kiera's Pool
DirectionsStill Water Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Port Aransas
5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Port Aransas
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Port Aransas
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Port Aransas
Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center
DirectionsPlus 3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Port Aransas
Port Aransas Permit Beach CampingFee · City of Port Aransas
DirectionsTrails & water
9 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.4 miHorses · 7.4 miUnpaved · 11.2 mi
Nature Trail0.3 mi
UT Wetlands0.2 mi
Palmilla Beach Private Boardwalk0.1 mi
Grand Boulevard Crossover0.1 mi
Coastline Dune Crossover0.1 mi
Pioneer RV Park Boardwalk0.1 mi
Tucked Away Dune Crossover0.1 mi
Access Road 10.1 mi
Seascape Dune Crossover0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
18Tennis
9Pickleball
6Baseball
4Basketball
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
1Soccer
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Port Aransas
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.6 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 13.7 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.4 |
| High (°F) | 65 | 68 | 73 | 79 | 85 | 89 | 91 | 92 | 89 | 83 | 74 | 68 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 5.7 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 1.8 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and August the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 5.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Port Aransas →
Next door
Port Aransas and its neighbors
Port Aransas has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Aransas | 40% | 1.9 | 58 | 49% | A |
| Corpus Christi | 10% | 0.3 | 23 | 94% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Port Aransas
Where can I hike in Port Aransas?
The longest trail networks: I B Magee Beach Park, 1.2 miles; Port Aransas Nature Preserve, 1 miles; Robert's Point Park, 0.8 miles; UT Wetlands, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Port Aransas is conserved land?
40% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Texas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Port Aransas’ trails?
I B Magee Beach Park and Port Aransas Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Port Aransas?
3.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes and 2.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Port Aransas?
5,721 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Port Aransas or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 191 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Port Aransas have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 of 642 in Texas. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Port Aransas neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →