Visiting Port Mansfield, Texas
The Fred Stone Park and Laguna Point Recreation Area
When we lived on Baffin Bay in January of 2023, we took a day trip and visited Port Mansfield, Texas. From where we are living now, in Bayview, it is much closer, but still a one-hour drive. It’s not very far north of us, but there is no direct road to get there. You have to drive clear out to the highway, go north, and then drive clear back to the water again, which is a total of 55 miles.
I do hope to get there one day while we are here now. But the following story and photos are from January 2023. I wanted to share it again because this is the area we are currently in.
At the end of Highway 186 West in southern Texas is the small town of Port Mansfield. The first place we drove to was the Fred Stone Park on the northern tip.
I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more to this park. It wasn’t kept up the best and it smelled of dead fish. There were piles of dead fish at the edge of the water and a little trash lying around. And even though the beach was sandy, it was littered with dead fish. I don’t know if this was an ecological problem or a fisherman problem.
But the fishing pier was extremely nice. It was well-built and there were quite a few fishermen on the pier the day we visited. There is nothing else at the park except some public porta-potties. No other restroom facility.
We talked to a few of the fishermen and found out they were fishing for Redfish. Maybe that’s why it is called Redfish Bay. If you cast a line off the dock, you might hook species like Redfish, Speckled Trout, Flounder, Black Drum, and Sheepshead. It does require a saltwater fishing license. I told Rich I would like to get a one-day saltwater fishing license and come here.
Heading offshore into the deeper waters of the Gulf in Laguna Madre will yield some great fishing results —like big Marlin, Tuna, Sailfish, Amberjack, Snapper, Grouper, and Mahi Mahi. There are fishing charter boats here for those who want to fish offshore.
The Laguna Madre is a long, shallow lagoon. The view of the water at the end of the pier was gorgeous.
One plus of the trip to Fred Stone Park was the photo I got of a large hawk sitting on top of a sign as we drove slowly by. I’m not sure exactly what kind of hawk this is, but when I searched Google with the photo it stated that this bird could be either a Galapagos Hawk or a Black Hawk.
We drove on through the small town. The population of Port Mansfield is only 226. That’s pretty small. South of Highway 186, down Matagorda Drive, and out to the gulf, is the Laguna Point Recreation Area.
What a beautiful doe who posed so nicely for us on our drive through Port Mansfield. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, an estimated four million white-tailed deer are living in Texas. Many are found in the deep woods and river bottoms of East Texas along the Gulf Coast. This part of Texas feels a lot like our Ohio home with all the windmills and deer.
This was a beautiful area with nice solid wooden picnic tables and several fishing piers for public use. Whenever we visit places like this, we always pack a picnic lunch and like to relax, eat, and take in the ocean air.
I would say that Fred Stone Park is for the fishermen, and this recreation area is for families and kids.
It was a gorgeous day. We didn’t see any other wildlife but we met some nice people who were fishing off the piers. If you are ever in the area, don’t miss driving out to the town of Port Mansfield, Texas. Some of the best views are at the end of a long road, or a long hiking trail.
Thanks for reading about our adventures as we travel around America in our camper.
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