5 WINTER TEXAN TIMES www.wintertexantimes.com DECEMBER 31, 2025 NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE www.WinterTexanTimes.com 2024 Park Directory 2025 Rio Grande Valley Visitors Guide Winter Texan TIMES Serving Winter Texans From Mission To South Padre Island Since 1987 Published By: Park Directory RIO GRANDE VALLEY MOBILE HOME & RV 2024-2025 EDITION Page 3 Rio Grande Valley Visitors Guide 2025-2026 Rio Grande Valley Visitors Guide Vol. 28, No. 1 2025-2026 Edition Published by Nexus Publishing, LLC 1217 N. Conway Mission, Texas 78572 (956) 580-7800 www.wintertexantimes.com © Copyright 2025 by Nexus Publishing, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the express consent of the publisher. All rights reserved. WELCOME ABOUT THE COVER Top Photo: South Padre Island is a great place to enjoy flying a kite. This photo was taken at the SPI Kite Fest. (Photo by Anastasia Brunson) Bottom Photos: Spoonbills are just one type of bird you can see in their natural habitat at the SPI Birding, Nature Center and Alligator Sanctuary. (Photo by Carina A. Brunson) Los Lagos Golf Course in Edinburg is just one of many golf courses you can find in south Texas, also known as Golfer’s Paradise. (Photo by Anastasia Brunson) The Valley hosts many events throughout the year. A favorite among the Valley’s winter visitors is Mission’s Winter Texan Fiesta that takes place in March. (Photo by William Brunson) Whether you prefer nature and the outdoors, historical sites, parks, fishing, boating, or parasailing over the surf at South Padre Island, the Rio Grande Valley has it all. Visitors can enjoy all the Valley has to offer year-round due to the Valley’s mild winter weather. Over 100,000 Winter Texans stay for the winter season to enjoy our warm, subtropical climate with an average temperature of 65-70 degrees. Winter Texans are not the only ones who have discovered the Rio Grande Valley. Birding, butterfly, and nature enthusiasts from all parts of the country come to the Valley every year, attracted by the 545 species of birds and 330 butterfly species that are either native to the area or that migrate through the Valley each year. Because of its neo-tropical climate, the Rio Grande Valley is home to many tropical birds that can be seen nowhere else in the United States. It is also a major bird migration corridor with two major flyways converging here. The Rio Grande Valley is also a place full of history. From battle sites to the only lighthouse on the gulf shores, to museums with artifacts, to chapels, historic homes, and old stores. Every Valley city has a story to tell. Whether you are a Winter Texan, a family with young children, or just someone that enjoys the outdoors, history and culture, the Rio Grande Valley has something to offer everyone. Inside you will find beautiful maps that pinpoint featured locations throughout the Valley. We have broken up the area into eight regions, so whatever area you are visiting, you have a map to see what is close to you. With all there is to see and do in the Rio Grande Valley, we hope you enjoy your stay! Inside this guide RGV Regional Map & Index ......................4-5 Points of Interest ............................................ 6 Golfers’Paradise ........................................... 47 Valley Birding & Nature Events .................. 48 World Class Birding & Nature Sites .......49-53 Valley Chamber Offices ............................... 54 To The Rio Grande Valley Winter Texan TIMES Serving Winter Texans From Mission To South Padre Island Since 1987 Published By: 2025-2026 Edition Page 1 Rio Grande Valley Visitors Guide 2025-2026 Winter Texan TIMES Serving Winter Texans From Mission To South Padre Island Since 1987 Published By: 2025-2026 Edition Call 956.580.7800 or Email ads@wintertexantimes.com FOR ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES While I love spending time with family, I also enjoy low key holiday gatherings like these. It really shows me the many blessings I have in my life, and how blessed I am to have amazing friendships. I hope yours was as blessed as mine and that you found something to be thankful for as well. I recently saw a post on Facebook that was a follow up to the gentleman that was raising funds to buy turkeys for the Penitas Food Pantry. I was so happy to hear that with the support of his park, and the surrounding Martin Ranch properties, they were able to provide turkeys and meals for those that were in need not only for Thanksgiving, but also the two weeks leading up to Christmas. He, and that community, have been so blessed by the giving spirit of those in the community. He isn’t the only one I have seen posts from. There are so many that have given of themselves these past two months. Y’all are truly a blessing to the Valley and the communities you take in as part of your own. With the new year starting tomorrow, I hope that we all continue to be blessed by those we choose to be around, and by the deeds we choose to partake in. I give a huge thank you to all of you for being a part of our lives in some way or another, by reading our paper, by sending us news items, etc. We believe you are part of our family as well. We love our Winter Texan friends, and we love having you here. I hope you have a very safe and fun New Year’s Eve and look forward to what the new year brings for all of us. ~ Rina RAMBLINGS From pg. 1 Located in the historic Champion Building on Railroad Ave., the 1899 building was once a dry goods store and residence and later served as a post office and railroad depot. Joseph Champion was an Italian immigrant who settled in Texas in 1855. Charles Champion was born in 1870 in Old Point Isabel. He served as district clerk in Hidalgo County before purchasing the Hess General Store in Point Isabel in 1894. He renamed it The Champion Store and continued to operate the business. In 1899, Champion erected this two-story building and named it “The Key of the Gulf.” The first floor housed the general merchandise store, the US Customs House and the post office. Champion, a proponent of a deep-water port in Point Isabel, died in 1926 before its completion in 1933. He was buried next to wife in the Point Isabel Cemetery. The façade of the museum features a fish mural painted in 1906 by a local fisherman. The museum features artifacts from the 1554 shipwreck, has one of the largest collections of relics from the US Mexican War, and offers a timeline of Port Isabel’s development into a major fishing port including the history of the Texas International Fishing Tournament. The museum is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please call for current hours of operation. Admission to the museum is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors (over 55), and $3 for students and children. For more information, visit www.portisabelhistory.com or call (956) 943-7602. Port Isabel Lighthouse To get a great view of the Laguna Madre, climb to the top of the Point (Port) Isabel Lighthouse which was constructed in 1852 to guide ships through the Brazos Santiago Pass and into the Laguna Madre. Opened as a State Park in 1952, it is the only lighthouse open to the public on the Texas Gulf coast. Also on the grounds of the Lighthouse is the Keeper’s Cottage Visitor Center. The Port Isabel Lighthouse is a Texas Historical Commission State Historic Site. In 2022, the Texas Historical Commission funded and coordinated the reproduction of a 3rd Order Fresnal Lens to be fitted into the lantern room at the top of the lighthouse. The lighthouse had a celebration in December of that year commemorating the first official lighting of the historic lighthouse in 117 years. The Lighthouse is open daily, weather permitting. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and News Year’s Day. Admission prices are adults $5, seniors $4, and students $3. For more information visit www.portisabellighthouse.com or call (956) 943-0735. While you are cruising around Port Isabel, take notice of the dolphin statues around town. These are much like the decorated turtles on SPI, butterflies in Mission, and the Boots in Mercedes. These began as an initiative with local artists to restore and beautify the city’s iconic dolphin statues and infuse additional artistic vibrancy in the city. Old statues were repaired and restored before creating additional sculptures. You’ll one as you drive into the city, one by the lighthouse, and another in front of the art gallery – just to name a few. And don’t forget to go out onto Pirate’s Landing Fishing Pier – to fish, or just for a great view – and check out the Black Dragon Pirate Cruise – an attraction that features a two-hour cruise with water gun fights, sword battles, cannon firings, tales of pirates, and area history. PORT ISABEL From pg. 1
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