Bird Island Basin was originally known as Permian Basin, because the Permian Oil company kept an oil storage tank there as well as a landing ramp for boats. After the tank was dismantled in the 1970s, the park named it for the nearby islands.

In addition to camping, Bird Island Basin has a windsurfing area (ranked by Windsurfing Magazine as the best flat water sailing site in the continental USA) and a boat-launching ramp.