A quantitative yearly snapshot of Texas's premier Gulf-Coast beach town: climate normals, conservation milestones, ferry traffic, the fishing-capital designation, and the calendar of events that anchor the visitor year. Every cited number is sourced. Free to quote with attribution — see the press kit at the end.
All figures sourced in the Methodology section below.
Port Aransas sits at the northern tip of Mustang Island, a 18-mile barrier island on the central Texas Gulf Coast. It is the only incorporated municipality on Mustang Island and is one of two ways to reach the island by car (the other being the JFK Causeway from Corpus Christi to the south).
Port Aransas has a humid subtropical maritime climate moderated by the Gulf. The water is officially "swimmable" (≥75°F) from May through October. Hurricane season runs June 1 – November 30 with peak risk in August and September.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 49° | 60° | 1.5″ |
| February | 67° | 52° | 60° | 1.6″ |
| March | 73° | 58° | 65° | 1.5″ |
| April | 79° | 66° | 72° | 1.9″ |
| May | 84° | 72° | 78° ⬤ | 3.5″ |
| June | 88° | 77° | 83° ⬤ | 3.8″ |
| July | 90° | 79° | 85° ⬤ | 2.4″ |
| August | 91° | 79° | 86° ⬤ | 3.6″ |
| September | 88° | 76° | 84° ⬤ | 5.7″ |
| October | 82° | 69° | 78° ⬤ | 3.5″ |
| November | 73° | 60° | 70° | 1.8″ |
| December | 66° | 51° | 62° | 1.5″ |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 climate normals, station Corpus Christi NAS / Bob Hall Pier (NOAA Tides station 8775870). Sea temperatures are monthly averages from NDBC buoy 42020. Months in tan are when the Gulf reaches 75°F — a common warm-water swimming-comfort benchmark, not an official standard. Last verified May 2026.
Key finding: Six consecutive months — May through October — register a monthly-average Gulf temperature at or above the 75°F warm-water comfort benchmark, the longest such stretch on the Texas coast and one of the longest on the US Gulf.
Port Aransas was officially designated the "Fishing Capital of Texas" by the Texas Legislature in 1992 and remains one of the largest concentrations of saltwater charter operations on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Aransas–Wood Buffalo flock that winters at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (just across Aransas Bay from Port Aransas) is the only naturally-occurring wild population of whooping cranes (Grus americana) on the planet. The species was reduced to roughly 21 birds in 1941; the recovery — driven by USFWS, Canadian Wildlife Service, and dozens of partner organizations over 80+ years — has brought the wintering population to approximately 500 birds in recent winters.
Source: US Fish & Wildlife Service, International Whooping Crane Recovery Team annual reports.
Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) is the world's most endangered sea turtle. Padre Island National Seashore immediately south of Port Aransas hosts the largest US-side nesting concentration. Nesting season runs April through July, with peak nesting in May–June; hatchlings emerge 50–60 days later. NPS biologists protect nests in a controlled hatchery and release hatchlings in public events that are among the area's iconic spring conservation moments.
The public is asked to report any sea turtle sighting (alive, injured, or deceased) immediately to the 24-hour hotline: 1-866-TURTLE-5 (1-866-887-8535).
Source: National Park Service — Padre Island National Seashore, NOAA Fisheries species profile.
Aransas NWR has 400+ documented bird species. Port Aransas itself is on the central flyway and a stop on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. Spring migration (April–May) is the regional peak; whooping cranes are visible November through March.
Source: USFWS, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
A year-round resident pod of bottlenose dolphins works the Lydia Ann Channel and Aransas Pass jetties. Multiple dolphin-watching boat operators run daily tours from the harbor.
| From | Miles | Off-peak time | Recommended route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corpus Christi (CRP airport) | 25 | 35–45 min | JFK Causeway · SH-361 |
| San Antonio | 155 | 2 h 50 min | I-37 South · JFK Causeway |
| Houston | 210 | 3 h 55 min | US-59/I-69 · JFK Causeway |
| Austin | 225 | 3 h 50 min | I-35 · I-37 · JFK Causeway |
| Rio Grande Valley (McAllen) | 165 | 3 h 5 min | US-77 North · JFK Causeway |
| Dallas / Fort Worth | 415 | 6 h 45 min | I-35E · I-37 · JFK Causeway |
Source: Beached Inn drive-time analysis, cross-referenced against Google Maps off-peak baselines (Tuesday 10 a.m. departure). Add 20–30% for Friday afternoon and summer Saturday midday departures.
Port Aransas's lodging stock skews heavily toward vacation-rental homes and condo-style resorts rather than high-rise hotels — a visual signature that distinguishes it from South Padre Island and from Florida's Gulf-Coast destinations. The largest single planned community is Cinnamon Shore, a master-planned coastal village ~3 miles south of downtown.
This report aggregates publicly available statistics from federal, state, and local agencies. No proprietary or paywalled data was used. Where multiple sources publish slightly different figures, the most recent peer-reviewed or agency-of-record number was used, with the source identified in the relevant section.
All figures last verified 2026-05-15.
For the corresponding live-data feeds (current beach conditions, real-time tides, multi-day forecast), see /beach-conditions, /tides, and the JSON endpoints at https://cinnamonshorehouse.com/api/beach-conditions and https://cinnamonshorehouse.com/api/tides.
This report is published as a public reference document. Local, regional, and national press are welcome to quote any statistic in news articles, broadcast segments, blog posts, podcasts, social posts, and editorial features.
"Beached Inn at Cinnamon Shore. The State of Port Aransas — 2026 Edition. Published 2026-05-15. Available at https://cinnamonshorehouse.com/state-of-port-aransas-2026."
https://cinnamonshorehouse.com/state-of-port-aransas-2026
Quoting individual figures, tables, or short passages in news/editorial coverage is encouraged with attribution as above and a clickable link back to https://cinnamonshorehouse.com/state-of-port-aransas-2026 when published online. Wholesale republication of the report (paragraphs, sections, or the full document) requires written permission. Reformatting into derivative graphics is permitted with the same attribution.
For press inquiries — interviews with the report compiler, fact verification on specific figures, or higher-resolution data behind any statistic — please reach out via the Beached Inn website using any of the contact / inquiry forms. We respond within one business day to verified press contacts.
Beached Inn at Cinnamon Shore is a vacation rental property and locally-curated travel-information publisher for Port Aransas, Texas. We publish the annual State of Port Aransas report, a live beach-conditions data feed (cited in this report's Methodology), and an embeddable beach-conditions widget freely available to other Port Aransas-related sites at /embed-beach-conditions-badge.
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