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The Corpus Christi Bay Trail parallels S. Shoreline Boulevard/Ocean Drive for most of its route. For those traveling to the trail by car, parking is available at Bayfront Park and the American Bank Center at the northern trailhead. Parking can also be found between Sherrill Park and McCaughan Park near the city's marina. Cole Park likewise has its own parking lot farther south, or consider parking at the campus of Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi at the trail's southern endpoint.
We parked in the southernmost parking lot & biked north. The 1st 3.5 miles is a bike lane with a few pull offs at parks. The northern part of the trail was much nicer. The bike lanes are fairly wide, but if you're like us & don't care for road riding i suggest you start at the North end.
I began a run at a North Beach hotel and ran over the the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway to link up with the Corpus "Bay Trail." I ran it for about 7 miles and will say that most of my time was spent on the asphalt of the bicycle lane. If I rated this a "trail" I'd give it as low scores as the others. But love the sights, sounds, smells, and "feel" of the ocean, even the unique urban/suburban qualities of this trail. True, the city and it's life is to one's immediate left or right (running to or from), but then the Gulf and it's wonders are on the other side. I love this town! I would hope I could one day live in Corpus, so naturally I'm biased. I did a 14 miles total today that brought me nothing but pure joy.
Just a heads up, this really isn't what I would call a "trail". It is going to be mainly sidewalk, some of it along the seawall, and some asphalt bike lanes. You will have the bay on one side and a busy/major, 4-lane thoroughfare on the other side the whole ride.
The portion from American Bank Center, all along the seawall, to the beach is quite busy and crowded, being mostly commercial. But it will thin out after Cole Park. Where it turns into Ocean Dr. and is residential, with lots of VERY nice, upscale homes. This is the nicer part of the "trail" to me.
I used to roller blade this area a lot years ago, but I don't visit the area often anymore. It is worth noting too, that this area is currently undergoing major changes. Shoreline Blvd., the street paralleling the first half of the ride, has been re-aligned and moved away from the "trail" for a stretch near the beach. Ocean Dr. is also being reconstructed, as it was in bad condition. Once all of this construction is clear, the area will be much nicer.
Still, I prefer to get out of the city-scape for my rides & runs. So, this is too urban for me to really enjoy.
We started this "trail" at the Northern End (Art Center). Things were fine along that stretch. However, once out of the park we were directed across a 4 lane, divided highway (Ocean Drive) to the bike lane. Although the car roadways were pretty smooth, the bike lines were like riding on rumble strips all the way. Road maintenance along Ocean Drive is only for cars, nothing is done to improve the bike lanes.
This "trail" shouldn't even be called a "trail" it's a "bike route", out in traffic for the majority of the miles. We drove all the way from Rockport and it WASN'T worth the trip!
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