Matagorda Island

Matagorda Island separates Espíritu Santo and San Antonio bays from the Gulf, 38 miles long and under a mile to four and a half miles wide. There is no bridge. You come by boat, usually from Port O'Connor, and once ashore there is no electricity, drinking water or concession, and no private vehicles; everyone walks or bikes, in daylight, and carries everything in.

The island has been tried and abandoned. The Republic of Texas laid out a town called Calhoun on the northeast corner in 1839 with a customhouse that moved to Galveston in 1844. Saluria followed on the northwest corner in 1847, with a lighthouse; the tower that stands at the north end dates from 1852. Confederates built Fort Esperanza to guard Pass Cavallo in 1862 and abandoned it in November 1863; it was never reoccupied after the Union withdrew in 1864. The storms of 1875 and 1886 destroyed Saluria for good. From 1943 the north end was a bombing and gunnery range, reactivated for the Strategic Air Command from 1949 to 1975.

The state and federal governments agreed in 1986 to make the whole island a refuge, and it is now managed jointly: the Fish and Wildlife Service, as the Matagorda Island Unit of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, looks after wildlife, and Texas Parks and Wildlife runs public use on its 56,688-acre wildlife management area. The island supports whooping cranes, Kemp's ridley sea turtles, reddish egrets, alligators and a large herd of white-tailed deer. Sunday Beach near the pass is open to anyone, no permit needed.