Activities include camping, picnicking, fishing, swimming, hiking and mountain biking on 5 miles of open beach, sunbathing, hiking, surfing, and excellent birding, especially during spring and fall migrations. Interpretive ecological tours done on request. The 5-mile open beach allows hiking and mountain biking. Be sure to stop by the Texas State Park Store. Mustang Island is a coastal barrier island with a unique and complicated ecosystem, dependent upon sand dunes.
Coastal dunes are the product of wind-deposited sand anchored by sparse mats of vegetation.
The dunes are capable of reducing the destructive might of hurricane-driven waves and protecting bay and mainland areas. In some areas, inland and bayside dunes occur, which are generally smaller but spread over larger areas than the primary beach-side dunes. The vegetation holding the dunes in place is drought-resistant species such as sea oats, beach panic grass, and soilbind morning glory. Studies have shown that these plants and their progeny can collect enough sand to build a 15-foot dune in three years. The island animal community is dominated by rodents such as pocket gophers, spotted ground squirrels, grasshopper mice, rice rats and cotton rats.