A Practical Walk

We just got back for a trip to San Antonio! I’m working on a long and pictureful post of what we did there (spoiler: most of the things were FREE!), but for now I’ll share my little, personal review of Government Canyon State Natural Area.

Before I share too much, I do want to say that my review is from a very limited perspective, because although we spent 3 nights there, we were mostly in town sight seeing during the days. The park has so much to offer that we weren’t able to explore, like a hike that takes you to see dinosaur tracks!

We reserved a spot on the Front Country campground loop, site 7. My husband did a perfect job of choosing a spot for us! It was a very short walk from the parking lot and restrooms. But it was just far enough, and had enough trees, to make our spot feel private.

I liked how it had a tree providing shade in it, a picnic table, and closable wood shelf for storage. There was a fire pit too but with us being mostly gone, we never did start a fire. I found the crushed rocks to be a nice ground cover.

We didn’t have any electricity, but a spigot was right by the parking lot. And….something I was pleasantly surprised by was the restrooms! I’ve stayed at multiple campgrounds around the country and this restroom was one of the nicer ones. I don’t know if it’s new, but just look at it, it looks new!

I stepped into the bathroom and felt air conditioning!! That was unexpected!

They had 4 showers available. Each shower room had plenty of space, so you could easily change your clothes without them getting all wet from a sopping wet floor. There was hot water. And I found the shower house had less bugs and frogs than some…I actually don’t remember seeing any critters in the shower room….just a scorpion outside the restrooms. 🙂

Me giving the restrooms a big thumbs up!

Outside the bathroom there was a water fountain where you could fill up bottles, and even a low one for pets. I really liked having drinking water available!

I also liked the outdoor sink they had by the restrooms. I took our dirty dishes in a tub to the sink and washed them there, this was easier than hauling water and dealing with dishwater at the campsite.

Even though we didn’t have time to do much exploring, (the dino tracks would’ve been especially cool), we did do a short walk that had lots of plants labeled. Since we’re doing more gardening and wanting to fill our front yard with drought-resistant native plants, we’re trying to learn all about them!

Check out the ball moss growing on the tree limbs!

We spotted a male and female cardinal, and then realized they had a nest right by our site! We also heard turkeys gobbling and saw a rabbit.

At the visitor’s center we picked up pamphlets on butterflies, flowers and this bird bingo!

The main reason we stayed at Government Canyon was it’s proximity to all the things we wanted to do in San Antonio. If you already have all the camping gear, it can be a cheaper way to lodge than a hotel in such a touristy spot.

In short, I thought our campsite was plenty private, the bathrooms were superb for a campground, and I wish we had more time to explore the various trails.