Best beaches to visit within reasonable drive

[::pete::]

Valente beach is on Lake Travis which isnt a bad spot either and not that long of a drive.

[MarkS]

The common jellyfish along the gulf coast are called cabbage heads. They look pretty much like a white head of cabbage with a few small tentacles. They are not able to sting through human skin. The ones to look out for are called Aurelia. They have the clover leaf shaped structure on top. Sometimes currents bring them in to the coast.

Personally, I'd be more concerned about man-o-war. In either case, its a good idea to make sure to take some meat tenderizer with you as part of your first aid kit to treat stings.

This thing stung me and a friend of mine. I got stung on the ankle and it was just a red patch. My friend got stung on the arm and it looked like a 6" diameter circle that wrapped around her arm.

Water quality depends on the surf conditions and the amount od water coming down the rivers. With all the rain we've had recently I wouldn't be surprised if the water was pretty murky. That's why South Padre usually has much cleaner water. The Rio Grande is pretty much a dry creek by the time it reaches the Gulf.

This was two years ago. I did not drive, but I remember going through Corpus and over a large bridge. A sign said Padre Island.

[Brett Wilson]

MarkS, you are speaking of north padre island if it was near Corpus (aka the north end of padre island national seashore). South padre is hours south of Corpus.

[Dozer]

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far, this helps us a lot!