One of the greatest parks in the city. So full of beauty and history!

The train is the best way to see the park. this is an open narrow gauge which circles the park making three stops. Hop on hop off at two museums and the Japanese tea garden.

The casual visitor to Brackenridge Park in San Antonio, Texas, may be totally unaware that the 349-acre park, with its picnic areas, baseball fields, playgrounds, pavilions, walking trails, museum, zoo and golf course, occupies some of the most historically rich land in the city. Nothing tells the visitor that the park represents a long timeline reaching back at least 12,000 years. It is a rich tapestry of history linked by the San Antonio River that rises from springs above and in the park and flows through the park on its southeasterly course to the Gulf of Mexico. Located at 3700 North St. Mary's Street, on the city's Broadway Corridor just north of the downtown area, the park was created in 1899 and has now grown to include such popular attractions as the San Antonio Zoo, the Witte Museum, the Japanese Tea Garden, the Sunken Garden Theater, the Tuesday Musical Club, the San Antonio Botanical Garden, the DoSeum and the two-foot narrow gauge San Antonio Zoo Eagle train ride. All of which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. Imagine, if not for the springs and the river, Native Americans and Spanish explorers never would have camped here and the presidio, mission and village that grew to become San Antonio, the second largest city in Texas, would never have been established. This is where it all began. Aside from the springs and the river, the rocky outcroppings west and below the headwaters were the city's largest and most consistent source of high-quality hard limestone that was quarried and used to construct buildings throughout the city. After the quarry was abandoned in 1916, it became the site of the Japanese Tea Garden. Today, with only a few exceptions, Brackenridge Park remains remarkably unchanged since the 1940s.

Son and grandson took us to the park for the 20-minute train ride. Wonderful ride and our grandson wanted to go again and again! We will return and go to the Zoo too!

I have visited this park for over 50 years. It remains a pleasure to go to. Thanks to San Antonio for keeping it beautiful.