Goose Island State Park on the Gulf Coast outside of Rockport has a lot to offer visitors, whether you’re an angler, a birder, or just want a pleasant place to relax.
The park has more than 100 campsites, most with hookups. Some are right along the bay while others are tucked away in an oak motte. For anglers, there is a boat launch and a fishing pier that extends 1,620 feet to the end of the small island just off the mainland that gives the park its name.
What makes the park unique is its location on a peninsula that extends into Aransas Bay. You’ll often see commercial fishing boats plying the waters.
Not far outside of the park boundaries is the Big Tree. With a 35-foot-circumference trunk and 89-foot canopy, it was named the State Champion Coastal Live Oak in 1966. It held the title until 2003 when a bigger tree was discovered in the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge.
From late October until early April, whooping cranes make their winter home along the Texas coast, primarily around Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, just a few miles from Goose Island. The winter visitors are best observed by guided boat tours out of Rockport. Bring your binoculars because in a field across from the Big Tree (the Eighth Street side is the best viewing area), whooping cranes and sandhill cranes often congregate.
Whooping cranes migrate to Texas from Canada. Last winter there was a record 557 birds, a remarkable comeback from an endangered bird that was reduced to 14 individuals in 1941.
The 321-acre park was purchased in 1931 as a wintering ground for whooping cranes. Much of its infrastructure was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, including a recreation hall made of shellcrete.
Goose Island is about 12 miles outside of Rockport. Reservations can be made at tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/goose-island.
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This article appears in September 26 • 2025.