Medina River Natural Area Adds a Quieter Southside Trail Landscape

Seven miles of shaded trail follow the Medina River through the 511-acre Medina River Natural Area, the south side's quiet answer to the crowded downtown River Walk. Along with the trails there's a trailhead, restrooms, a pavilion, and group camping, spread across enough ground that you can lose the sound of the highway.

Interpretive stops along the way mark the El Camino Real, the wagon road that once tied the Spanish settlements together. Walking it, you're following the same general line travelers used here long before any suburb existed — south Bexar County had its own travel and settlement story well before the subdivisions arrived.

If you're sizing up southside neighborhoods or just looking past the central tourist core, this is one of the more spacious natural areas the city manages. The river keeps it cool even in the worst of a San Antonio summer, which is half the reason regulars keep coming back to it.