Explore Lake Corpus Christi State Park: A Nature Lover's Paradise
By: Christopher Long
Revised by: Laurie E. Jasinski
Published: 1976
Updated: October 15, 2025
Lake Corpus Christi State Park is on Lake Corpus Christi off State Highway 359, approximately six miles southwest of Mathis and thirty-five miles northwest of Corpus Christi. The 356-acre park on Lake Corpus Christi, an impoundment of the Nueces River, is located where San Patricio, Jim Wells, and Live Oak counties converge. In 1934 the city of Corpus Christi signed a ninety-nine-year lease with the State Parks Board for the tract, and from 1934 to 1936 Civilian Conservation Corps Company 886 built a number of structures, including a park road, bridges, boathouse, a caretaker’s house, and an impressive refectory constructed of concrete blocks made from local caliche. Designed by architect Olin Boese and heralded as “one of the architectural gems of the state park system,” the refectory stands as the one remaining structure in the park and currently serves as the park headquarters in addition to having a pavilion, dance terrace, and stage.
The park's rolling terrain supports thorny shrubs typical of the South Texas brush country. Blackbrush acacia, bluewood, mesquite, lotebrush, and lime prickly ash form a densely wooded region along the lake shoreline. Animals common to the park include raccoons, opossums, and spotted skunks as well as javelina and white-tailed deer. Waterfowl and other migratory birds are also frequently seen. Anglers can fish for varieties of bass, catfish, and sunfish as well as crappie. Park facilities include two fishing piers, two boat ramps, and two fish cleaning shelters. The park has ten cabins, fifteen screened shelters, and more than 100 campsites for overnight visitors. Some of the sites are wheelchair accessible, and the park offers an all-terrain wheelchair for navigating the hiking trails. Popular activities include swimming, boating, water skiing, fishing, biking, hiking, picnicking, and birdwatching.
Bibliography:
Cynthia Brandimarte with Angela Reed, Texas State Parks and the CCC: The Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2013). Lake Corpus Christi State Park, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/lake-corpus-christi), accessed October 15, 2025. Ray Miller, Texas Parks (Houston: Cordovan, 1984). James Wright Steely, The Civilian Conservation Corps in Texas State Parks (Austin: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 1986).
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Christopher Long Revised by Laurie E. Jasinski, “Lake Corpus Christi State Park,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/lake-corpus-christi-state-recreation-area.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
GKL13
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- 1976
- October 15, 2025
