Overlooking Oso Bay, this city-run nature reserve of 162 acres has 4 miles of trails to wander. The surrounding wetlands are a haven for birdlife, and volunteers at the visitor center can help identify species. The gate is open 7:30am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, but visitors that arrive outside of these times can use the walk-in entrances on Holly Rd.
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Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
10.3 MILES
Learn about Gulf Coast marine life, just across from downtown at the southern end of North Beach. Three large handling tanks let you get close to sharks,…
10.32 MILES
Moored just north of the ship channel and aquarium, this 900ft-long aircraft carrier dominates Corpus Christi bay. The Lexington served in the Pacific…
10.13 MILES
Enjoying a spectacular seafront setting, across from the Museum of Science & History, this modern museum focuses on changing exhibitions of contemporary…
9.92 MILES
Originally a neighborhood of old homes, Heritage Park has morphed into a theme park of old homes. A dozen Corpus houses, from humble to grand and dating…
Padre Island National Seashore
13.45 MILES
The 60 southern miles of 'North' Padre Island that lie beyond Corpus Christi city limits are protected within the Padre Island National Seashore…
20.98 MILES
A privately owned island just across the ship channel from Port Aransas, known as St Jo to locals. This squat desert island, 2 miles at its widest but 21…
20.14 MILES
The main access point to this county-run park is via Beach St (try to remember that). The park has rest rooms, the Horace Caldwell fishing pier and…
10.18 MILES
This fun museum explores Texas' natural history, and displays gold bars and huge disks of silver recovered from three Spanish ships wrecked nearby in 1534…
Nearby attractions
8.79 MILES
This is the least exciting of the three main piers for visitors, but the views back towards downtown are nice.
8.94 MILES
Home to a view, a few chain restaurants and the luckless Niña Ship Replica.
9.13 MILES
Once a small display area tucked inside Surf Club Records, this museum has now taken over completely with a range of displays on the history of surfing in…
9.14 MILES
The busy fleet of shipping boats that dock here, along with the various restaurants and activities that have set up shop on the jetty, make this the most…
9.19 MILES
The life-sized statue of late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez (1971–95) still draws an estimated 30,000 well-wishers every year more than two…
9.35 MILES
This small space hosts contemporary-art exhibitions, which rotate every four to six weeks, with a penchant for emerging artists. The often-provocative…
9.44 MILES
This well-equipped park covers 4000 acres and has 5.5 miles of beach. It is popular with surfers, but given the normally calm nature of the gulf you may…
9.92 MILES
Originally a neighborhood of old homes, Heritage Park has morphed into a theme park of old homes. A dozen Corpus houses, from humble to grand and dating…