We’ve started traveling again! Even though we were ‘stuck’ in Rockport longer than we planned we really enjoyed our time in the area. Now that we have left the Texas Gulf Coast we want to highlight five reasons why you need to put Rockport, TX on your list of places to visit. These are in no particular order.
Location
Isn’t it all about location when you’re on vacation or traveling to a new area? It is for us. We want to be somewhere quiet and close to activities and dining. Rockport is that place! The Gulf Coast encompasses a LOT of area! So Why Rockport? In all honesty, we had never even heard of Rockport until we spent some time at Mustang Island State Park. We loved the area and instead of leaving after 2 weeks we did a little research and decided to stay a while longer. We found Rockport and decided to check it out. Rockport, like much of the Gulf Coast, is a destination for Winter Texans. There are dozens of RV Parks and it’s close to Port Aransas, Corpus Christi and a number of other small towns worth checking out.
Activities
Because Rockport is close to so many things, we want to share a short list of activities we enjoyed while in the area. I’m including web links in case you want to check them out.
Mustang Island State Park – What a beautiful place. And the sand is so soft you can walk for miles and you can even drive on part of the beach. It’s a great place to spend a day or stay longer in their campground. After hurricane Harvey, they had to rebuild the bath house and I have to say, it’s really nice. https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/mustang-island If you’re going to camp at Mustang Island don’t forget to look into a Texas State Parks pass. It pays for itself very quickly!
Fulton Mansion – This was an unexpected treat right in the Rockport/Fulton area. This home was built in 1877 by George W Fulton. It was the first house in the area with central heating, gas lights and indoor plumbing. This gorgeous house is definitely worth the visit. Unlike most historic homes, this one only has furnishings that were actually used by the Fulton family when they lived in the house. I, personally, thought that was really cool! https://www.thc.texas.gov/historic-sites/fulton-mansion-state-historic-site
Historic Downtown Rockport – What a cute area to walk around. There are great little shops and some restaurants if you want to stop for lunch or dinner. It’s close to the marina too. You can buy bait for your own fishing activities or you can purchase seafood as the boats come in, so make sure to check that out. http://www.rockportrocks.com/category/shopping/
Aransas National Refuge – So many birds!! This is a great place to go do some bird watching. We saw Herons, Spoonbills, Turkey Vultures, Cranes, and many other birds. We also saw alligators and armadillo. There’s a great driving route and a very nice walking path to check out. They have a great platform that you can walk up to so you can get a birds eye view of the area. And the majority is handicap accessible. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Aransas/
Padre Island National Seashore – We loved our trip to the National Seashore. Miles and miles of beautiful beach. You can camp right on the beach if you do desire (we didn’t). At certain times of the year they have baby sea turtle releases that you can watch. Don’t worry about getting all sandy. There is an area as you’re walking back up to the visitor center where you can spray off your feet. They also have restrooms with showers available if you’ve been swimming. The National Seashore is a little over an hour from Rockport but well worth the trip! https://www.nps.gov/pais/index.htm
Victoria TX – You will see signs leading you on the driving tour through the this amazing town. Go here to find information on all the beautiful buildings and homes in the historic downtown. We went on a Sunday, so there wasn’t much open. Next time we will go on a weekday or a Saturday.
Dolphin watching tours, fishing (alone or on an excursion), museums, beaches, shopping and the list goes on! Seriously, if you’re bored, it’s your own fault!
Food
We love our food! We only dine out about once a week but since we were in Rockport for so long we were able to try out quite a few great places. One of the things we base our opinions on, is for the service. With having a dairy allergy many times my meal comes out wrong. So it’s always nice when they get things right. Here are a few of our favorites.
The Boiling Pot – If you want an awesome crab boil…..ya….you need to go here! Crab, Shrimp, crayfish, they have it all! Their food is amazing. We had such a great time and the service was outstanding.
Paradise Key Dockside Grill – Fantastic Seafood and drinks! And as a bonus you have a view of the water no matter where you sit. They have an outside patio as well. It was so much fun to watch the birds and boats. Watching the sun go down on the gulf was a treat as well.
Moon Dog – This is another restaurant located right on the water. We sat on the lower deck and were just steps away from the gulf. Beautiful views, great food and superb service! We will definitely be back to Moon Dog next winter!.
Bellino’s Italian Restaurant – We really did eat more than just seafood when we were in Rockport. We ordered takeout from Bellino’s Italian Restaurant during the Covid-19 stay at home order. All I can say is, amazing! It’s the best Italian we’ve had in a long, long time!
Los Comales – This is the place to go for Mexican food (in our opinion). Great food and atmosphere. The times we were there we had amazing service as well.
Moby Dicks – Located in Port Aransas this is a very fun, touristy, restaurant to go to. Great atmosphere, superb service and amazing food at a very reasonable price. We will definitely be back.
The People!
Yes, the people! From museum staff to wait staff to grocery store workers, everyone in Rockport is super nice! While driving down the road people will regularly wave at you. This is huge for us. We don’t like to be places where people are crabby. We like to talk with people and when you’re in an area where people are friendly it makes the time there so much nicer.
Weather
What more can I say. This is why we have decided that the gulf coast will be our winter home for the foreseeable future. When it’s snowing in the northern states you can hang out on the beach on the Gulf Coast. This is why so many people become Winter Texans and live here in the winter months. You just can’t beat the weather.
And did I mention sunsets? No? Well I should have! The sunsets are gorgeous and they last forever! Plenty of time for you to grab your camera and snap a shot or two!
Rockport, on the Gulf Coast in Texas, is such an amazing place to spend some time. We will definitely be back!
