Alamo & Missions Trail Guide

Most visitors see the Alamo, take a photo, and miss the best part. The Alamo started as Mission San Antonio de Valero, the first of five Spanish colonial missions along the San Antonio River. The other four are still standing a few miles south. They're still working parish churches, they cost nothing to visit, and together with the Alamo they make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This guide covers tickets, the 2026 construction, getting between the missions, half-day and full-day routes, and how to be a good guest at churches where people still worship every week.

The Alamo: tickets, hours, and what's included

The Alamo is at 300 Alamo Plaza downtown. It's open daily 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m. and closed Christmas Day. The Ralston Family Collections Center (home of the Alamo Exhibit) keeps shorter hours, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., with last entry an hour before closing. Last entry to the church and grounds is shortly before closing, so don't cut it close. (visiting tips)

Free church entry (reservation required)

Going inside the Alamo Church is always free, but you need a timed ticket. Reserve it on the Alamo's ticket page, or pick one up in person at an Alamo Welcome Center. According to the Alamo, if you show up outside your time window on the right day, during open hours, you'll still get in.

Paid options (prices as of October 2026)

• Remember the Alamo™ Guided Tour. About $48 adults, $38 kids 12 and under. A walking battlefield tour that includes church entry, the Alamo Exhibit, and Surrounded!, the augmented-reality experience. This is the one to book if you want the story, not just the building.
• Young Texans Tour. Same price, kid-focused, with living historians and a musket drill.
• A Line in the Sand™ Self-Guided Experience. About $20 adults, $18 kids. An audio tour narrated by Ray Benson, plus the Alamo Exhibit and church entry.
• Alamo Exhibit only. About $15 adults, $11 kids. Includes the Phil Collins Collection and Spanish colonial artifacts.
• San Antonio CityPASS®. About $63 adults, $53 kids 3–11. Covers the Alamo Exhibit and church plus other city attractions over nine days.

Free things people walk right past

• Musket-firing demonstration daily at 11:30 a.m. in Plaza de Valero (about 15 minutes).
• Acequia demonstration daily at 11 a.m. outside the Texas Cavaliers Education Center.
• Crossroads of History, a 17-minute film that plays on a loop outside the Long Barrack, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
• The living history encampment behind the church.

All details are from the Alamo's Tours and Experiences page.

Alamo rules to know

Under the Alamo's "Rules of Reverence," take your hat off inside the church, and keep open food and drinks, flash photography, drones, and bikes out of the historic buildings. Service animals are welcome; leashed dogs are allowed only in Plaza de Valero.

The Alamo doesn't have its own parking. Use a public downtown lot, or get dropped off on Houston Street at Avenue E.

What's changing at the Alamo in 2026–2028

Expect construction. Here's where things stand:

• The new Alamo Museum and Visitor Center is not open yet. The Alamo now says it's scheduled to open in spring 2028. It's being built inside the historic Crockett and Woolworth buildings across from the church and will have about 160,000 square feet of space, a 4D theater, and a free first-floor lobby with a café and a Civil Rights Exhibit.
• The Paseo del Alamo reopened in July 2026. This is the walkway that connects Alamo Plaza to the River Walk at Losoya Street. It now has a welcome center, shaded ADA-accessible paths, and an elevator tower (San Antonio Report).
• Houston Street stays fenced next to the museum site. The north sidewalk is open to pedestrians. Vehicle access around the Alamo is closed during construction.

The four missions of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

The National Park Service runs the park. The four mission churches themselves belong to the Archdiocese of San Antonio. From north to south:

• Mission Concepción starts about 3 miles south of downtown.
• Mission San José is about 2.5 miles further and has the park visitor center.
• Mission San Juan is about 3 miles past San José.
• Mission Espada is the farthest south.

(NPS basic info)

Hours: daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. The outdoor grounds are open sunrise to sunset. The park is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day (hours).

Cost: free. You don't need an entrance pass (fees).

How long to allow: The NPS suggests 3–4 hours for the whole park. Plan 1½–2 hours at San José and the visitor center, about 30 minutes or less at each of the other three missions, and about 30 minutes each for the Espada Dam and the Espada Aqueduct.

Mission San José: start here

6701 San Jose Drive. Founded in 1720, the "Queen of the Missions" is the largest and most fully restored site. Works Progress Administration crews rebuilt its walls, granary, and parts of the church in the 1930s, so it's your best picture of a walled mission community.

The visitor center has a museum, a park store, and a free 23-minute film, Gente de Razón. English showings run on the hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Spanish showings run on the half hour from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (visitor centers).

Free ranger-guided walks leave from the visitor center patio daily at 10 and 11 a.m., weather permitting. They last about 45 minutes, follow a fully paved route, and are wheelchair accessible. Each walk is capped at 50 people, first come, first served. Extreme heat can cancel programs. You might also run into rangers demonstrating the atlatl, musket, or wool spinning around the park. Check the park calendar for other programs (guided programs).

Mission Concepción

807 Mission Road. This is one of the oldest unrestored stone churches in the United States. The mission moved here in 1731. Look up in the convento rooms for original fresco fragments, including the famous "Eye of God" on the library ceiling. It's the easiest add-on if you only have an hour.

Mission San Juan

9101 Graf Road. San Juan has a smaller church, a park museum, and mission ruins. The paved, quarter-mile Yanaguana Trail loops down to an original stretch of the San Antonio River. Behind the tree line, historic farm fields are still watered by acequias, the irrigation ditches the missions dug.

Mission Espada

10040 Espada Road. Espada is the southernmost and quietest of the four. Don't skip the nearby Espada Aqueduct, built between 1740 and 1745 to carry irrigation water over a creek. According to the NPS, Espada's acequia is the oldest such structure still in continuous use for irrigation.

Why it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site

UNESCO inscribed the San Antonio Missions in 2015. The listing covers all five mission complexes, the Alamo included, along a stretch of about 7.7 miles of the river basin, plus Espada's ranch, Rancho de las Cabras, about 37 km (23 miles) to the south.

UNESCO points to how Spanish and Coahuiltecan (and other Indigenous) cultures wove together here: church decoration that pairs Catholic symbols with designs from nature, and water systems that turned hunter-gatherer bands into farmers within a generation. It isn't a simple story, and the NPS's Espada page talks plainly about coercion, epidemics, and people leaving the missions.

If you're visiting between December 2026 and March 2027, the park runs free monthly ranger tours of Rancho de las Cabras near Floresville. The site is otherwise closed to the public, and reservations are required.

Getting there: trail, car, bus, or bike

Driving is the easiest way. The NPS says the drive from Concepción to Espada (about 6.5 miles) takes roughly 15 minutes, and every mission has free parking. Mission Road and Riverfront Parkway link them all (directions).

VIA bus: According to the NPS, VIA Metropolitan Transit's Route 42 serves only the two northern missions, Concepción and San José. Check VIA for current schedules before you count on it.

Mission Reach Hike & Bike Trail: This paved, car-free path follows the San Antonio River and connects the Alamo area with all four missions. Each mission sits a short spur off the main trail. Very little of the trail is shaded. The NPS recommends hiking or biking before 11 a.m. in hot weather and always carrying water. The trail can close temporarily when the river runs high.

Bike share: San Antonio BCycle is an electric bike-share system that connects the Alamo to all four missions. The NPS lists a docking station at or near each mission. As of October 2026:

• A 1-hour pass is about $15.
• A Day Pass is about $25 and covers unlimited trips of up to 1 hour each for 24 hours.
• Longer trips cost about $3.25 per extra 30 minutes.

So dock at each mission you visit and you'll stay within the time limit. You buy passes in the BCycle app (pricing). Inside the mission grounds, walk your bike on the sidewalks.

Suggested routes

Half day by car (about 3–4 hours)

1. Get to Mission San José by about 9:45 a.m. Join the 10 a.m. ranger walk, then catch the 11 a.m. film.
2. Drive north about 2.5 miles to Mission Concepción for the frescos.
3. If you have time, head south afterward to Espada and the aqueduct. Otherwise go back downtown for lunch.

Half day downtown (Alamo only)

1. Reserve your free church ticket or a guided tour for mid-morning.
2. Stay for the 11:30 a.m. musket firing, then walk the reopened Paseo del Alamo down to the River Walk for lunch.

Full day: all five missions

1. Morning: Start south while it's cool. Do the San José ranger walk at 10 or 11 a.m., then San Juan, Espada, and the aqueduct.
2. Early afternoon: Stop at Concepción on your way north.
3. Late afternoon: End at the Alamo, which stays open until 5:30 p.m. Book your timed church ticket for around 3:30–4 p.m. so you aren't rushing the last entry.

By bike instead? Pick up a BCycle downtown, ride south on the Mission Reach, and dock at each mission. All five in one day is a long ride, so be honest about your fitness or book a guided tour.

For a bigger plan that fits this into a longer trip, see our 3-day San Antonio itinerary.

Visiting respectfully: these are working churches

All four mission churches are active Catholic parishes with regular services in English and Spanish or bilingual (NPS). Weddings, baptisms, quinceañeras, and funerals happen often. If one is underway, the NPS asks visitors to stay out of the church.

When the church is open:

• Keep your voice low.
• Take your hat off.
• Be mindful of anyone praying.
• Photograph the building, not the people (NPS guidance).

The NPS also asks that you don't sit, stand, lean on, or climb the walls, some of which are more than 250 years old. Portrait and commercial photography need a park Special Use Permit.

Sunday Mass: Mission San José's parish lists Sunday Masses at 9 a.m. (English) and noon (Spanish, with a mariachi choir), plus a 5 p.m. Saturday Mass (parish schedule). The City's World Heritage Office also lists Sunday Masses at Concepción, San Juan, and Espada (schedule). Because church hours vary, the NPS recommends confirming directly with the parish. Contacts are on its church information page.

FAQ

Do I need tickets for the Alamo?

You need a free timed ticket to go inside the Alamo Church. Reserve it at thealamo.org or get one at an Alamo Welcome Center. Guided tours, the self-guided audio tour, and the Alamo Exhibit cost extra.

Is the new Alamo museum open?

No. The Alamo Museum and Visitor Center is scheduled to open in spring 2028. The current Alamo Exhibit in the Ralston Family Collections Center, with the Phil Collins Collection, is open daily.

Do the missions charge admission?

No. All four missions in San Antonio Missions National Historical Park are free, and so are the park film and ranger walks.

Which mission should I visit if I only have time for one?

Mission San José. It has the visitor center, the film, the daily ranger walks, and the most complete picture of mission life.

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