I stopped by Brackenridge Park on a Saturday late morning after some brunch at a nearby diner. The park is so huge that I actually didn't know where to park. I didn't really care at the time. I just wanted to park somewhere and do a little exploring of the great outdoors.
I drove down Broadway and then west on Mulberry hoping to find a parking lot. I knew the Japanese Tea Garden was in that direction, but I wanted to find a spot to just take a walk and absorb the beauty of nature.
I parked at what I thought was a designated lot for park tourists, but it was actually for Polo Field Golf Center. The lot is next to the Shop First Tee Golf, and I almost thought I wasn't allowed to park there. But since there weren't that many cars in the lot at the time, I figured I'd be okay just talking a quick walk around the park and be back before anybody noticed I wasn't a golfer.
Oh no, it definitely wasn't a quick walk, as I learned the hard way. There were a handful of trails to take that I'm sure if I got lost, I would have crossed the same path multiple times. There are paths that form an X at the heart of the park, and one of the paths leads to the Brackenridge Statue. However, I just wanted to take a single path trail without having to deal with that X, knowing I could be taking the wrong path.
Starting from the Polo Field Golf Center, I noticed a railroad, which I believe was for the San Antonio Zoo as I would later find on my hike towards the north. I didn't see a whole lot of anything besides trees, shrubbery, and grass, but I did say hi to a few ducks hiding underneath a picnic table. I also saw a couple of monuments, one that looked like a red/orange handbag, and another that looked like a symbol for a river. I believe those are supposed to be markers to tell you where and/or which trail you are on, but I didn't bother to look this up. All I cared about was not getting lost lol.
It's a pretty nice park overall. A great spot for exercise if not for the heat wave that had been plaguing San Antonio, and other parts of Texas for that matter, recently. As I was walking north, I saw across a bridge what looked like a mini amusement park. Turns out it was the San Antonio Zoo! I legit wasn't even planning on visiting the zoo, and I happened to stumble upon it while walking in the park! During my visit to the Japanese Tea Garden, I also stumbled upon the zoo while trying to explore the garden's grounds. Funny how I had no intention of going to the zoo, yet I spot it not once, but twice while visiting different parts of the park!
While many patrons were lining up to get into the park, I noticed a Starbucks just on the other side of the roundabout as well as a public restroom that is accessible to all, even those without admission to the zoo. And remember the railroad I mentioned at the beginning of the review? It ran by that building too. I think that spot marked the end of the train ride because I recalled seeing an EXIT ONLY sign and to direct customers to purchase train tickets at the train station.
After checking out the zoo, I walked back to my car and visited the Japanese Tea Garden, which was also nice to see. Free admission too! I also tried to check out the Sunken Garden theater, but the gate to the theater entrance was locked. I think at the time of my visit, there were graduates dressed in their caps and gowns, and they must have had their graduation ceremony there? If so, I hope they were able to cool off afterwards in this 100+ degree weather!
I wish I was able to explore more of the park, which has a couple other trails, some softball fields, and even a golf course! There are also several other golf courses nearby, so golfers living nearby will have plenty of options to choose from!
If I lived in San Antonio, I would certainly visit this park on a regular basis! I'm glad they were listed on www.visitsanantonio.com as a suggested place to visit, which is how I found out about this park in the first place. Since it was so close to the diner I was at earlier that day, it was convenient enough for me to stop by and get on with my day. read more