Signs listing prohibited activities may be posted at beach access points. State parks along the coast offer tent camping spots and RV hookups. The best primitive tent camping is on Matagorda Island and the Padre Island National Seashore. The waves can't match California or Hawaii, but Texas beaches draw thousands of surfers who know how to read the weather for the best surf. Beaches from mid-coast to South Padre Island offer the best waves, but the mecca of Texas surfing is probably J.P. Luby Park on the Padre Island near Corpus Christi.
Experts suggest that menstruating women stay out of the water.
Sharks may be attracted to waters around surf fishermen, near sport fishermen in boats chumming near shore, and navigation channels where fishing boats regularly throw unwanted fish overboard. Their tentacles can inflict a nasty sting, but the creatures are generally easy to avoid. Cabbagehead jellyfish, another occasional beach hazard, should also be avoided. Sand fleas and mosquitoes are periodically encountered on all Gulf of Mexico beaches. Dolphins live along the entire Texas Coast, with prime viewing spots from the ferries that run between Port Bolivar and Galveston and between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas.