Kate Evans

Corpus Christi is your average mid-size city with over 360,000 people, but it just happens to be buffered by a barrier island with an expansive bay inside. Dubbed the "Sparkling City by the Sea," it's got a large variety of hotels, restaurants, shopping, and attractions because it's an actual city, not just a resort town. The low cost of staying here and consistent warm-weather winds are quickly making Corpus Christi as big a kiteboarding destination as it once was a windsurfing Mecca in the 1980's. Corpus Christi International Airport (CRP) is the closest airport; about a 20-30 minute drive to the kite spot of your choice. Once you're in town most kite spots are within a 30 minute drive so you can easily kite a place or two or three in a day if you wanted to experience what Corpus Christi has to offer for kitting in a short period of time. There are many kiters in Corpus, but there are so many different places to ride, rarely is a spot crowded and each tends to have its own distinct crew and vibe. Kiting in Corpus Christi is good all year round; it's the most consistently windy place on average in the US in terms of rideable days a year (teens +). The core summer season with the most consistent winds runs roughly from Memorial Day through Labor Day with winds averaging 17-21 mph daily. The winds are steady and generally from the Southeast, created by thermal effects from all the farmland surrounding Corpus Christi Bay. There are plenty of great days for kiting starting in late February with cold fronts yet warmer air temperatures, and we're typically out of even shorty wetsuits by end of March. The full season runs through October but there are some lighter wind days and stronger morning cold front winds throughout the year depending on the season. Late fall, winter, and early spring riding are characterized by their frontal winds, usually a few days of nice Southeast wind punctuated by cold fronts blowing in from the North that tend to be more gusty. For those riders who have experienced the summer spots in the Southeast winds, the North winds will open up some other, not-normally accessible locations.