State Highway 361 (SH 361) is a state highway in San Patricio and Nueces counties that runs from Gregory in southern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, near Corpus Christi, east and south to

Padre Island Padre Island is the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island. The island is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning ''father'' in Spanish, it ...

on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

coast.

History

The highway was first designated on April 4, 1956 as the portion of the route from Aransas Pass to Port Aransas, and a 0.7 mile extension in Port Aransas to PR 53 was added to the designation on November 28, 1967. On January 31, 1969 FM 632 from Gregory to Aransas Pass was added to the SH 361 designation. The present route was completed on November 29, 1988 with the designation of PR 53 from Port Aransas to PR 22 on Padre Island as part of SH 361.

Route description

The highway's northern terminus is the intersection with SH 35 and Spur 202 at Gregory in San Patricio County. The route runs southeast through Ingleside, where it intersects

Farm to Market Road In the United States, a farm-to-market road or ranch-to-market road (sometimes farm road or ranch road for short) is a state highway or county road that connects rural or agricultural areas to market towns. These are better quality roads, usually ...

1069, then turns northeast to

Aransas Pass Aransas Pass is a navigable salt water channel connecting the Gulf of Mexico with Aransas Bay on the Texas Gulf coast in the United States. The pass separates Mustang Island to the south from San José Island to the north, and is protected by j ...

. Here the route leaves the Texas mainland and crosses several bridges as it runs in a southeasterly direction through Stedman Island and Harbor Island. The highway is known as Port Aransas Causeway and Cemetery Road for this part of the route. There is no bridge for the route over the Corpus Christi Channel between Harbor Island and

Port Aransas Port Aransas ( ) is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States. This city is 180 miles southeast of San Antonio. The population was 2,904 at the 2020 census. Port Aransas is the only established town on Mustang Island. It is located north of ...

Mustang Island Mustang Island is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. The island is 18 miles (29 km) long, stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Aransas. The island is oriented generally northeast–southwest, with the Gulf ...

; a ferry operates at this point. The route takes a southwesterly direction at Port Aransas and runs along the length of Mustang Island. Much of the route crosses Mustang Island State Park, a

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and recreational area established by the state in 1979. The highway then crosses the Corpus Christi Pass onto

, where it ends at a junction with Park Road 22 near the Padre Isles Country Club in

Nueces County Nueces County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 353,178, making it the 16th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Corpus Christi. The county was formed in 1846 from portions of S ...

. The road is paved throughout, except for the ferry at Port Aransas, and is often multi-lane. Much of the highway traverses the picturesque terrain of the Texas

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...

s along the Gulf of Mexico.

Junction list

References

{{reflist

External links

Texas official travel map
at the

Texas Department of Transportation The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...

( Adobe Acrobat format, magnification required for legibility)
Satellite image of SH 361 ferry crossing at Port Aransas
at

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

Mustang Island State Park web site

361 __NOTOC__ Year 361 ( CCCLXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Taurus and Florentius (or, less frequently, year 1114 ' ...

Transportation in Nueces County, Texas