The New River Walk extension,: a mini trip report

San Antonio opened the new, much heralded northern extension of the River Walk last weekend. I waited until yesterday to walk it, then was so impressed with what I found I brought my husband back this morning to walk it again.

It is incredible. Although just open a week, it looks as if it%26#39;s been completed for ages. The landscaping was put in as fairly mature plants--large palms, purple fountain grass and other ornamental grasses, hibiscus with flowers the size of plates, lantana and other flowering perrenials that do well in this area, lining all the banks the entire distance.

There are several artwork installations, but my favorite is a school of 25 4%26#39; parrot fish, suspended by (barely visible) wires from the underside of a bridge. My DH noticed that there were electrical boxes mounted under the bridge too, with a wire leading to each fish, so they will be lit from within at night, but even in the day they are just beautiful with the same luminescence the fish have in the Caribbean. Other installations under bridges will be better seen at night I suspect, but the fish are gorgeous and a nice surprise in the day as well.

There are several small pond areas off the side of the river with aqueduct systems similar to those actually used in the historic missions south of the city, bringing water to them. The pond areas are planted with water lilies and other water plants. There%26#39;s an area with a grotto, complete with stalactites, that%26#39;s nice for sitting and resting in the shade near the museum. There are a couple of side waterfalls there and at other spots on the river. At the far end, on Saturdays there%26#39;s a new farmers market at the restored Pearl Brewery (where I got a beautiful yellow double stemmed phaleonopsis last weekend for a very reasonable $30). There%26#39;s a shop there selling goods similar to that found in El Mercado as well. The brewery restoration is a work in progress.

You can travel the new extension by riverboat, in which case you have to go through one lock...a lot of fun to watch as the boats are lifted about 10%26#39; to continue on their journey up river, taking less than 4 minutes from the time they get into the lock to the point the water has filled it and they are ready to leave at the new level. There are walkways along the top of the locks for those on foot to stop and enjoy the process. There%26#39;s been a boat in the lock each of the 4 times I%26#39;ve been past, so they must run fairly frequently, at least on weekends.

You can also do the entire length on foot as we did, or bike, as many others were doing. We began near the Valencia Hotel for those familiar with the area, and walked up and back, a distance of a bit more than 5 miles--made so enjoyable by the artwork, the landscaping and all the smiling faces of others out to see the new project, and likewise delighted and amazed with what they found.

At this point anyway, the other people you%26#39;ll see along the river are primarily residents, not many tourists yet, although that will come. So will the restaurants and more development I%26#39;m sure. Already some enterprising soul has set up white tented picnic tables where you can get bar service from a nearby club, and the old historic VFW post has tables set out where they%26#39;ll serve beer from 2 PM to closing.

Anyway, kudos to the city for a fantastic job, well above and beyond what was called for. It is a terrific addition to the city for both residents and tourists, and such a feather in Mayor Hardberger%26#39;s cap. Hopefully there will be more found money some day for the completion of the extension south from the city too, to the missions. This portion was a 72 million dollar project, funded primarily by the bed tax, but some aspects (the lock system for instance) underwritten by corporations too. (AT%26amp;T in the case of the locks). Job well done, and for anyone coming to San Antonio, it%26#39;s something well worth seeing. Our beautiful city just became even more so!

The New River Walk extension,: a mini trip report

Thank you for your great report, OO. I have been following the development with great interest, and can%26#39;t wait to see it in person when we are in San Antonio (only 21 more day). What a great addition to San Antonio, and from what I understand there is more to come.

The New River Walk extension,: a mini trip report

There is more to come Shinerbock...they need more money though. It really makes me proud of the city for the job they did...not just completing it, but completing it fabulously.

I neglected to give the price in my first post. The RioTaxi ticket to ride this portion of the river is $10 pp, a little steep IMHO, but the ticket is a 24 hour pass, and can be combined with the ticket for the other portion of the river (though I don%26#39;t have that price). It was a lovely walk though, and the operation of the locks especially are something well worth seeing.

Great Job! Other cities come here to study the river to try to reproduce what we have. I just don%26#39;t think you can...needs to be small and intimate....Hillsborough River (Tampa) and Savannah River, both of whom have studied this, just don%26#39;t lend themselves well because of the size factor alone. It%26#39;s a treasure, for sure, and it got even better with the extension.

This link tells a bit more about the taxi...as well as describing how to hail them. http://www.ksat.com/news/19648588/detail.html

I really hope that the money issue is going to be resolved. I have looked at the designs, and love how they have managed to combine urban planning while at the same time it is going to have a positive impact on the eco system. I read that they even received an award for responsible urban planning. Great job, San Antonio, you can really be proud.

I just wished the authorities here would take a page out of your book. Urban planning here is horrible. It%26#39;s all about the bottom line without regard of the infrastructure, environmental impact, or aesthetics.

I really enjoyed your well written detailed report..It will give the locals like myself another reason to visit downtown as well as an added attraction for tourists..It seems to have been well thought out as opposed to many of our highway projects which seemed to be planned by 3 year olds..While living in Cali,I enjoyed visiting master planned communities like Irvine..

Good TR on the Riverwalk always one of my favorite places to visit will be there next w/e looking forward to see the extension.

Thank you for posting the report. We were in SA recently for only a day %26amp; must say we were very impressed with the %26#39;original%26#39;Riverwalk area. Whoever thought %26amp; actually built this was a genius, it%26#39;s so wonderful.

Can anyone tell me the details of when it was first conceived and constructed, who was the architect etc?

We were so impressed that we may fly back to SA in the future for another, longer, holiday.

I%26#39;d love to see the new extension when it%26#39;s fully established.

I%26#39;m glad you enjoyed yourself kencar, and hope you%26#39;ll come back for a longer stay. The architect was a man named Hugman, and the River Walk was first developed as a flood control project, with funding from the Depression era WPA, the ';economic stimulus plan'; of the 1930%26#39;s. Wikipedia has a nice concise history: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_River_Walk

The river flooded with some regularity before the project in the 30%26#39;s, but flood control is so complete now, (it includes a 3 mile tunnel that can divert water away from downtown San Antonio if necessary, as well as flood gates on both ends of the downtown section), that the river stays at a constant level, no matter the weather. The River Walk portion is drained once a year for a week in January for cleaning and necessary repairs. The job done in the 30%26#39;s has made downtown and San Antonio the tourist destination it is.

Thanks OO for the info %26amp; link.

We will indeed come back some time in the future. How long do you think before the new extension becomes fully operational with restaurants in place etc etc?

I don%26#39;t know, kencar, and today%26#39;s economy makes predictions even harder than normal. Our first walk there was the 2nd weekend it was open, then I was back the next weekend. Someone put some tent type structures up to serve beverages near the art museum our first weekend, obviously taking advantage of the crowds. There was a vending truck at another point selling ice cream type refreshments...it had just backed down a side street. The old VFW post (an interesting historic building) has its picnic tables for beer and wine, but they also had a smoker going last weekend. Anyone can go, but you must sign a guest book if not a member of the VFW post.

Currently the old Pearl Brewery at the farthest end is being renovated with some shops and at least one great restaurant coming in there--Andrew Wiseman who has the best restaurant in town, Le Reve, is putting another restaurant in the brewery complex. The developer has also planned a boutique type hotel for the area.

It would be decades before that stretch took on the appearance of the city part of River Walk, and maybe not even then. I doubt it will ever be jammed with businesses, but there is no doubt it will bring about some positive change to the area. Now you can take the new River Walk from the city to the art museum and the brewery (and farmers market) with plans to go even further eventually.