Amistad National Recreation Area
An oasis in the desert, Amistad National Recreation Area consists of the US portion of the International Amistad Reservoir. Amistad, a Spanish word meaning "friendship," is known for excellent water-based recreation, camping, hiking, and rich cultural history dating back nearly 5,000 years. Amistad is also home to a wide variety of plant and animal life both above and below the water.
Alerts
- ClosureDiablo East Marina Cove, Scuba Cove, and Walkway Access Are Closed
The Diablo East Marina Cove, Scuba Cove, and walkway access are closed because of the presence of excessive docking material, unsafe walkway and dock, and unstable, loose ground. The area will reopen once these hazards have been corrected.
- ClosureNPS ↗Only Left Side of Diablo East and Rough Canyon Boat Ramps Are Open - Rest Are Closed
Due to low water levels, only the left side of Diablo East and Rough Canyon boat ramps are open. Please use caution with Spur 406 and Spur 454 launches, as the water may be too shallow to launch most boats. To see a list of open ramps, click on "more."
- CautionHelp Prevent Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Infestation
A number of lakes are infested with an array of aquatic invasive species that damage natural ecosystems and waterways. Boaters are advised to Clean, Drain, and Dry all boats and equipment every time they leave the water.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Amistad National Recreation Area | Daily · All Day |
When to go
May draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Governors Landing Campground ↗ | 15 sites | |
| $10 a night · Governors Landing Campground is open 24 hours per day, 7 days a week and features a self-service machine for paying fees. · 15 first-come | ||
| Rough Canyon Campground ↗ | 4 sites | |
| $6 a night · Rough Canyon Campground is generally open year-round and can fill up since it has only four sites. · 4 first-come | ||
| San Pedro Campground | 1 site | |
| $6 a night · Generally, campground is open 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. | ||
| Spur 406 Campground ↗ | 6 sites | |
| $6 a night · Spur 406 Campground is generally open year-round and rarely fills up, except possibly on holiday weekends. It may close on occasion due to high water events. · 6 first-come | ||
| 277 North Campground | 1 site | |
| $6 a night · 277 North Campground is generally open year-round and rarely fills up, except possibly on holiday weekends. | ||
Show all 6 campgroundsHide
| Rock Quarry Group Campsite | 1 site | |
| $35 a night · Year-round. Will need to make arrangements to get the gate code after reservation is made. Reservations must be made at least three days in advance. · 1 reservable | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. All of them on one page → How park camping works
Visitor centers
- Amistad National Recreation Area Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Visitor Center offers several park-related movies. _Transparent Border_ is the park's official movie about how the reservoir came to influence a relationship between the US city of Del Rio and Mexico's Ciudad Acuña. It is available in English and español and is 35 minutes long.
Explore
Things to do
- Hike the Diablo East Nature Trail
Hiking at Amistad - Diablo East Nature Trail
Opens on the Park Service site - Boating at Amistad
Boating at Amistad National Recreation Area
Opens on the Park Service site - Swimming at Amistad
Swimming and playing in the water at Governors Landing, and throughout the park, is popular during Amistad National Recreation Area's hot summers.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hiking at Amistad
These trails at Amistad National Recreation Area will provide opportunities for wildlife watching, lake views, and quiet reflection.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Webcams
Diablo East Rampa de Barco - Amistad National Recreation AreaCurrent Conditions: Diablo East Boat Ramp - Amistad National Recreation AreaBoating: Diablo East Boat Ramp - Amistad National Recreation AreaWebcam: Diablo East Boat Ramp - Amistad National Recreation AreaDiablo East Boat Ramp - Amistad National Recreation AreaCamera images load live from the National Park Service and partner agencies
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Guidebooks for Texas's national parks and the Southwest
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Full checklist: 255 birds, 66 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barn Owl · Black Vulture · Burrowing Owl · Common Black-Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Crested Caracara · Eastern Screech-Owl · Elf Owl · Ferruginous Hawk · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Harris's Hawk · Merlin · Mississippi Kite · Northern Harrier · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture · Western Screech-Owl · Zone-tailed Hawk
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Bittern · American Coot · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Black-bellied Whistling-Duck · Black-crowned Night-Heron · Blue-winged Teal · Brown Pelican · Bufflehead · Cattle Egret · Cinnamon Teal · Clark's Grebe · Common Loon · Common Merganser · Double-crested Cormorant · Eared Grebe · Eurasian Wigeon · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Greater White-fronted Goose · Green Heron · Green-winged Teal · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · Lesser Scaup · Little Blue Heron · Neotropic Cormorant · Northern Pintail · Pacific Loon · Pied-billed Grebe · Red-breasted Merganser · Red-throated Loon · Reddish Egret · Ring-necked Duck · Ruddy Duck · Sandhill Crane · Snow Goose · Snowy Egret · Tricolored Heron · Virginia Rail · Western Grebe · White-faced Ibis · Wood Duck · Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Avocet · Baird's Sandpiper · Black Tern · Black-bellied Plover · Bonaparte's Gull · Caspian Tern · Forster's Tern · Franklin's Gull · Greater Yellowlegs · Gull-billed Tern · Herring Gull · Interior Least Tern · Killdeer · Laughing Gull · Least Sandpiper · Lesser Yellowlegs · Long-billed Curlew · Long-billed Dowitcher · Ring-billed Gull · Royal Tern · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Short-billed Dowitcher · Snowy Plover · Solitary Sandpiper · Spotted Sandpiper · Upland Sandpiper · Western Sandpiper · Willet · Wilson's Phalarope · Wilson's Snipe
Gamebirds & dovesCommon Ground-Dove · Eurasian Collared-Dove · Inca Dove · Mourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · Rock Pigeon · Scaled Quail · White-winged Dove · Wild Turkey
WoodpeckersGolden-fronted Woodpecker · Ladder-backed Woodpecker · Northern Flicker
Hummingbirds & swiftsBlack-chinned Hummingbird · Blue-throated Hummingbird · Chimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird · Violet-crowned Hummingbird · White-throated Swift
Also on the checklistAmerican Goldfinch · American Pipit · American Redstart · American Robin · Anhinga · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Baltimore Oriole · Bank Swallow · Barn Swallow · Bell's Vireo · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black Phoebe · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-crested Titmouse · Black-necked Stilt · Black-tailed Gnatcatcher · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Sparrow · Blue Grosbeak · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Brewer's Blackbird · Brewer's Sparrow · Bronzed Cowbird · Brown Thrasher · Brown-crested Flycatcher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's Oriole · Bushtit · Cactus Wren · Canvasback · Canyon Wren · Carolina Wren · Cedar Waxwing · Chestnut-collared Longspur · Chihuahuan Raven · Chipping Sparrow · Clay-colored Sparrow · Cliff Swallow · Common Grackle · Common Nighthawk · Common Poorwill · Common Raven · Common Yellowthroat · Couch's Kingbird · Curve-billed Thrasher · Dickcissel · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Wood-Pewee · Field Sparrow · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Grasshopper Sparrow · Great Kiskadee · Great-tailed Grackle · Greater Roadrunner · Green Kingfisher · Green-tailed Towhee · Groove-billed Ani · Hermit Thrush · Hooded Oriole · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Lark Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Le Conte's Sparrow · Least Flycatcher · Lesser Goldfinch · Lesser Nighthawk · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Long-billed Thrasher · Louisiana Waterthrush · MacGillivray's Warbler · Mallard · Marsh Wren · McCown's Longspur · Mountain Bluebird · Nashville Warbler · Northern Cardinal · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Olive Sparrow · Orange-crowned Warbler · Orchard Oriole · Painted Bunting · Purple Martin · Pyrrhuloxia · Red-winged Blackbird · Redhead · Ringed Kingfisher · Rock Wren · Roseate Spoonbill · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rufous-capped Warbler · Rufous-crowned Sparrow · Sage Thrasher · Savannah Sparrow · Say's Phoebe · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Scott's Oriole · Sedge Wren · Song Sparrow · Sora · Spotted Towhee · Sprague's Pipit · Summer Tanager · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tree Swallow · Varied Bunting · Verdin · Vermilion Flycatcher · Vesper Sparrow · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Tanager · Western Wood-Pewee · White-crowned Sparrow · White-eyed Vireo · Wilson's Warbler · Winter Wren · Worm-eating Warbler · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-headed Blackbird · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Vireo
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · Black Rat · Black-tailed Jackrabbit · Botta's Pocket Gopher · Cactus Mouse · Chihuahuan Desert Pocket Mouse · Crawford's Desert Shrew · Deer Mouse · Desert Cottontail · Eastern Cottontail · Eastern White-throated Woodrat · Fulvous Harvest Mouse · Hispid Pocket Mouse · Hispid cotton rat · House Mouse · Merriam's Pocket Mouse · Mexican Ground Squirrel · Nelson's Pocket Mouse · North American Porcupine · Northern Grasshopper Mouse · Northern Pygmy Mouse · Rock Pocket Mouse · Rock Squirrel · Southern Plains Woodrat · Spotted Ground Squirrel · Texas Antelope Squirrel · White-ankled Mouse · White-footed Mouse
PredatorsAmerican Badger · American Black Bear · Bobcat · Common Gray Fox · Coyote · Long-tailed Weasel · Mountain Lion · Northern Raccoon · Ringtail · Striped Skunk · Western Spotted Skunk · White-backed Hog-nosed Skunk
Hoofed mammalsBarbary Sheep · European Mouflon Sheep · Javelina · Mule Deer · White-tailed Deer
BatsBig Free-tailed Bat · Brazilian Free-tailed Bat · Cave Myotis · Eastern Pipistrelle · Eastern Red Bat · Evening Bat · Ghost-faced Bat · Hairy-legged Vampire Bat · Hoary Bat · Pallid Bat · Pocketed Free-tailed Bat · Seminole Bat · Townsend's Big-eared Bat · Western Bonneted Bat · Western Pipistrelle · Yuma Myotis
Also on the checklistFeral Cat · Feral Pig · Nine-banded Armadillo · Nutria · Virginia Opossum
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Diving and snorkeling in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
Weather in Southwest Texas can change in a matter of minutes. It is best to check the local weather report. Amistad National Recreation Area usually has hot summers and mild winters. For more information, please visit the park's Current Conditions page at https://www.nps.gov/amis/planyourvisit/conditions.htm.
Questions people ask
Does Amistad charge an entrance fee?
No. Amistad is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Amistad open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Amistad?
Yes. The Park Service lists 6 campgrounds in Amistad: Governors Landing, Rough Canyon, San Pedro, Spur 406, and 277 North, and more. 3 take reservations through Recreation.gov.
Which Amistad campgrounds have showers, hookups, or a dump station?
Dump station: Rock Quarry Group Campsite.
Source: Campgrounds
Is anything closed at Amistad right now?
3 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Diablo East Marina Cove, Scuba Cove, and Walkway Access Are Closed; Help Prevent Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Infestation; and more.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Amistad?
734,293 recreation visits in 2025, number 91 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Amistad?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Amistad established?
1965. It covers about 91 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Amistad?
Weather in Southwest Texas can change in a matter of minutes. It is best to check the local weather report.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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