MissionCamper

Correction...was! Now it's a pic of our site at Degray Lake Resort SP in Bismarck, AR.

Maxden44

At PINS, no matter where you decide to stay, either right on the beach itself or in the campground, you won't have to walk far at all. In fact, most spots, you can pitch your tent (or park the camper, whatever) right next to your car. The only thing to remember is that if you decide to drive down the beach and find a place to camp - you really have to have 4 wheel drive past the 5 mile mark. There is a hugh sign posted there not to go any further unless you have 4 wheel drive. And a Toyota Solara wouldn't make it, esp. if you like the car and want to keep it. Keep in mind too there is a constant wind blowing (sometimes 30 MPH or more) so choose a good place to park your car where it won't get a constant blast of sand/salt, although there are a lot of car washes on Padre Island so you can wash it off before you leave. Have a great weekend at PINS! My family is going too, but we're staying in the campground. I don't like to camp with crabs running all around my tent - freaks me out!

And as far as beachcombing for shells, to find the best ones, you have to go pretty far down the beach which requires 4 wheel drive, about 20-25 miles down. I always find great shells there. But you can find some smaller shells and other oddities (like palm seeds or fish skeletons) in the upper areas of the park - esp. after a hurricane. That's when stuff gets washed up from the bottom. The secret is to find a spot that isn't crowded, where lots of people haven't already picked up all the shells that wash up. Happy hunting!

Seababe

"Correction...was! Now it's a pic of our site at Degray Lake Resort SP in Bismarck, AR"

Been there many times! Beautiful lake too.

"And a Toyota Solara wouldn't make it, esp. if you like the car and want to keep it. Keep in mind too there is a constant wind blowing (sometimes 30 MPH or more) so choose a good place to park your car where it won't get a constant blast of sand/salt,"

Good idea thanks.

"Have a great weekend at PINS! My family is going too, but we're staying in the campground. I don't like to camp with crabs running all around my tent - freaks me out!"

Ok how big are the crabs? I'm starting to freak out too

Seababe

"Wow! We have a lot of similiarities here! WE were just in Florida (west of Destin in Grayton Beach) at the end of June. My son loves his boogy-board too! We 're already scheduled for Henderson NEXT June!"

We were at Crystal Beach which was absolutely AMAZING. Water was a little cold but we had a GREAT time. I had no idea what skim surfing was but found that out quickly.

I am now looking forward to the solitude of PINS because Destin traffic with all of the new construction (which is a little sad they are building new condos right and left that now nearly totally block the beautiful ocean view drive), noise, traffic, and such was a little much. Luckily we stayed within walking distance of the beach.

Maxden44

LOL! The crabs aren't all that big - most of them are pretty little but still, there are a LOT of them. One of our family's favorite things to do at PINS is go out at night with flashlights crab hunting. We don't keep them, just look at them, play with them a little - like getting on one side to try and make them run in a certain direction. They run sideways and if you aren't paying attention, they could run right into you. I think the biggest ones we've ever seen are maybe the size of a fist, but usually they are only half that big or even smaller. Because they are white and the sand is very light, it's hard to see them sometimes. Bring lots of flashlights!

MissionCamper

There are also coyotes at PINS. We found this out one night when my wife awoke to the sound of our cooler being dragged off!

Maxden44

Oh my! I've never seen a coyote there but I did see a tarantula in the shower once. (YUCK!!!) And the very first time we ever camped there, we were sitting outside the tent at night, just enjoying the stars when my husband said he thought he saw eyes in the darkness, like animal eyes. He got out his flashlight and shined it on the dunes and sure enough, not more than 30 feet away were about 15-20 deer who had settled in for the night. They were laying down in the dunes. We never heard them come up - they were just there. They didn't move and neither did we - and the next morning, just like that, they were gone.

Seababe

Tarantulas, coyotes, and crabs OH MY! (Doing her best Wizard of Oz)

Well comes with the territory I guess. I remember stepping on several of the soft white shelled crabs in Destin. Did kinda freak me out.

Fingers crossed we can get there Labor Day weekend!!!

thanks so much guys,

Karen in Dallas

Camp_Koda

Forgive me if this was covered somewhere above and I just missed it: We're planning to be at PINS later this month. What about the breeze at night? Should we just leave the fly off our tent and the sea breeze will cool us enough? I suspect this but would just like some validation. Any help is appreciated!

__________________
“Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.” –Anon.

Maxden44

The nights are beautiful! I am always insisting we leave the rain fly off the tent at night but my husband (obviously the smarter of the two of us) keeps insisting we leave it on. "You never know!" We've been through more than one unexpected rain storm in the middle of the night. So we usually leave the rain fly on but if it were up to me, I would leave it off. There is usually a nice breeze at night, but often more than that - as much as 30-40 MPH. I remember trying to put up our tent in 30 MPH winds in the dark and giving up, sleeping in the truck instead and putting up the tent in the morning when the wind had died down. The wind seems to pick up during the day - mornings are not usually too bad, but by dinner time, it's blowing pretty well. We bought a windsock and hang it from the top of the tent just for fun.