San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
Welcome to San Antonio Missions, a National Park Service site and the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas. Each mission in the park is a center of community and has been since the early 1700s. They changed life in this region, introducing new technologies while enforcing new cultural guidelines. As you visit, reflect on change, culture, power, and how people have used the land.
About under an hour from San Antonio and 2 hours from Austin by car.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| San Antonio Missions National Historical Park | Daily · 6:00AM - 8:00PM |
| Mission San José | Daily · 9:00AM - 5:00PM |
| Mission Espada and Mission San Juan | Daily · 10:00AM - 4:30PM |
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park: hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow | 6:00AM - 8:00PM |
| Nov 26, 2026Thanksgiving | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Christmas | Closed |
| Jan 1, 2027New Years | Closed |
Mission San José: hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow | 9:00AM - 5:00PM |
| Nov 26, 2026Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Christmas Day | Closed |
| Jan 1, 2027New Years Day | Closed |
Mission Espada and Mission San Juan: hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow | 10:00AM - 4:30PM |
| Nov 26, 2026Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Christmas Day | Closed |
| Jan 1, 2027New Years Day | Closed |
When to go
April draws the most visits here and February the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Visitor Center at Mission San José ↗Passport stamp
Park Store in the Visitor Center is open 9 am to 5pm, 7 days/week. Visitor Center is often closed for the lunch hour. Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1. Park Store operated by Western National Parks Association.
- Mission San Juan Museum
Inside the historic convento at Mission San Juan, visit to learn about the mission history and resources and explore interactive exhibits in this museum space.
Explore
Things to do
- Explore the Missions of San Antonio0-4 Hours
Explore the four Spanish Colonial mission sites at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. You can choose to join a Ranger-led program, listen to the audio tour, or explore on your own!
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike & Bike Along the River15-240 Minutes
The Hike & Bike Trail along the San Antonio River connects all five missions in San Antonio: The Alamo, Mission Concepcion, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada. Each mission is about 2.5 miles from the next.
Opens on the Park Service site - Junior Ranger Program15-60 Minutes
Learn about the missions by completing activities in the Junior Ranger booklet.
Opens on the Park Service site - Watch the Park Film at the Visitor Center0-23 Minutes
Watch the park film, Gente de Razón, to learn more about the missions. The film is a 23-minute film about the people who built and lived in the missions. The first showing of the film begins at 10 am and the last showing is at 4 pm.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Events
- 10:00 AM · runs through Dec 29 · freeVisitors will meet the ranger on the patio in front of Mission San Jose's Visitor Center at 6701 San Jose Drive, San Antonio, TX…
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
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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
Seen this monthEastern Fox Squirrel 30× · Barred Owl 5× · Great Horned Owl 5× · Gray Fox 4× · Osprey 4× · American White Pelican 2× · Swan Goose 2× · Coyote 2×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 214 birds, 39 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barred Owl · Black Vulture · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Crested Caracara · Great Horned Owl · Hen Harrier · Merlin · Mississippi Kite · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Coot · American White Ibis · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Black-bellied Whistling Duck · Black-crowned Night Heron · Black-necked Grebe · Blue Goose · Blue-winged Teal · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Common Teal · Double-crested Cormorant · Egyptian Goose · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Greater White-fronted Goose · Green Heron · Hooded Merganser · Least Grebe · Lesser Scaup · Little Blue Heron · Neotropic Cormorant · Northern Pintail · Pied-billed Grebe · Ring-necked Duck · Ruddy Duck · Sandhill Crane · Snowy Egret · Tricolored Heron · Tundra Swan · Wood Duck · Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Avocet · American Golden Plover · American Woodcock · Bonaparte's Gull · European Herring Gull · Forster's Tern · Franklin's Gull · Greater Yellowlegs · Killdeer · Least Sandpiper · Lesser Yellowlegs · Long-billed Dowitcher · Pectoral Sandpiper · Ring-billed Gull · Spotted Sandpiper · Upland Sandpiper · Western Sandpiper · Wilson's Phalarope · Wilson's Snipe
Gamebirds & dovesCommon Ground Dove · Common Pigeon · Eurasian Collared Dove · Inca Dove · Mourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · White-tipped Dove · White-winged Dove · Wild Turkey
WoodpeckersDowny Woodpecker · Golden-fronted Woodpecker · Ladder-backed Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsBlack-chinned Hummingbird · Chimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAcadian Flycatcher · Ae'o · American Cliff Swallow · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Pipit · American Redstart · American Robin · Anhinga · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Audubon's Oriole · Baltimore Oriole · Barn Swallow · Bay-breasted Warbler · Bell's Vireo · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black Phoebe · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-crested Titmouse · Blue Grosbeak · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Brewer's Blackbird · Bronzed Cowbird · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-crested Flycatcher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's Oriole · Cactus Wren · Canyon Wren · Carolina Chickadee · Carolina Wren · Cave Swallow · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Clay-colored Sparrow · Common Grackle · Common Nighthawk · Common Poorwill · Common Yellowthroat · Couch's Kingbird · Curve-billed Thrasher · Dark-eyed Junco · Dickcissel · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Towhee · Eastern Wood Pewee · European Starling · Field Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-winged Warbler · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great Crested Flycatcher · Great Kiskadee · Great-tailed Grackle · Greater Roadrunner · Green Jay · Green Kingfisher · Hermit Thrush · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Least Flycatcher · Lesser Goldfinch · Lesser Nighthawk · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Long-billed Thrasher · Mallard · Monk Parakeet · Northern Cardinal · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Olive Sparrow · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orchard Oriole · Painted Bunting · Philadelphia Vireo · Purple Martin · Pyrrhuloxia · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Ringed Kingfisher · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Savannah Sparrow · Say's Phoebe · Scarlet Flycatcher · Scarlet Tanager · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Solitary Vireo · Song Sparrow · Spotted Towhee · Sprague's Pipit · Summer Tanager · Swainson's Thrush · Verdin · Vesper Sparrow · Warbling Vireo · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Tanager · Whip-poor-will · White-crowned Sparrow · White-eyed Vireo · White-throated Sparrow · Willow Flycatcher · Winter Wren · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-bellied Flycatcher · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Vireo
Small mammalsAttwater's Pocket Gopher · Black-tailed Jack Rabbit · Hispid Pocket Mouse · Norway rat · black rat · common porcupine · deer mouse · eastern cottontail · eastern mole · fox squirrel · fulvous harvest mouse · hispid cotton rat · house mouse · least shrew · mexican ground squirrel · northern pygmy mouse · thirteen-lined ground squirrel · white-footed mouse
PredatorsBobcat · Common Gray Fox · Coyote · long-tailed weasel · raccoon · spotted skunk · striped skunk
Hoofed mammalsCollared Peccary · White-tailed Deer
BatsEastern Pipistrelle · Eastern Red Bat · Northern Yellow Bat · brazilian free-tailed bat · cave myotis · evening bat · hoary bat
Also on the checklistCaucasian wildcat · Eurasian Wild Pig · Virginia opossum · nine-banded armadillo · nutria
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
All 13 activitiesHide
Weather & climate
Over the course of a year, the temperature typically varies from 40°F to 95°F and is rarely below 29°F or above 100°F. The warm season lasts from May through September with an average daily high temperature above 90°F and a low of 75°F. The cold season lasts from November through February with an average daily high below 68°F and an average low of 40°F. The relative humidity ranges from 40-80% over the course of the year, which can be very uncomfortable to many people.
Questions people ask
Does San Antonio Missions charge an entrance fee?
No. San Antonio Missions is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at San Antonio Missions?
Standard hours are 6:00AM - 8:00PM, every day. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
How busy is San Antonio Missions?
1,552,510 recreation visits in 2025, number 56 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at San Antonio Missions?
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
What is the weather like at San Antonio Missions?
Over the course of a year, the temperature typically varies from 40°F to 95°F and is rarely below 29°F or above 100°F. The warm season lasts from May through September with an average daily high temperature above 90°F and a low of 75°F.
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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