San Antonio Missions National Historic Park

May 15, 2024

A World Heritage Site, this park includes four missions built by the Spanish colonist church to indoctrinate the natives in order to claim and keep the land in the 1700s. The missions are connected by a walk/bike path that is part of the San Antonio river walk system. The Alamo was a fifth mission but is separately a National Historic Site and I had visited the Alamo in the past, so I concentrated on the ones I had not been to before. Mission San Jose is not only the largest but is also the only one with the outer wall and native living quarters restored. San Juan and Espada both have an outer wall that is partially in place around the compound. The southern ones also have an irrigation ditch built off the San Antonio river that helped change the native peoples into farmers. Most of the missions are still active churches although San Jose’s bell tower has collapsed twice and been rebuilt. Paved pathways were nice but little shade made a very hot walk. I made two different loops down to the river to see lots of turtles and water fowl.