Scenic network of riverside walkways lined with restaurants, shops, hotels, public art, and cultural attractions that follows the historic course of the San Antonio River.
General Information
Mission Reach: Open during daylight hours only
How to Get There
From San Antonio (0.5 mi): Head toward downtown San Antonio and follow signs to the River Walk access points near Commerce Street, Alamo Plaza, or Presa Street.
Overview
The San Antonio River Walk is a network of pedestrian paths one level below the downtown streets, winding along both banks of the San Antonio River and linking most of the city's major attractions — Rivercenter, the Arneson River Theatre, La Villita, HemisFair, and the San Antonio Museum of Art among them — via shaded walkways lined with restaurants and shops. Its influence has been widely copied, inspiring similar riverwalk projects in cities from Oklahoma City to Monterrey, Mexico.
The downtown loop has been extended twice: the Museum Reach, opened in 2009, runs north to the San Antonio Museum of Art and the Pearl district, while the Mission Reach, completed in 2011, follows the river several miles south to Mission Espada, with hiking, biking, and paddling trails linking the city's UNESCO World Heritage missions. A short connector called the Paseo del Alamo also ties Alamo Plaza directly into the river.
Things to Do
Walk or Dine Along the Downtown Loop
Stroll the horseshoe bend past restaurants, shops, and hotel patios, or catch a show at the Arneson River Theatre where the stage and seating sit on opposite riverbanks.
Bike or Paddle the Mission Reach
Follow the trail south from downtown to connect with the San Antonio Missions, a good way to see multiple mission sites in one outing.
Explore the Museum Reach to the Pearl
Head north along the river to the San Antonio Museum of Art and the Pearl district's shops and restaurants.
Catch the Fiesta River Parade
Time a spring visit to Fiesta San Antonio to see flower-decorated floats float down the river through downtown.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "San Antonio River Walk", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
