Visitor Information

South Padre Island is a 34-mile long sub-tropical Island located on the Gulf Coast of Texas, 25 miles north of the Mexican border. The Island is a halfmile wide at its widest point and only the Island’s southernmost five miles are developed. More than 5,000 residents call South Padre Island home, with approximately five million overnight visitors each year. The Island is on the same latitude as Fort Lauderdale.

Valley Metro

TRANSPORTATION

The summer of 2019 brought the opening of the new Island Metro Multimodal facility on South Padre Island. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $3.5 million to the City of South Padre Island for the project, which is a beautiful two story facility offering intermodal connections between automobile and bus; providing a better transfer location for visitors. The facility also provides riders the safety of a secured building with lighting and a security officer. People will be able to park their cars in one of 125 parking spaces – FREE of charge; get out to take pictures, park their car while on the Island and utilize the Island Metro buses, or catch a bus for a day trip to the upper Valley. Save yourself a little extra money for fun on the Island. Whether you are flying into Brownsville or Harlingen there is convenient transportation to the Island. From Brownsville you can board the Valley Metro (800.574.8322) outside baggage pick-up. You will transfer to the Island’s FREE Island Metro shuttle at the Island Metro Multimodal facility on the Island, and be dropped off at the closest point to your lodging location anywhere along Padre Blvd. or Gulf Blvd. If you are flying into Harlingen – taxi service, rental cars and private transportation are available. Private transportation numbers can be found on page 8 of this book. While on the Island enjoy the services of the Island’s FREE Island Metro shuttle bus. Leave your car at home or just parked upon arrival. Island Metro can pick you up and drop you off anywhere along the route on the Island, and there are routes that can take you back across the bridge to Port Isabel where you will use the bus stop closest to your destination. Island Metro runs 7 days a week 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Island Metro and Valley Metro buses are also available if you would like to take a trip up the Valley to shop, eat or visit. Take Island Metro to the Island Metro Multimodal facility on the Island, and transfer to Valley Metro. Valley Metro will take you to the Brownsville Bus Station, Valley Transit Station in Harlingen, the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlet Mall in Mercedes, or the McAllen bus station for a small fee. For a downloadable copy of the Island Metro schedule go to www.myspi.org - for more information call 956.761.8178, follow them on Facebook @Island Metro, Twitter @SPIIslandMetro or download the RIDE SYSTEMS APP which will provide live location of buses, arrival predictions, and other important bus route information.

Island Metro

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Call 911 first for all emergencies.

South Padre Island EMS 956-761-5454 South Padre Island Police Dept. 956-761-5454 South Padre Island Fire Dept. 956-761-3040 U.S. Coast Guard Station - SPI 956-761-2668 Cameron County Parks Police 956-761-5283

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND OCEAN RESCUE AIR AND WATER TEMPERATURE COMPARISONS

The goal of the South Padre Island Ocean Rescue is to monitor beach activities and provide rescue services as needed on the City’s beaches. The long narrow beaches of South Padre Island do not lend themselves to traditional stationary lifeguard towers; therefore a “mobile patrol” is used to cover all of the City’s beach area. However, there are lifeguard towers at the area hot spots such as Clayton’s Beach Bar, Wanna Wanna, Boomerang Billy’s and the hotel area on the south end of the Island. They not only respond to calls for assistance and caution people on the beach about potentially hazardous actions, they also provide minor first aid for jellyfish stings, scrapes, cuts, etc. The Ocean Rescue members also act as ambassadors for the City by providing information to our visitors on such far ranging topics such as “what kind of fish it that” to “where is a good place to watch the sunset”. Please feel free to flag them down for any questions you may have. The primary goal of the team is “PREVENTION”. The Ocean Rescue is an essential part of making our visitors trip to the beach a happy and safe experience. WATER TEMP South Padre Island Galveston, TX Freeport, TX Pensacola, FL AIR TEMP South Padre Island Galveston, TX Freeport, TX Pensacola, FL JAN 58 54 53 56 JAN 67 62 63 61 FEB 60 55 56 58 FEB 70 64 65 64

SPI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Located at 610 Padre Blvd., the SPI Chamber of Commerce provides information to tourist, local residents, and those looking to relocate to our beautiful Island, about services and supplies provided by their business members. For more information go to www.spichamber.com, email info@spichamber.com, follow them on Facebook and Instagram@spichamber, call 956.761.4412 or stop by their offices – staff members love to talk about things to do and places to go in Paradise (aka South Padre Island). Lobby hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

SPI VISITORS CENTER

Located at the new Island Metro Multimodal Facility, the SPI Visitors Center has a selection of flyers, coupons, and brochures, along with digital marketing, and much more. Staff is always available to answer questions and provide any other assistance visitors and residents might need. 956.761.6433 Open 7 days a week 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

BEACH AND PARKING ACCESSIBILTY

People come from all over the world come to enjoy the beautiful beaches on South Padre Island, and making them accessible is a top priority for the City. To promote accessibility the City has 25 beach access points along the less than 3 mile stretch of Gulf Blvd. Of the 25 beach access points, 21 are developed, and currently provide 267 parking spaces, of which 25 are accessible, and even the 4 undeveloped access points have mobi-mats to the beach. In addition to these parking spaces, there are an additional 310 public parking spaces along Gulf Boulevard, and 7 accessible parking spaces. 15 of the side streets off of Gulf Blvd. provide an additional 437 public parking spaces. There is also additional parking, not located on Gulf Blvd. On the south end of the Island there are 126 parking spaces, with 6 being accessible, at the Island Multi-Modal Facility. Across the street is the Pearl South Padre Resort which has an accessible walkover to the beach. A short distance north is a smaller parking lot with 27 public parking spaces across from La Copa Inn MAR 64 61 62 63 APR 70 71 71 71 MAY 77 78 77 78 JUN 79 83 82 84 JUL 79 86 84 85 AUG 80 86 85 86 SEPT 83 83 82 82 OCT 78 75 75 74 NOV 71 67 66 65

MAR 75 70 72 70 APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

79 75 77 76 84 81 83 83 88 87 88 89 89 89 90 91 89 89 90 90 87 87 87 87 83 80 80 79 76 71 72 70

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The City also provides Mobichairs to visitors, FREE of charge, on a first come first serve basis. Mobichairs are amphibious wheelchairs that are beach and surf accessible. They not only allow someone with special needs to get out and enjoy the beach, but also allow them to access the water. 13 of the 25 beach accesses have mobi-mats and 8 have walkovers for easier accessibility. To reserve a Mobichair contact the South Padre Island’s Fire Department at 956-761-3040. The City of South Padre Island also has accessible transportation. All Island Metro buses meet ADA requirements and are equipped with wheelchair lifts. Island Metro also offers the Paratransit service which allows passengers to be picked up and transported to any of our beach accesses. The passenger requesting the Paratransit service must complete an application, which includes a section for your physician to complete. Completed applications must be returned to City of South Padre Island, Transportation Department, 3401 Padre Boulevard, Suite C, South Padre Island, TX 78597. Upon receipt, the application will be reviewed by transportation department staff. To receive a copy of the application, or directions on how to download call the transportation department at 956.761.8178.

BEACH RULES

Beach days are precious, and too often they are few and far between. It is important to be aware of local beach rules and simple etiquette that will ensure everyone, you and those around you, enjoy their well-deserved beach vacation. • Please do not trash our beautiful beaches. Trash cans are provided for your convenience.

In the event receptacles are full, please take trash with you for disposal. • Glass is not allowed on the beach. • While the use of small charcoal grills is allowed on the beach, open camp fires built into the sand are not. When cleaning your area at the end of the day, please take your coals with you. Do not bury your hot coals, as someone could come along and step on them and be burned; and please do not dump them into trash receptacles. • Be considerate of people around you in regards to language and music volume.

BEACH SAFETY

The beaches of South Padre Island are here for your enjoyment. To help you get the most out of your beach vacation, the Island has implemented a flag system that gives you much needed information regarding surf conditions. Watch for these flags and heed their warnings: Red Flag - Heavy surf and dangerous currents. Yellow Flag - Calm to moderate water. Does not assume safe water. Blue Flag - Presence of venomous marine life (Jellyfish and Man-O-War). The absence of a flag does not guarantee safe water. In the event of an emergency dial 911.

RIP CURRENT SAFETY TIPS

• Never swim alone. • Learn how to swim in the surf. It’s not the same as swimming in a pool or lake. • Be cautious at all times. If in doubt, don’t go out. • Obey all instructions and orders from the Beach Patrol. • Stay at least 100 feet away from piers and jetties. Permanent rip currents often exist along the sides of these structures. • Consider using polarized sunglasses when at the beach. They will help you to spot signatures of rip currents by cutting down glare and reflected sunlight off the ocean’s surface. • Pay close attention to children and elderly when at the beach. Even in shallow water, wave action can cause loss of footing.

If caught in a rip current:

• Remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly. • Never fight against the current. • Think of it like a treadmill that cannot be turned off, which you need to step to the side of. • Swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline. When out of the current, swim at an angle away from the current and towards shore. • If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water. When out of the current, swim towards shore. • If you are still unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself by waving your arm and yelling for help.

If you see someone in trouble, don’t become a victim too:

• Get help from a member of the Beach Patrol. • Call 9-1-1 if a member of the Beach Patrol is not immediately available. • Do not attempt to rescue the person in trouble. • Throw the rip current victim something that floats such as a lifejacket, a cooler or an inflatable ball. • Yell instructions on how to escape. • Remember, many people drown while trying to save someone else from a rip current.

Mobichairs

There are 25 beach accesses located along the City’s beaches on Gulf Blvd. 21 of these beach accesses are developed and provide 242 public parking spaces, and 14 of the beach accesses provide 25 accessible parking spaces. Please refer to the map on the next page for parking access data. There are several accesses that provide other amenities to make our visitors visit to the beach enjoyable. Please see chart below for complete list of beach access amenities. In addition to the beach accesses, there are another 310 parking spaces along Gulf Blvd. with 7 of them being accessible. There are also 15 side streets off of Gulf Blvd. that provides 437 public

parking spaces. See list of streets and available parking spaces to the right. `

Sunny Isle Polaris Jupiter Venus Verna Jean Lantana Atol Sunset Morning Side Esperanza Hibiscus Oleander Huisache Mesquite Hass 22 38 44 48 34 26 16 57 16 16 22 11 34 36 17

GULF BLVD. BEACH ACCESS

1 Harbor 2 Ocean 3 Gulf 4 Beach Circle 5 Sea Island 6 Seaside 7 Surf 8 Whitecap 9 Bluewater 10 Riviera Paved Wooden Rinse Drinking Mobi-Mat Bike Rack Bench Walkover Stairs Walkway Path Station Water Restrooms Picnic Table • • • • •

11 Treasure Island • • • • • • •

12 Daydream 13 Moonlight 14 Bougainvillea 15 Poinsettia 16 Butterfly Garden • •

17 Neptune 18 Starlight 19 Aquarius • • •

20 Aurora • •

21 Gay Dawn 22 Good Hope 23 Fantasy 24 Sapphire

OTHER

1 Pearl 2 La Copa 3 Sunset 4 White Sands

Assessible