This Quiet Texas Beach Town Is a Dream for Anglers, Birders, and Beach Lovers 

Located on Aransas Bay, Rockport, Texas is a laid-back beach town known for its fishing and art scene. It’s the Redfish Capital of Texas, where you’ll find endless angling opportunities from the bays, fishing piers, and even offshore fishing excursions. It’s also nestled along the migratory bird path in South Texas, making it a haven for birders looking to check off unique species from their lists.

Around town, you’ll find art galleries, museums, and the Rockport Center for the Arts, which houses rotating exhibitions and art classes for all ages. Spend the day at the beach, or venture around town for artistic inspiration, shopping, dining, and more. Whatever you decide, Rockport is the place for casual beach days and lazy afternoons on a patio. Here, our guide on how to vacation in Rockport, Texas. 

Rockport Beach has the honor of being Texas’ first Blue Wave Beach—a beach certified by the Clean Beaches Coalition for meeting standards of cleanliness, safety, and environmental management. Rockport Beach is known for its shallow, calm waters and sandy shore, making it great for swimming and families with children. Bring beach chairs and towels and set up for a day full of easy, laid-back fun away from more-crowded Texas beaches.

Rockport Beach is handicap accessible and has public restrooms. There are dozens of picnic areas throughout the beach, each with a covered picnic table and a grill. Several playgrounds and swing sites are along the beachfront, too. 

There are about 14 miles of hike-and-bike trails in Rockport, available for all skill levels. The Schanen Hike and Bike Trail and the Corpus Christi Bay Trail are both beautiful, with accessible routes full of coastal views. The Tule Hike and Bike Trail is 2.1 miles and fully paved, unfolding along Tule Creek, and the Rockport Memorial Park Hike and Bike Trail is a forested pathway that provides a calm escape for those looking for peace and quiet. 

Rockport’s calm bays, shorelines, and estuaries provide ample opportunities to paddle along the Gulf Coast. Little Bay is a popular starting point, as its calm waters are great for kids, and you can also do a bit of birding and spot pelicans and herons. The Rockport-Fulton Paddling Trail is a 30-mile trek that connects Port Bay and the Highway 188 Kayaking Site to Cavasso Creek, and along the way, you’ll see coastal marshes, tidal creeks, and sheltered bays full of birds and marine life.

There are numerous rest areas and launch points along the way, and you can rent kayaks or paddleboards from local outfitters. Guided tours are available by local naturalists, who educate you on Rockport’s flora and fauna. Contact the Rockport-Fulton CVB and they can assist with local guides and tours. 

Birding in South Texas is huge, as the area lies across a large migratory zone between Canada and Mexico. Rockport is located along the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, where hundreds of bird species use the area’s bays, marshes, woods, and coastal prairieland as resting spots along their journeys. About 40 miles east of Rockport, the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a top birding spot in the U.S., with birds found all year long.

Winter sees waterfowl and shorebirds, spring migrations bring vibrant warblers, summer months are perfect for spotting bubblegum pink roseate spoonbills and egrets, and fall migration are full of raptors. From November through March, the endangered whooping crane is found in the refuge—the world’s only migrating flock of whooping cranes. The birds are one of the nation’s largest birds, and seeing one is a special moment for birders and animal lovers alike. 

Fishing in Rockport isn’t just a pastime, it’s a way of life and has been for centuries. The area offers both bay and offshore fishing, with the surrounding bays—Copano, St. Charles, and Aransas—providing excellent redfish, speckled trout, and flounder. Take a kayak out into the shallow waters and fish from your vessel, or take a deep-sea boat out and fish for tarpon, snapper, and kingfish.

The Fulton Fishing Pier is an 1,100-foot pier stretching into the water, where anglers can cast a line day or night, as LED lighting makes nighttime fishing available. Lots of local guides, marinas, piers, boat ramps, and bait shops make the sport an easy and accessible activity for families and solo travelers alike. 

Along Aransas and St. Charles bays, Goose Island State Park is a quiet retreat for those looking to camp, fish, or kayak. (Swimming is not recommended here, as the shoreline has concrete bulkheads, mud flats, marsh grass, and oyster shells.) Dozens of campsites by the bay offer water and electricity, as do the camping spots underneath oak trees. Restrooms and showers are located in each camping loop.

Launch a canoe from the shoreline, and check the park’s kayaking programs, as new events are always happening. Fish from the fishing pier, shore, or a boat, and use the fish cleaning station on site for your catch. Rods, reels, and tackle boxes are available to rent at the park. And don’t forget to visit the Big Tree, one of the largest living live oak trees in the nation at 44 feet tall with a crown spread of 89 feet. 

After a day at the beach, there are plenty of indoor options in town as well. The Rockport Center for the Arts is a free-admission option where art exhibits and educational workshops and classes introduce children and adults alike to the arts world. Sign up for classes in literary and culinary arts, or see exhibitions full of sculptures, paintings, illustrations, and more. Art galleries throughout town also showcase Rockport’s thriving art scene, where artwork is inspired by the coastal landscape. Find ceramics, mixed-media pieces, and more by local and regional artists.

On South Fulton Beach Road, the Fulton Mansion is a stately site to see, and you can explore the interior on a tour. Built in the 1870s, the mansion is an example of a progressive Victorian home for its time, as it included flush toilets, interior gas lighting, and other extras not often found during that time. At the Texas Maritime Museum, learn about Rockport’s maritime history through exhibits that explore the lives of local fishermen, boat builders, and local community members, who were all part of the area’s fishing and trade industries. And at the Bay Education Center, learn how estuaries and coastal habitats play a critical role in the ecology of South Texas. 

Located right on the water, Paradise Key Dockside Bar and Grill is accessible by car or boat, meaning you can come straight from the water for seafood, burgers, and tropical drinks. Both the indoor dining room and dockside bar offer great views, and there’s live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Near the Rockport Center for the Arts, Copano’s includes craft cocktails and a large whiskey selection, plus seafood, steaks, and pastas. You can bring in your own catch and have it prepared how you like, or choose from an array of dishes such as seafood mac and cheese and blackened drum with Pontchartrain sauce.

Also a fine art gallery, Latitude 28°02 specializes in local eafood. Find oysters done in numerous ways, blackened fish, stuffed shrimp, and even a Tex-Mex crab chalupa with avocado and cilantro aioli. More beautiful water views are found at Gabriela’s Seafood and Tapas, where Mexican and Spanish flavors dominate the menu. Ahi tuna tostadas, crab crostini, and even a special goat cheese dish are all meant for sharing.   

The Lighthouse Inn at Aransas Bay is the perfect place to catch a sunrise on the water, and each of the 78 rooms or suites offers its own balcony or patio that’s perfect for your morning coffee. There’s also a pool and hot tub, complimentary breakfast buffet, private fishing pier, a courtyard with grilling area, and a gym with Peloton access. On Copano Bay, the Ruddy Lodge is the first finished phase of the new Redfish Lodge that caters to anglers looking for a nice place to hang after a day on the water. The lodge welcomes up to 12 guests at a time, with chef-prepared meals, a pool and hot tub, outdoor living spaces, and fishing trips all built into the price.