San Antonio

When to come?: 

San Antonio is a great all-year destination, as the weather never really gets too cold to be outdoors, but even in the summer there are green, leafy areas to hike or ride your bike in. As the temperatures rise, head to the rivers and lakes to spend a lazy afternoon.

What to do if you have a sunny Saturday?: 

A great way to spend a sunny saturday in summer is to wake up early in the morning and go for a run or mountain bike ride at Canyon Lake, about 30 miles north of the city. As the temps get high, head down to New Braunfels for barbecue at either Rudy's or Cooper's (can't go wrong with either) and then spend the afternoon tubing the Comal or the Guadalupe (out of Gruene, Texas). After tubing, if you have any energy left, go for an evening walk along the new stretch of the Riverwalk downtown.

On Sunday, sleep in late, get a Tex-Mex breakfast, and then bike the Mission Trail south from downtown through San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. There isn't a lot to see in the surrounding areas, but the missions themselves are some of the oldest buildings in the Southwest.

Where can I go to get out away from the city, without driving too far?: 

The New Braunfels/Gruene area is crowded and busy in summer, with tubing, kayaking, and the best water park in the world, Schlitterbahn, but it's for a reason - the spring fed rivers are beautiful and clear.

Government Canyon State Natural Area on the northwest side is undeveloped but has rocky, tough hiking, trail running and mountain biking.

Close to the airport, and much more mellow, is McAllister Park, with about 10 miles of hiking and biking trails. You'll need a map, because the trail system is a maze. Most of it is shaded, but the stretch up and over the dam is hot and exposed.

What are some great weekend getaways?: 

Fredericksburg is a great getaway from San Antonio. Look through the tourist shops, get something to eat at Rather Sweet Bakery, and then head up to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.

What mountains/hills can I hike nearby?: 

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is the best place to go for a quick hike up and down the mountain.

In the Hill Country State Natural Area, pretty much every trail ends up at an amazing overlook. Highly recommended is parking at the Equestrian Parking area and taking the trail to the right up to Sky Island. Take the trail all the way around Sky Island, being sure to stop at the bench.

In town, the hike/run at Eisenhower is pretty nice - the trails are short, but they are steep!

What outdoorsy stuff is way overrated in this town?: 

The Riverwalk right downtown near the Alamo and the RiverCenter mall is not exactly a bucolic destination. Head to the new part of the Riverwalk (Museum Reach, north of downtown) for a much more relaxed experience.

Hiking
Trails: 

McAllister Park

Description: 

McAllister Park is next to the San Antonio airport, in north San Antonio. The park has over 15 miles of singletrack and paved trails that wind in and around eachother in a maze. There are colored trails, such as, red, blue, and orange that you can follow, although intersections are not always clearly marked. McAllister's terrain is pretty tame - trails go from buttery smooth singletrack under trees to pebbly limestone trails to jeep roads on top of a dam.

The city provides a confusing map of the colored loops at http://www.sanantonio.gov/sapar/pdf/McAllister_Overall.pdf - but that doesn't show all of the side trails inside the park.

Also within McAllister Park is the Salado Creek Greenway - an asphalt paved, 6 foot wide trail suitable for bikes, strollers, inline skates, or just walking. The McAllister Park section heading to the airport has just been built.

Pictures: 
Location: 
13102 Jones-Maltsberger
San Antonio, TX
See map: Google Maps

San Antonio Missions Hike and Bike Trail

San Antonio is famous for the Alamo, but the city also has four other Spanish missions, all in much less urban settings south of the Alamo and downtown San Antonio.

You can certainly drive between all four of the missions - Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan, and Espada, but you can just as easily bike between them.

The Mission trail is about a 15 mile round trip if you do all four missions - if you want to make it shorter for a family trip, cut out Mission Concepcion, because that mission requires some bike lanes on city streets.

Length: 
15.00miles
Pictures: 
Biking
Trails: 

McAllister Park

Description: 

McAllister Park is next to the San Antonio airport, in north San Antonio. The park has over 15 miles of singletrack and paved trails that wind in and around eachother in a maze. There are colored trails, such as, red, blue, and orange that you can follow, although intersections are not always clearly marked. McAllister's terrain is pretty tame - trails go from buttery smooth singletrack under trees to pebbly limestone trails to jeep roads on top of a dam.

The city provides a confusing map of the colored loops at http://www.sanantonio.gov/sapar/pdf/McAllister_Overall.pdf - but that doesn't show all of the side trails inside the park.

Also within McAllister Park is the Salado Creek Greenway - an asphalt paved, 6 foot wide trail suitable for bikes, strollers, inline skates, or just walking. The McAllister Park section heading to the airport has just been built.

Pictures: 
Location: 
13102 Jones-Maltsberger
San Antonio, TX
See map: Google Maps
Road Biking: 
A great beginner route for road biking suitable for families is the Mission Hike and Bike Trail south o downtown San Antonio.
Bike Rental: 
You can rent bikes at Blue Star Brewery - http://www.bluestarbrewing.com/bikes/index.html - for the Mission Hike and Bike Trail they rent Electra Townies, for road biking they rent Cinelli roadies.
Running
When is the major marathon?: 
San Antonio's marathon got a huge boost when Competitor/Rock and Roll took over the old San Antonio marathon and created the Rock and Roll San Antonio marathon in November. November can still be kind of a crap shoot for weather in South Texas, so this may not be your fastest time.
Running Races: 

Rock and Roll San Antonio Marathon

The Rock and Roll San Antonio marathon has quickly become one of the biggest marathons in Texas after the Rock and Roll Marathon company took over the old San Antonio Marathon. The Rock and Roll San Antonio marathon is a little early for a Texas marathon, so you take your chances with the weather (it could be 80 degrees, or it could be in the 50's). San Antonio is a great city for tourism, with lots of visitor attractions and different options for hotels.

Date: 
Sun, 2010-11-14
Length: 
26.20miles

Prickly Pear 50K and 10 Miler

The San Antonio Road Runners put on a great trail race in San Antonio in McAllister Park by the airport in March. It used to be held in May, but that must have been extremely hot.

The 10-mile loop course is a windy maze of mostly singletrack mountain biking trails, with about 3/4 of a mile on top of a dam/flood control structure that is completely exposed. The rest is pretty shady. 50K runners do three loops. The course has mile markers, which is a nice touch for a trail race.

Date: 
Sat, 2010-03-13
Length: 
31.00miles
Where can I get a running event schedule?: 

The best running calendar is at http://www.rogersoler.com/sbr_events.php

Also check http://www.centexruns.com/ for even more listings - they pull in races from the Hill Country, San Antonio, Austin, and north of Austin up to Waco.

Triathlon
Where can I get a triathlon/duathlon event schedule?: 

The main triathlon series in San Antonio is the Alamo Tri Series - http://www.alamotriseries.com/

You can also check http://www.redlicoriceevents.com/ for Central Texas Triathlons, and Redemption Race Productions - http://www.redemptionrp.com/