Recreation in Ingleside: There is something for everyone!

2 May 2022


News

As a coastal community, Ingleside offers year-round access to outdoor activities. From surfing the Gulf Coast to biking, bird watching, hiking, swimming, fishing, and boating - there is always something to do outdoors in Ingleside. One popular local activity is disc golf. Ingleside’s Live Oak Park disc golf course is one of the most challenging in the nation, winding through the park, woods, and pond. The Professional Disc Golf Association said of the course, “This championship course carved out of Live Oaks will test the game of the best players.”

Breathtaking sunsets can be viewed over the Corpus Christi Bay from Ingleside’s Cove Park right on the water's edge. Those who prefer to watch the sunset from Port Aransas are a short 10 minutes to the ferry and a day of fun-filled activities. 

Visit two of these popular recreation destinations on your next trip to Ingleside!

Live Oak Park

Live Oak Park, equipped with ball fields for multipurpose use, is set on approximately 90 beautiful oak-covered acres in South Ingleside. In this park, one will find many fun, family-oriented, and athletic activities to do. Nestled among large live oaks you can enjoy a picnic with your family and friends, or cook at one of several barbecue pits scattered around the park. There are many picnic tables available for use and several secluded picnicking areas. The park also offers some covered picnic areas.

The park features an 18-hole disc golf course which has been described as one of the most challenging in South Texas and is used for two major tournaments each year. Disc golf is played much like golf except, instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc. The sport was formalized in the 1970s and shares with golf the object of completing each hole in the fewest strokes (or, in the case of disc golf, the fewest throws).

The park also boasts three lighted tennis courts, a lighted basketball court, a softball field, a playground for children, and miles of nature trails. Additionally, the park is designated as the official site #55 on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, and for good reason. The park contains a freshwater lake that is home to a variety of birds and is located on the migration trail through the area. A beautiful,  well-maintained course with great maps, the entire area is a mix of sand and grass clearings wooded with brush- a nice balance of short technicals and long drives!

Live Oak Park is also used as the site for the annual Light Up Live Oak event held each December.  The oak trees are beautifully decorated in Christmas lights and this two-day event is a special Christmas treat for young and old.  The Ingleside Live Oak Park is located off of Highway 1069 on the south end of Ingleside.

Whitney Lake

The Whitney Lake is open to the public and free of charge.  What began as a drainage project has evolved into a nature lovers’ dream come true.  The City acquired 70 acres of land that are protected wetlands and upland buffer areas within the Lake Whitney and McCampbell Slough area of Live Oak Peninsula to provide a public recreation and education access area.  The watershed, which drains into Port Bay in the Copano Bay System, is approximately 3.3 miles downstream and is extremely diverse, containing freshwater wetlands, brackish marsh, salt marsh, and tidal flats.

Habitat within this watershed is generally recognized as some of the most valuable habitats on the Live Oak Peninsula.  This area has been recognized as a high priority for protection by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nature Conservancy, the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation, and the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program.  McCampbell Slough is particularly noted as a productive and valuable estuarine wetland complex that provides wintering and migratory habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and other species, as well as a nursery habitat for shrimp, blue crabs, and finfish.

Lake Whitney is a 70-acre wet meadow noted by local natural conservation personnel as unique in South Texas.  Lake Whitney remains wet, even during periods of prolonged drought, and has been regarded as an ecological and recreational asset since the early 1930s.  Lake Whitney offers several bird watching areas, extended docks over marsh areas, observation platforms, and many other amenities for watching the native wildlife in the Coastal Bend.  In addition to the excellent recreational and educational opportunities, Whitney Lake provides wintering and migratory habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and other species.  This acquisition of habitat allows the City of Ingleside to protect this resource, provide public access and provide excellent recreational and educational opportunities for the public.

Six million tourists visit the Coastal Bend area for its unspoiled beaches and habitat areas, and fun-filled area attractions. Living in Ingleside is like being a “year-round tourist” living in an awesome destination for work and play! 

Visit https://www.inglesidedevelopment.com/quality-of-life/recreation for more information.

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