Goliad: Presidio La Bahia - 1 hour; General Zaragosa
Birthplace -1/2 hour; Mission Espiritu Santo/Goliad State Park -
1 hour; Walking tour of the historic Goliad Courthouse Square -
3/4 hour; Market House Museum -1/2 hour; 1 site on Great Texas
Coastal Birding Trail;
Drive 9 miles east via U5 59 to Fannin:
Fannin Battleground, picnic and visit the site of surrender of
Col. James W. Tannin and his Command - 1-1/2 hour; Marks Ranch
Emporium -1/2 hour; Coleto Creek Reservoir & Park - camping,
boating, fishing, swimming, hiking l/2-3 hours; 1 site on Great
Texas Coastal Birding Trail.
Drive 15 miles east via U5 59 to Victoria:
Driving tour of Old historic Victoria -1/2 hour; Texas Zoo,
unique zoo of native Texas Animals- 1 hour; McNamara House
Museum and Nave Museum at Riverside Park- 1 hour; Riverside Rose
Garden - 1-1/2 hour;
Drive 26 miles east via U5 59 to Edna:
Texana Museum - 1 hour; Tour of old County Jail -1/2 hour; Lake
Texana, picnicking, fishing - 1 hour;
Drive 43 miles south and east via SH111, SH132 and SH35 to
Port Lavaca:
Lighthouse Beach Park and Bird Sanctuary, wetlands walkway,
sailing, fishing 1-2 hours;
Drive 14 miles to Indianola:
Lasalle Monument and old Cemetery Indlanola -1/2 hour;
Drive 18 miles east to Port O'Connor:
Board ferry to Matagorda Island State Park, hike and bike
trails, 38 miles of natural beach, beach combing, civil war
trenches, Fort Esparanza, pre-civil war lighthouse - full day;
Board charter boat to tour the excavation of Lasalle's ship La
Belle, oldest shipwreck found In North America, discovered 1995,
recovery operation currently under way - 3-6 hours.
Drive 90 miles south via SH35 and SH181 to Corpus Christi.
| Loop 2 -
Beeville, Refugio, Woodsboro, Mathis, Choke Canyon |

Photo by Dottie Simmons
|
Old San Patricio: Take FM 666 through Old San Patricio to
Fort Lipantitlan, built in 1728, to the tree where Chipita
Rodriguez, the only woman ever executed in Texas, was hanged.
Then to the San Pat Museum - 1-3/4 hours;
Drive 11 miles north on 5M 666 to 5M 359 and turn right to
Mathis/Lake Corpus Christi State Park:
After a drive-through at the State Park, take SH359 through
Sandia to FM534 through Lagarto and Dinero to IH 37 to U5 59 -
1-1/2 hours.
Drive 44 miles north via US 37 and U5 59 to George West:
Visit Live Oak County Court- house - see the stuffed Longhorn
Bull on display and visit the historic Buch West House and the
Grace Armantrout Museum - 2 hours.
Drive 10 miles north via US 281 to Three Rivers:
Drive 12 miles west on SH72 to Choke Canyon State Park.
Lunch at the Nolan Ryan Steakhouse -1-1/2 - 3 hours.
Retrace drive on SH72 through Three Rivers to U5 59 and
drive 18 miles east to Beevllle:
Take SH202 to US77A/183 to Beeville Art Museum - 2 hour. Then
tour McClanahan House and visit Veterans Memorial Park - 1-1/2
hour. Visit the down- town shipping district and relax for lunch
at McKitchen's Tea Room - 1- 2 hours.
Drive 35 miles east on CR202 and U5 77A/183 to Refugio:
visit Our Lady of Refuge Church and explore the historic Mission
Nuestra Senora del Refuge "dig" to discover the
"roots" of Refugio. Visit the Lions Club Park and
discover the Green Kingfisher family in residence (rare bird
alert). Restored colonial homes, antique shops and Anderson's Ag
Store (with everything from saddles to birdhouses to cowhides)
make Refugio a delightful place to stop -1-3 hours, 3 miles; 1
site on the Birding Trail.
Drive 6 miles south via U5 77 to Woodsboro:
Visit Dos Vaqueros Ranch or Twin Oaks Ranch for lunch or an
overnight for a real "city slickers" experience and a
wildlife tour- 2-24 hours;
Drive 17 miles east via FM136 to Bayside:
Take a break at Crofutt's Bakery and then meet nature up close
and personal at Fennessey Ranch. Owned by the same family for
164 years, the ranch Is home to over 400 species of birds and a
variety of native wildlife - 1-6 hours. Sites on the Birding
Trail;
Drive 24 miles south via SH136 and SH181 to Corpus Christi
|

Photo by Dottie Simmons
|
Loop 3 -
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Fulton, Rockport,
Aransas Pass, Port Aransas, Mustang Island |
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge: Travel from CC via SH181 to
SH35 to SH774 to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Stop for
breakfast or lunch at the Copano Provisioning Company on SH35.
Visit the Park Information Center and take a driving tour of the
Refuge - 2-4 hours, 16-mile loop within the Refuge. Sites on the
Birding Trail;
Drive 30 miles south via SH35 to Fulton:
Tour the Fulton mansion - 1 hour. Be sure to see leaning,
windswept live oaks along the way, Sites on Birding Trail;
Drive 2 miles south via Fulton Beach Road to Rockport:
Visit the Texas Maritime Museum and Rockport Center for the Arts
- 2 hours. Birders will want to check out the Connie Hagar
Cottage Sanctuary and the Hummingbird Gardens - 1 hour. Enjoy
the many unique shops, galleries, and restaurants- 1-3 hours. 8
sites on Birding Trail. Sport fishing, birding and sight- seeing
charter boats to see the Whooping Cranes;
Drive 10 miles south, 10 minutes, via SH35 to Aransas
Pass:
Explore the "Shrimp Capital of Texas." See Conn Brown
Harbor with its fleet of shrimp trawlers, shrimp processing
plants and the Seaman's Memorial at the harbor entrance.
Downtown Aransas Pass offers restaurants and shops - 1-1/2
hours. Sites on Birding Trail.
Drive 7 miles south via SH361 and catch the free ferry to
cross the ship channel to Port Aransas/Mustang Island:
Get hooked on this great fishing village. Shopping, restaurants
and great beaches. Free trolley around the village. World class
sport fishing, birding, and sight-seeing boats. Wetlands with
birding trails and observation towers. 1-4 hours or all day.
Drive 35 miles, 1 hour to return via Ferry and SH361,
SH35, and SH281 or via Padre Island SH361, Park Road 22, and
SH358 to return to Corpus Christi. Sites on the birding trail.
| Loop
4 - Sinton, Odem, Taft, Portland, Gregory, Ingleside,
Aransas Pass |

Roseate Spoonbill
displaying golden tail rarely diplayed
Photo by Dottie Simmons
|
Portland: Drive north from Corpus Christi on US 181/SH35 10
miles, 10 minutes, to Portland. Birders will want to stop midway
at the Indian Point Pier and Wetlands park. Northshore Country
Club offers lunch and 18 great holes of golf along Corpus
Christi Bay. 1 hour or more, 10 miles, sites on the Birding
Trail.
Drive 15 miles east on SH361 to Ingleside:
Drive 2 miles east on SH361 to tour DuPont Plant (1st plant in
the world to commercially produce SUVA, an ozone-safe
alternative to freon). Drive to 1 mile east on SH361 to the
OxyChem Plant (the world's largest producer of vinyl chloride
monomer - for making PVC pipe). Drive 5 miles east on SH361 to
tour US Naval Station Ingleside - the Homeport of the Mine
Warfare Command of Excellence, the US Navy's largest mine
warfare command in the world and homeport of 18 U5 Navy ships.
Guided tours each Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Tour the historic
Ingleside Museum. 4-6 hours, Sites on the Birding Trail.
Drive 5 miles west via 5M 361 to Aransas Pass:
Explore the "Shrimp Capital of Texas." See Conn Brown
Harbor with its fleet of shrimp trawlers, shrimp processing
plants and the Seaman's Memorial at the harbor entrance.
Downtown Aransas Pass offers restaurants and shops. 1 hour,
sites on the Birding trail.
Drive 16 miles west, 15 minutes via SH35 to Gregory:
Drive 8 miles west via US181 to Taft:
Visit the Blackland's Museum and learn why "Cotton was
King." 3/4 hour.
Drive 8 miles west, 15 minutes via US181 to Sinton:
Explore bygone days in Sinton's antique stores. Then drive 7.4
miles northeast on SH77 to tour the Rob and Bessie Welder
Wildlife Foundation and Museum, the world's largest private
foundation dedicated to the conservation of native wildlife.
Birders will want to include the Rob and Bessie Welder Park and
Welder Park - 1-4 hours. 3 sites on the birding trail.
Drive 14 miles south, 15 minutes via US77 to Odem:
visit the Concrete Art Statuary Yard, 15 minutes.
Drive 19 miles south and east via US77 and IH3 to Corpus
Christi.
|

Photo by Dottie Simmons
|
Loop 5 -
Corpus Christi/Padre Island |
Corpus Christi: USS Lexington Aircraft Carrier, most
decorated ship in WWII - 1-2 hours; Texas State Aquarium,
aquatic life of the Gulf Coast and Caribbean - 1 hour;
International Kite Museum -1/2 hour; World of Discovery -
Smithsonian Institution "Seeds of Change" Exhibit and
the Ships of Christopher Columbus - the Nina, the Pinta, and the
Santa Maria (authentic replicas built by Spain for 1992
Quincentennial Celebration) - 1-2 hours; Art Museum of South
Texas - 1 hour; Historic Homes Tour In Heritage Park - 1 hour;
Asian Cultures Museum, noted collection of Haikata Dolls - 1
hour; Art Center - 3/4 hour; Seawall walk with Miradores (7
miradores - scenic overlooks with historic info plaques) - 1
hour; Ocean Drive- bayfront residential area -1/2 hour; Dining
and shopping downtown CC - 1-2 hours; Flagship Harbor Tour -
1-1/2 hours; CC Greyhound Race Track (afternoon or evening) live
greyhound racing- 2-3 hours; CC Botanical Gardens, native
plants, new $40,000 orchid collection and birding trails - 1-2
hours; SW Bell Telephone Pioneer Museum - 1 hour; Antique Bottle
Collection -1/2 hour; Center for Hispanic Arts and Education - 1
hour; Various art galleries- 1-2 hours; Antique Stores - 1-2
hours; Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (primary flight
training) and Corpus Christi Army Depot (America's largest
helicopter maintenance facility) - 1- 2 hours; Padre Island
National Seashore, visitor center; largest national seashore in
world - 1-4 hours; 10 sites on the great Texas Coastal Birding
Trail; golf, tennis, hunting, fishing, sailing, jet skiing, wind
surfing, sea kayaking, and other water sports available.
Drive 25 miles south on SH358 to Padre Island:
North Padre Island offers several unique shops and restaurants
for casual dining. Packery Channel Park is a noted birding area.
Padre Island National Seashore occupies 80.5 miles of Padre
Island, the longest barrier island in the world and stretches
150 miles from Corpus Christi to near Brownsville, Texas.
Malaquite Beach Info Center and Museum (Park Ranger talks); Bird
Island Basin - 2-3 hours. Site on Great Texas Birding Trail.
Drive 18 miles northeast via Park Road 22, SH358,
Crosstown Freeway and IH37 to downtown Corpus Christi.
| Loop 6 -
Kingsville, Alice |

Photo by Dottie Simmons
|
Kingsville: King Ranch Visitor Center, historical,
agricultural and nature tours of the most famous ranch (National
Historic Landmark) in Texas 825,000 acres, larger than Rhode
Island - 2-hour to 4-day programs available; John E. Conner
Museum - 1 hour; Shopping tour of downtown Kingsville (historic
district), antiques, King Ranch Saddle Shop, arts/crafts, old
fashioned soda fountain - 1 hour; Plato Opera House Tour (unrestored)
- 1 hour; Carlos Coates' Capuccino Coffee Demonstration - 3/4
hour; Kingsville Naval Air Station, advanced jet training - 2
hours; Prewitt's Mesquite Saw Mill- 1-1/2 hours; Kraatz Cactus
Gardens - 1-1/4 hours; Bynum's Big Game Trophy and Ostrich Ranch
- 1-1/4-2 hours; Kleberg Park Nature Walk and Barbecue or Fish
Fry -1/2 day; Kaufer Park Nature Walk and Barbecue or Fish Fry
-1/2 day; Birdwatching and picnic at B-Bar-B Ranch Inn -1/2 day;
9 sites on Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail 1-4 Days; Elf,
hunting, fishing available.
Drive 28 miles west via SH141 and SH281 to Alice:
South Texas Museum - 1 hour; Sites on Great Texas Coastal
Birding Trail; golf, hunting, fishing available.
Drive 45 miles east via SH44 to Corpus Christi