SPI’s 'Crown Jewel' Gains Top Ranking by R. Daniel Cavazos |
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Single Service: Boardwalks constructed in recent years connect new amenities to the surf at Isla Blanca Park. |
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The road to Isla Blanca Park being named USA Today’s Best Beach in Texas for 2024 began decades before when the park’s old pavilion featured a lean-to metal roof and an open view to the Gulf of Mexico.
For decades – going back to the 1950s – Isla Blanca was the place for families from across the Rio Grande Valley to congregate with their home-style picnics and children streaming out from the open air pavilion to splash in the surf. Isla Blanca with $30 million in investments since 2018 has come a long way from its far simpler and bare essential amenities.
The same could be said for South Padre Island. Today, the Island and its county-run park are gaining national acclaim. The USA Today beach rankings, which were released in late May, are an example of the higher profile the Island is getting, with Isla Blanca adding to SPI’s allure. Cameron County’s parks director, Joe Vega, sees USA Today’s top ranking as a validation of the investments of recent years that have added a bevvy of features to the historic park.
"It’s a great feeling to be ranked No. 1," Vega said. "It’s like we say, Isla Blanca Park is the crown jewel of the Texas Gulf Coast." |
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Park Improvements The ranking of top10 beaches by USA Today includes a nearby beach, Boca Chica Beach ranked third, with Rockport Beach coming in second. Three Corpus Christi-area beaches are also in the newspaper’s top 10 Texas beaches, as are beaches in Port Aransas and Galveston. |
| Two new pavilions are among the new facilities build in recent years at Isla Blanca Park. |
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Of Isla Blanca, the national newspaper says, in part, that the park "enchants visitors with its soft white sands, turquoise waters, and vibrant beach culture." USA Today’s summary of the park ends with praise of Isla Blanca’s "abundance of opportunities for fun, with beachfront pavilions, rentals, and amenities easily accessed."
For Vega, the newspaper’s recognition of those amenities is fulfilling. Millions were spent in county funds after area voters approved a bond to build a number of new facilities to replace the aging structures of yesteryear. The national recognition reaffirms the value of the bond monies and the leadership of county government to invest in its biggest park on the Island, Vega said. "These investments and the improvements we’ve put in at Isla Blanca Park are for the generations to come to enjoy in the years ahead," he said. |
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Sand nourishment and dune restoration projects have added to Isla Blanca's beauty while reinforcing protections against storms. |
| The parks director ticks off the list of improvements at Isla Blanca: - Two new pavilions.
- Boardwalks that connect the seaside structures to the beaches.
- New cabanas and improved restrooms.
- An amphitheater and events center.
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A sand nourishment and dune restoration system that adds to the beach’s beauty while shoring up coastal defenses against storms.
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"It’s a whole array of amenities," Vega said, adding that Isla Blanca also includes a 600-RV site park, a water park, jetties for Gulf fishing, and a one mile of "pristine beach" free of seaside developments. And now, in recent years, another major attraction is within easy view of Isla Blanca, and that’s the launch pad of SpaceX’s Starship across the bay.
Added Attraction
USA Today’s beach rankings were published just days before SpaceX’s fourth and most successful launch of its Starship from its base at Boca Chica Beach. "We have the front row seat to SpaceX," Vega likes to say.
Each launch has attracted thousands of visitors with Vega opening the park at 3 a.m. on launch days to accommodate the crowds that gather to see the tallest rocket ever made rise into the South Texas skies amid a spectacular show of fire, light and smoke. Vega’s "crown jewel" can say it has something no other Texas beach has and that’s a close-up views of rockets launching. SpaceX says those events will become even more commonplace as plans accelerate for Starship to someday reach the Moon – and then Mars.
"The visibility exposure we’ve gotten from SpaceX has been tremendous," Vega said.
"Every launch brings big crowds." It’s just another reason to visit what USA Today calls the best beach in Texas. |
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Circa 1960s photos features the cars of that era parked by the old pavilion at Isla Blanca Park. |
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| R. Daniel Cavazos is a Rio Grande Valley native and
longtime journalist who has worked as a publisher,
editor, and reporter at several South Texas
newspapers, including The Monitor, the Valley Morning
Star, The Brownsville Herald, and San Antonio Light. |
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