b'P a d r eI s l a n dWelcome to Padre & Mustang IslandsMore Miles of Public BeachThe Coastal Bends Gulf of Mexico Beaches are and have always been the top at-traction for visitors to the area, so many of whom eventually buy vacation homes Access than in Any Oceanfronthere and even retire to our beautiful, semi-tropical slice of paradise. Padre and Mustang Islands offer the greatest access on the Texas Coast to Gulf of Mexico Destination in the Entire Unitedbeaches, some 90 miles by vehicle, plus dozens of miles of coastline along our inner bays, including the Upper Laguna Madre and Corpus Christi Bay. Ocean-Statesin the Coastal Bend front vacation and living options are most abundant on Mustang Island and Port Aransas to the north, while bayfront options are prevalent on North Padre Island.Padre Island is the longest barrier island in the world, and the second-largest is-land in the U.S. by land mass, to Long Is-land, New York. Padre Isles is the largest waterfront development in the country outside the state of Florida, with more than 4,000 single-family homes on an extensive network of canals.PackeryChannelseparatesPadreIs-land to the south from Mustang Island to the north. The jetties on the north and south side of the channel offer free places to fish, and public boat ramps are located on the channels north side.Traditionally,thepartyscenebeach is north of Packery Channel at the J.P. LubySurfPark,whichisreachedby taking Zahn Road off Hwy. 361.Familygroupsandamoretraditional crowd will have a better time south of Packery Channel, on the beach along the North Padre Island Seawall, and south along Whitecap Beach, which extends downtotheentranceoftheNueces County Padre Balli Park. Farther south, into Kleberg County, is considered the less regulated stretch of gulf beach.120THE COASTAL BEND GUIDE TheCoastalBend.com'