Brackenridge Park Sits Just Below the San Antonio River Headwaters

Brackenridge Park gathers a lot of San Antonio into one river bend north of downtown. The San Antonio River runs through it just below the headwaters, with the Japanese Tea Garden, Sunken Garden Theater, the zoo, Lambert Beach, and ball fields nearby.

People have used this ground for at least 11,000 years. Spanish colonial acequias later drew water from the river here, and a piece of the Upper Labor acequia still survives in the zoo area.

That stack is what makes the park feel bigger than a picnic spot. River, geology, water history, and weekend play all sit on the same ground.