UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio
General Information
The Visitor Center at Mission San José
includes the Park Store and an information desk
Open Daily 9am to 5pm
Park Store: Open daily 10am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm
Park grounds and Visitor Center at Mission San José are closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's
Overview
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park preserves four of the five Spanish colonial missions built along the San Antonio River in the 18th century. Founded by Franciscan friars to spread Christianity among local Native peoples, the missions together with The Alamo form a UNESCO World Heritage Site designated in 2015, the only one in Texas.
From north to south along the river, the park includes Mission Concepción, the oldest unrestored stone church in America; Mission San José, popularly known as the "Queen of the Missions" for its grand church and restored granary; Mission San Juan Capistrano; and Mission Espada, home to a still-functioning 18th-century aqueduct and acequia. All four remain active Catholic parishes today. The Alamo, the fifth and best-known San Antonio mission, sits farther upstream in downtown San Antonio and is managed separately by the State of Texas.
The Mission Reach section of the San Antonio River Walk connects all four missions with 15 miles of hiking, biking, and paddling trails linking them to downtown.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "San Antonio Missions National Historical Park", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Featured Sections and Trails
Mission San Francisco de la Espada
Roman Rite Catholic mission established in 1690 by Spain and relocated in 1731 to present-day San Antonio, including acequia and aqueduct which can still be seen today.
Espada Acequia
Historic eighteenth-century stone aqueduct that continues to carry water across a creek through one of the oldest surviving Spanish colonial irrigation systems in the United States.
Mission San José
Historic Catholic mission in San Antonio, Texas, named in part for the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo, José de Azlor y Virto de Vera.
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Founded in 1731 by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order, on the eastern banks of the San Antonio River in present-day San Antonio.