Visiting The Missions Of San Antonio, TX

One thing that we didn’t really do in Texas while we were in San Antonio in 2018 was to visit the Missions.

We technically went to one – The Alamo – and it wasn’t a great experience for me, but that’s all changed now. We went through San Antonio to see my friend Sam on our way from Louisiana to Arizona.

As The Traveling Teach, I’m always looking for awesome field trip locations and the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park fit the bill. The students loved the virtual field trip we took, so I wanted to share that joy with you too, reader!

I started at San Jose where the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Visitor Center is. I got my map and information and headed out to the farthest Mission first. It was partly to go in order, and partly to avoid the bus of students that had arrived at San Juan and would have ended up in all my pictures and videos.

Mission Espada

Each Mission had its own purpose beyond just being a Mission to help convert Indigenous People to Catholicism and make new Spanish Citizens. Mission Espada had a granary.

The Missions also had housing, religious teaching, Mass in the church and much more. They operated like little medieval cities inside the walls of the Mission.

Espada Aqueduct

On your way from Mission Espada to Mission San Juan you pass the Espada Aqueduct that provided water to the Missions.

Mission San Juan

Mission San Juan was known for the ranch and cattle that surrounded it and provided food for the Missions.

It also had a gate showing how secure the Missions were at the time. The gatekeeper lived right next to it and huge keys were used to open the gates and allow entry. At the museum at San Jose you can see an example of the key from San Jose which was another large gate like that at San Juan.

The Dam and the River Walk

After finishing at San Juan you drive to San Jose. On the way you go over the dam and it’s a beautiful spot along the river walk for a picnic, walk or to relax. The River Walk is much longer than just the area with bars and restaurants that we visited in 2018.

Mission San Jose

Make sure you leave a lot of time for Mission San Jose. They have a large museum and grounds to explore, plus right now they’re celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Mission which happened about a week before I visited in February 2020.

There is a complicated history with the Missions as with most historical sites in the US. The Indigenous Peoples were coerced and forced into a new life as Europeans and lost their own culture, ways and, if they resisted, lives. I didn’t see much about this at the Missions, but it would benefit you to do more research about the Native Americans and how the Missions of Spain impacted on their lives.

I’m not sure if it’s here all the time, but this large (but tiny) diorama of the Mission San Jose from during its early days shows a lot of information about Mission life.

One IMPORTANT thing to note. The churches close before the National Parks. For example, Mission San Jose’s church closes at 4:30pm instead of 5pm with the rest of the Mission Park. Bear this in mind because they’re strict about it.

Mission Concepción

This Mission was closed for renovation. But the grounds were open so it was worth a visit albeit a quick one. This Mission had a quarry and stone was used from it for both Mission Concepción and Mission San Juan.

The Alamo

Misión San Antonio de Valero or The Alamo as it’s known is in the center of San Antonio, TX. When we visited this time it was during the time of The Siege and Battle of The Alamo, so there were extra displays and historical re-enactments happening. I wish this was going on year-round as it really added to my visit this time and was well worth it.

As this is an important site where over 200 men lost their lives, respect is requested in the church and no pictures, hats, food or drink are allowed. You can take pictures in the rest of The Alamo compound, just not inside the church. Here’s a picture from the internet of the inside.

Once outside there are statues, information about the battle and, when I visited, re-enactments and informational talks going on.

Visiting all the Missions, including The Alamo, were well worth the time. And, they are completely FREE. I had hours of fun and learning in the beautiful Texas weather. The outside of the four Missions on the outskirts of San Antonio allow dogs on leash, although The Alamo and inside all the NPS buildings and churches on site aren’t pet-friendly. Remember that if you decide to visit on a Sunday, these Missions still have parish churches that hold mass weekly.