When to visit Lamar and Goose Island

Overview

Lamar sits at the north end of the Copano Bay causeway on State Highway 35, about ten miles north of Rockport. Goose Island State Park is at the southern tip of Lamar Peninsula, amid the bays and estuaries of the Coastal Bend. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) publishes the park's busy seasons and climate notes.

This page covers only what differs here. For the whole Coastal Bend by month, including fishing seasons, hurricane season and what to pack, see When to visit the Coastal Bend.

Season by season

TPWD lists the park's busy seasons as Memorial Day through Labor Day, October through Thanksgiving, and January through April. That leaves May before Memorial Day, the weeks between Labor Day and October, and the weeks from Thanksgiving to the end of the year outside those seasons. The park often reaches capacity, and TPWD highly recommends reservations for both camping and day use. To guarantee entry, it says to reserve passes online or by calling its customer service center before you visit.

At the Rockport station the warmest month is August (average high 93°F) and the coolest is January (average low 46°F). September is the wettest month, with 5.7 inches, and December is the driest, with 1.9.

These are the NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Rockport station (USC00417704), from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Temperatures are rounded to the nearest degree Fahrenheit and rain to the nearest tenth of an inch.

Winter

Endangered whooping cranes spend the winter across St. Charles Bay at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. TPWD also says the crane feeds on berries and blue crabs in the coastal wetlands around the park. On the mainland side you may see white-tailed deer, raccoons, armadillos, foxes, squirrels, cottontail rabbits and over 300 varieties of birds. TPWD says the first freeze at the park occurs in mid-December.

Spring

Wildflowers fill the park in spring. The mainland has live oak and red bay woods, with a portion of tallgrass prairie. TPWD says it offers ranger programs that include nature hikes, birding tours and kids programs, and points to its Events page for what is coming up.

Summer

Occasionally, TPWD says, alligators are seen in the park, and it publishes alligator safety tips.

Fall

The park's wettest months are August, September and October, according to TPWD.

Beach conditions

TPWD does not recommend swimming at Goose Island State Park. It says the shoreline has concrete bulkheads, oyster shells, mud flats and marsh grass. TPWD says seagrass beds and oyster reefs fill the bays around the island, and that red drum, speckled trout and flounder are just a few of the fish that live there.

Anglers can fish from the shore, from a boat or from the park's 1,620-foot fishing pier. TPWD says you do not need a fishing license to fish from shore or pier in a Texas state park. The park has a kayak and canoe launch for paddlers, and a Tackle Loaner Program that lends rods, reels and tackle boxes.

More about Lamar & Goose Island

When to visit the Coastal BendLamar & Goose Island area guideAll places in Lamar & Goose Island

Where to stay