Map › USA › Port Aransas South Jetty

Gulf Coast (TX/LA) · Mustang Island, Texas · Nueces County · Port Aransas

Port Aransas South Jetty

also known as Port Aransas, Port A Jetty, Port Aransas Jetty

advanced onlyhigh crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Wildcat Park 28 km · Packery Channel 29 km · North Packery Channel Beach 29 km · straight-line distance

SeasonMar to Julthe months riders and schools name How windy13-15 ktsmixed LaunchLarge sandy beach. Take your space away from swimmers, fishers and the main access points.access rules on record, below Watergulf beach29°C in summer · 15 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools4named at this spot From the airport45 minInternational Airport (CRP)

On the clock

10:00

There is no set hour: the wind builds through the day, so mornings are the light end and the afternoon is the peak. Around 10:00 is often the manageable window on a day heading for 25 knots. Summer in particular is an afternoon pattern rather than an all-day one. Indicative for the Corpus Christi coast, with nothing measured at the jetty itself.

The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.

Port Aransas South Jetty is the Gulf side of Mustang Island, a wave and freeride beach beside a long rock jetty. Southeast is the workhorse direction, side-onshore along most of the Gulf beach; north wind goes side-offshore in places, which is how a rider ends up needing a boat ride home. Cold fronts bring the northeast: stronger, with more swell.

That is when the jetty is at its best: smooth water tucked inside, rolling waves outside. There is swell, shorebreak and deeper water past the sandbars, so this is no place for a first lesson; put those on the bay side or the Laguna Madre flats.

Summer wind around Mustang Island and Holiday Beach averages 15-17 mph, roughly 13-15 kts, and March-July is the best stretch. The sand is shared with swimmers, surfers, fishing lines and cars, so walk your gear well away from the access points before you pump.

Parking permits cost $12 per vehicle in 2026, with a limited free strip between the South Jetty and Horace Caldwell Pier.

The wind

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

5678910111213141516

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: There is no set hour: the wind builds through the day, so mornings are the light end and the afternoon is the peak. Around 10:00 is often the manageable window on a day heading for 25 knots. Summer in particular is an afternoon pattern rather than an all-day one. Indicative for the Corpus Christi coast, with nothing measured at the jetty itself.

Typical strength

15-17 mph average summer wind reported for Mustang Island / Holiday Beach, approximately 13-15 kts.

A Gulf Coast mix of sea breeze and fronts. Southeast is the workhorse; cold fronts turn on stronger NE and N wind with more wave and more that can go wrong.

March-July is the best stretch for Mustang Island and Holiday Beach, and the Texas coast season runs through September more broadly. Port Aransas comes into its own on cold fronts with strong northeast wind.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic cold-front winds

Also on record

The quiver, in words

For 75-85 kg the 12 m is the summer sea-breeze kite, with a 14 m earning its keep on soft August afternoons. Spring and cold-front days come down to a 9 m and a 7 m. Winter swings wide enough in a single day that you want the whole range in the car.Indicative for this stretch of the Texas coast rather than measured at the jetty.

Direction to shore

SE is side-onshore along most of the Gulf beach. NE works for wave riding at the jetty, and north wind can be side-offshore on parts of the beach.

Dominant direction

SE, NE during cold fronts

Forecast

Month by month

Jan91
Feb92
Mar, riders' month99
Apr, riders' month100
May, riders' month99
Jun, riders' month98
Jul, riders' month98
Aug91
Sep84
Oct91
Nov93
Dec92

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul.

18Jan16°
18Feb17°
18Mar20°
19Apr23°
18May27°
18Jun30°
16Jul30°
15Aug31°
14Sep30°
16Oct27°
17Nov23°
17Dec19°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	91%	18.2 kt	S	15.4°C	15.6°C
Feb	92%	17.9 kt	S	15.1°C	16.6°C
Mar	99%	18.4 kt	SSE	18.9°C	20.2°C
Apr	100%	19 kt	SE	22.3°C	23°C
May	99%	18 kt	SE	26°C	27.1°C
Jun	98%	17.6 kt	SSE	28.2°C	29.5°C
Jul	98%	15.8 kt	SSE	28.5°C	30°C
Aug	91%	15.1 kt	SSE	29.1°C	30.9°C
Sep	84%	14.1 kt	SE	28.3°C	30°C
Oct	91%	16.4 kt	E	25.2°C	27.2°C
Nov	93%	17.4 kt	NNE	20.5°C	22.7°C
Dec	92%	16.6 kt	NE	17.6°C	18.7°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

gulf beach

Standing depth

No. It gets deep past the sandbars on the Gulf side.

Tides

Kitesurfing at nearby Mustang Island and Holiday Beach is reported not to depend on the tide, and the nearest tide station at Port Aransas shows a mean tide range under 1 ft.

Temperature

29°C summer · 18°C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts and a rash vest in summer, when the sea runs around 28-30 C. Winter minimums are around 16-20 C, so a spring suit or a full suit on cold-front days.

Currents

Currents run stronger north along the Mustang Island beach and are listed among the hazards here. No current speed specific to the South Jetty is published.

16–31°C water

Open Gulf beach at the Port Aransas south jetty: swell, shorebreak, deeper water past the bars, smooth water beside the long rock jetty and rolling waves outside it.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

As of 2026 the Gulf beach is wrong for a first lesson: shorebreak and deeper water past the bars. Beginners belong on the bay side or the Laguna Madre flats. Nearby Mustang Island and Holiday Beach is intermediate, and experts get plenty out of it.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesfreeridestraplessdownwinders

A busy Texas beach town: local wave riders, surfers, fishers, families and vehicles on the sand. Move away from the main access points and it opens up.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

4 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: Large sandy beach. Take your space away from swimmers, fishers and the main access points.

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Wildcat Park, 28 km

Wildcat Park Packery Channel North Packery Channel Beach

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

No kite rescue. Port Aransas Surf Rescue staffs surf towers at Markers E, F, 0, 3, 6 and 9, daily through spring break and from Memorial Day to Labor Day and Thursday to Sunday either side of that, and a colour-coded flag board at every access road shows the state of the water.

Those guards watch swimmers, not kiters, and the jetty sits at the top of that stretch. In offshore or side-offshore Gulf wind, getting home can still mean a boat ride. Emergencies go to 911.

Launch

Sandy Gulf beach launch near the Port Aransas south jetty. Beach driving and parking are allowed along much of the island beach, and free parking areas sit between the South Jetty and Horace Caldwell Pier.

Space

Large sandy beach. Take your space away from swimmers, fishers and the main access points.

Rules & access

2026: a beach parking permit costs $12 per vehicle and runs to 31 December of the year you buy it, covering mile markers 0 to 62, which takes in both Port Aransas and Corpus Christi. Free spots are limited to the stretch between the South Jetty and Horace Caldwell Pier and between mile markers 52 and 58, and they fill early. Bollards run from the south jetty to mile marker 19 and separate the driving lane from the recreation area: park on the roadside of them only, red-topped bollards mean no parking, and no driving inside the line except north of the pier in the county section. The beach speed limit is 15 mph, driving in the dunes is banned, no glass, dogs on a leash. Beach driving elsewhere around Nueces County may need its own permit. Keep clear of swimmers, fishers and crowded access points.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Ride southeast days if you want the simple version of this beach: side-onshore, straight out.
On cold-front days check where the north wind actually sits at your rigging point; it can be side-offshore.
Walk down past the swimmers, the surfers and the fishing lines before you launch.
Buy the beach parking permit, $12 per vehicle in 2026, unless you are in a signed free zone.
Take beginners to the bay side or the Laguna Madre flats, not to the Gulf jetty beach.
Buy the beach parking permit, $12 per vehicle, valid to 31 December of the year you buy it, unless you are in a signed free zone.
Park on the roadside of the bollards; red tops mean no parking at all.
Read the flag board at the access road before you rig, and remember the guards are watching swimmers, not you.
Wind builds through the day, so a 10:00 session is the calm version of an afternoon that is heading for 25 knots.

Getting there

Airport

Corpus Christi International Airport (CRP)

Route

From Corpus Christi, east on 358 to North Padre Island, north on TX-361 to Port Aransas, then out to the beach. The Aransas Pass ferry is the other way in: a quarter-mile crossing that usually takes under ten minutes, plus whatever the queue costs you.

Transfer

45 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Beach condos, vacation rentals, hotels, motels, RV resorts and camping in Port Aransas.

No-wind days

Surf, fish off the jetty or the pier, the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, the Port Aransas Nature Preserve, dolphin watching, and the Texas State Aquarium and USS Lexington in Corpus Christi.

Photos

Port Aransas South Jetty — Spheroidite, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite here?

March through July is listed as best, with cold fronts also bringing strong northeast wind outside that window.

Is it suitable for beginners?

No. A 2026 local school guide says the Gulf beach is not ideal for first lessons because of shorebreak and deeper water, recommending bay-side or Laguna Madre flats instead.

What is the wind like?

Southeast side-onshore wind is the workhorse direction; northeast cold-front wind can bring stronger, more complex conditions and may be side-offshore in places.

Are there rules to know about?

As of 2026, beach parking permits cost $12 per vehicle through December 31, with some free parking between the South Jetty and Horace Caldwell Pier.

Last updated: August 2026