South Side

I love the South Side of San Antonio. It’s incredibly interesting. In addition to the Mission Reach River Walk, the Salado Creek South, several Siclovias, and the Missions themselves, Rosie and I have been to quite a few sites.

Before I was born, my dad was in the Air Force. He worked at Brooks Air Force Base on S.E. Military Drive, testing equipment for the space program in the 1960s (he wasn’t a scientist–he was a guinea pig.) John F. Kennedy’s last official act was to dedicate the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks; he was assassinated the next day. Brooks AFB was closed down in 2011, and the site now hosts a wealth of biotech and educational endeavors (and apartments). It also includes a cute little park called the Greenline.

Another spot worth visiting is Hot Wells. Once upon a time there were springs of hot water at this site, and someone built a very fancy resort hotel. Hollywood celebrities would come to San Antonio just to visit Hot Wells. Fun fact: the hotel was built by Otto Koehler who owned the Pearl Brewery, which is now a very fancy hotel itself. The hotel burned down, several times. In 2019, the ruins of the hotel were made into a county park. I have many other stories to tell about Hot Wells, but you will have to ask me about those.

Hot Wells County Park feature the ruins of the old hotel resort.

The person who introduced me to Hot Wells is the only person who officially lives on the property, artist Justin Parr. Like several people in San Antonio, Justin makes handmade art glass marbles, and then hides them around the city. I’ve been a marble hunter (and hider) since I read this 2014 article about the group. It’s a fun way to explore the city and meet some amazing people. Justin hides all over, but particularly on the south side. In May of 2020, Justin hid a marble on a brand-new trail, which will eventually connect the Mission Reach to the Medina River Greenway Trail system. So we just had to go check it out. On day 1 we drove around for about an hour and walked through sticky mud to get to the trail. The second time, we got a little smarter. We parked at Mission Espada and rode our bikes west. We didn’t find the marble, but we discovered Cassin Lake, which is only accessible via this trail.

Speaking of the Medina River Greenway Trails, you should absolutely go visit. The Natural Area there is an entirely different biome (I had to look up the word “riparian” while reading about it just now). The trail has several switchbacks because of the change in elevation near the banks of the river. Switchbacks are not my favorite. I would never wear the polka-dotted jersey at the Tour de France. We have not ridden this entire trail yet, but we rode the western portion (from the endpoint to Applewhite Trailhead) and also the section east of Highway 281. In the map below, on the easternmost edge, the green trail connects to a brown trail–that is the Mission Reach River Walk. The tiny lake just near there is Cassin Lake. I would like to ride around Mitchell Lake someday.