Visiting The San Antonio Missions

Did you know there are five Spanish missions in San Antonio? The Alamo, Concepcion, Espada, San Juan and San Jose. I’ve been to the Alamo several times, but just recently explored a couple of the others. If you love history, beautiful old buildings and just generally love exploring, the missions should be on your list. Here is a guide to visiting the San Antonio Missions.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the most famous Texas mission, the Alamo. Since the Alamo is such a popular destination to visit, I’m dedicating a whole post to visiting that one.

The Alamo is run by the state of Texas and the other four missions are run by the National Historical Park Service. Fun fact, the missions are one of the 23 sites in the US dedicated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Getting to The San Antonio Missions:

There are several ways to get to all the San Antonio missions. The easiest is by car. I personally recommend having a car when visiting San Antonio because the city is so spread out.

If you don’t have a car, San Antonio has a bus route to all the missions, VIVA line 40. Check out more bus info on the National Historic Parks Website here.

Uber and Lyft are other good options if you don’t want to wait for a bus.

Finally, you can walk or bike the Mission Trail. This trail connects all the missions. The distance is about 2.5 miles between each mission, so you will need to plan accordingly. Summer would not be the best time to do this, because the heat is intense! Bring plenty of water and sunscreen.

Visiting The San Antonio Missions:

The missions are open daily all year long except New Years Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Park grounds hours are from sunrise to sunset.

Mission San Jose is open from 9 am – 5 pm.

Visitor Center located at Mission San Jose is open from 9 am – 1pm and 2 pm – 5 pm.

Admission is FREE

Mission Concepcion

This is the first mission you will come to heading south of the Alamo. The church is absolutely gorgeous and open to the public to visit! It’s the oldest unrestored church in America!

This mission is on the smaller side, so you will not need much time to explore here. There are bathrooms available.

For a free audio cell tour visit HERE.

Mission San Jose

Established in 1720, San Jose just celebrated its 300th birthday! This is the largest mission in San Antonio and the one with the most restorations. Visiting here makes it easier to imagine what life would have been like a couple hundred years ago.

The Visitor Center is located here along with a gift shop and restrooms.

Ranger led guided tours are offered daily at 10 am and 11 am.

6701 San Jose Drive San Antonio, TX 78214

For a free audio cell tour visit HERE

Mission San Juan

Founded in 1731, Mission San Juan was a self sustaining community. They produced food, iron tools and cloth. This will be a quick visit as well, since there’s not much too see.

9101 Graf Road San Antonio, TX 78214

For a free audio cell tour visit HERE

Mission Espada

Finally, we come to Mission Espada! Founded in 1690, Mission Espada is the oldest mission in Texas! It is the furthest from the Alamo and one of the smaller, less renovated missions to see.

10040 Espada Road San Antonio, TX 78214

For a free audio cell tour visit HERE.

Tips for Visiting the San Antonio Missions:

Be prepared for heat! Especially in the summer! Dress appropriately.
Bring and drink lots of water.
Wear sunscreen. There is not much shade walking around the missions.
The missions are not air conditioned.
Allow at least 2-3 hours to visit all four of the National Historic Park Missions.
If short on time, you must at least visit San Jose and Concepcion!
If visiting with kids, there is a Junior Park Ranger program to take part in.

Summary of Visiting The San Antonio Missions

To summarize, if you are into history, then visiting the San Antonio missions MUST be on your to do list! They each offer something a little different and are beautiful to look at!