Goose Island State Park — Attraction in Rockport

I'm writing this review because of a great experience we had with a Park Ranger Officer on April 26th. At 9pm we accidentally locked ourselves out of our RV AND our vehicle with no phones and no belongings! Our neighbor drove my husband around to someone that has a similar RV to ours in hopes that their key would fit ours! Ha! It didn't!

Coincidentally, came across this Park Ranger Officer and they were so unbelievably helpful, friendly, kind and were not going to leave us stranded without finding us a solution. We used their phone to find a locksmith. Closest one was sent from Corpus Christi even though we called a local number. If there truly is one in Rockport please comment below because this cost us $350. If we used a credit card they would have added an extra $28 so we paid cash! This Park Ranger stayed in the area, they were also seeing about another situation, until the locksmith arrived. This Ranger met the locksmith as they couldn't find the right area AND stayed to see us through the situation (we had no phones).

Goose Island must be proud of their Park Ranger Officers, competent, caring, friendly. While we were waiting this Officer gave us tips on other Tx Parks with our interests. You don't forget when you are in dire straights and are treated with such professionalism and compassion! Thank You Goose Island Park Ranger Officer!

We will be back, the only negatives were the mosquitoes. They said this was their first outbreak because of recent rains. We stayed in the wooded area. We are not fishermen so staying at the bay area didn't appeal to us. We enjoyed the very long pier! Will try the hiking trails next time. Enjoyed all the birds! I like coming here because there is so many things you can do in Rockport! Their Ace Hardware is like no other!!! Truly unbelievable! Has something for everyone! Looking forward to our next trip here!

I forgot to mention that the staff at the office during check-in and any follow up questions we had during our stay were awesome...

Nice clean park...bathrooms clean, showers good. Fishing pier was nice. Bathroom at pier was clean. If fishing is what you are looking for, this is the place...Boat ramp is good. Has fish cleaning area that is nice. Be warned the air boat guys are bossy.. you are just in their way if you're there to recreational fish.. If you're into kayaking, its a perfect place. Since there are many reefs, there is no danger of being run down if you stay in the shallow water. Stay in the shallows, you can go to lots of areas where boats cant. Water seems to stay calm and easy to paddle in. Can put kayak out at most camp spots.... Problems...... the level of the camp spots is bad. I saw people having problems with campers. If you dont have leveling jacks, its going to be a problem.. We have a truck camper and it took a couple times to get it level, we do not have jacks... If you are looking for a nice 'quiet' park. this is not the park. Soon as the sun comes up, the charter air boats start showing up. They are so loud, talking to someone in your own camp is difficult. Goes on for hours, then in the evening, it starts all over. Boat dock is right there next to the camp, so no way to avoid unless you stay in your camper with the AC on full blast..then you wont hear them as much...You can hear them all day, even when they are miles away.. Raccoons are bad. You cannot leave anything out, not even lures. As they state, there is no cooler a raccoon cant open. Secure all food and bait, or it will be eaten by morning. And be careful as to what you leave in your boat...you'll see, there will be dirty feet prints all over everything, coolers, boats and cars... If you're taking a boat and dont know this area, be warned. Oyster reefs are EVERYWHERE.... Saw many boats get grounded. Not marked well at all. No sandy beaches for kids that i saw, the water areas i saw were all crushed shells. Very sharp and rough. Not really a kid park unless they love fishing. Fishing is about the only...

Great base camp for anglers. Park has a popular boat launch (you will hear boats and airboats as local day passers and guides use this launch as well) and St Charles Bay is nice for kayakers. I use the road along St Charles Bay to bank fish and kayak fish nearby. Rockport, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi are all great fishing locations a reasonable drive away. Rockport is across the bridge which has all the common fast food when you don't want to cook, a huge Tackle Town store, HEB and Walmart.

Bayside waterfront camping and the HUGE park pier should be open by end of fall 2020 (repairs from 2017 Harvey hurricane). There are a lot of mosquitoes in this area but get Repel with 40% deet and spray yourself, your RV, tent, car doors, etc and they will become scarce. Works amazingly well. You are camping, so expect nature. Speaking of, there are lots of deer in the area living in the park and local residences so please drive very cautiously. Already saw one deer dead on side of road and they will run out of bushes and usually aren't alone so wait to make sure there isn't a second or several more coming.

Some of the wooded area have private sites with lots of brush separating each site, there is a strip of sites that are more open if you prefer. Use reserve america site when you do your reservation and you can click on pictures to see how your site looks. It'll also open up bayside on the site once they know it'll be done. Two dump stations, second is between entrance and boat ramp and better to maneuver large RVs than the one in the wooded area. Please remember to clean up on your adventures inside and...