One of the reasons many flock to the Rio Grande Valley is for the excellent birding and butterflying that is found throughout the area. One of the huge advantages of staying at Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort is its proximity to Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park. The park is a very short (less than 5 minute) bike ride to the main entrance of the state park. Once at the park’s main entrance you simply go inside and pay the daily entrance fee of $5 per person or show your annual park pass ($70 per year) to receive a day pass bracelet. Since there are 
no cars allowed in the park other than state owned vehicles the best was to get around is by either walking or riding a bicycle.
We bought an annual Texas park pass while at Lake Casa Blanca (the Texas State Park in Laredo). We stayed four nights and with the card came coupons allowing us to stay one night at half price. We felt the card purchase was a wise choice since we will visit many other state parks in Texas this winter and use some more of those valuable coupons attached to the card.
Another advantage for many staying at Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort is that they offer free daily passes to the state park which is great for those wintering in this park who do not have the annual pass. The resort also provides free kayak and bicycle usage which turned out great for us as Sharon’s bicycle got yet another flat… I think this is the fourth or fifth flat she has had this year!
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is part of the World Birding Center, is a world-class destination for bird-watching. The World Birding Center is a partnership between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Rio Grande Valley communities, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The center is composed of nine distinctly different birding sites, set along a 120-mile historic river road. For natures lovers, such as myself, wintering in the Rio Grand Valley provides plenty of 
opportunity to observe critters in the wild.
Many of the World Birding Center entities also have some daily programs offered free to visitors. Bird walks, butterfly walks, dragonfly walks, nighttime sounds walks, geocaching workshops are examples of some of the many programs offered this winter at these entities. Most of them have modest entry fees of $5 or less per person so I imagine we will visit many if not all of these entities while staying in the Rio Grande Valley.
We purchased the Texas pass last year. We used it so much it actually paid for itself and many dollars more.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the birding area. You will see some beauties there.
We do the TX park pass as well. We got our money out of it last year and it is good for the park system. We are looking forward to seeing some good bird pictures.
ReplyDeleteThe Texas pass is much cheaper than the Florida one. That looks like a great place to stay with the birding so close.
ReplyDeleteWell I can see why you want to like this park. Sounds like a great spot for lots of nature things to do. Looking forward to the pictures.
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