Goliad State Park
In February, Landon and his father started training for the Texas Water Safari. It’s a 260-mile canoe race that runs from San Marcos, TX to the Gulf of Mexico. Their training plan had them paddling weekday mornings and most weekends. While I had been doing my best to be supportive, they had been training EVERY Saturday. So I pitched a compromise: “How about we go camping somewhere you can paddle?”
Our go-to river parks, Palmetto State Park and Guadalupe River State Park, were completely booked, so we decided try Goliad State Park! Neither of us had ever heard of it, but it advertised that it had a paddling trail. So Friday came, and we loaded up the camping gear and a canoe and headed South.
We arrived at the park around 4pm. We drove through a couple of lovely campgrounds on the way to ours, the Jacales Camping Area, which turned out to be a giant parking with fields on two sides. No trees in sight. Thank goodness it was still cool outside!
After locating our campsite, which was about 20 yards from the parking lot, Landon started unloading our gear. A helpful park ranger came by and demanded that my husband relocate our vehicle another 20 feet further from our campsite. After some negotiations, he decided to allow Landon to unload all of our stuff onto the ground but insisted that Landon could not walk it to the campsite until the car had been moved.
So I decided to help. After carrying two folding chairs, I was exhausted! This pregnancy was really taking a toll on my endurance! But just then fortune’s wheel took a dramatic turn for the better–a cub scout walked up and asked if he could help. Within minutes a pack of cub scouts had transported our giant pile of possessions the 20 yards to our campsite.
That evening, as the weather began to cool, we made a nice fire, grilled steaks, made s’mores, and tucked in for the night.
The next morning, we went for a hike along the San Antonio River. The trail was relatively flat and well shaded. Unfortunately, a recent flood had destroyed the park’s dock, and the bank down to the river was extremely steep, too steep to easily put in a canoe. Too bad for Landon! So we went fishing instead.
On our way back to our campsite, we ran into Landon’s distant uncle. It turns out, his grandson was part of the cub scout pack that helped us the day before. It turns out the Diocese of Victoria was hosting a cub scout camporee and had rented out most of the Jacales Camping Area. He invited us to Mass that evening. It was absolutely lovely.
After Mass, the cub scouts built a large bonfire and one of them figured out that it was my oldest, Charlie’s, four-year-old birthday. Next thing I knew, one of the scouts had hoisted charlie onto his shoulders, and they started parading him around the fire as the sang happy birthday. It made his night!
The next morning, we went for a walk around the mission before we headed back to Austin.
General Thoughts on the Park
Goliad State Park is a quaint little park park on the banks of the San Antonio River. The park is relatively flat, making hiking with children a breeze. We encountered few spiky plants and didn’t see any poison ivy. Our toddlers came back with fewer bumps and scrapes than usual.
Campsite Recommendations
The park contains four different camping areas: Karankawa, Vaquero, Longhorn, and Jacales (see map). The Vaquero and Longhorn areas are tent only; however they do not have bathrooms. The Karankawa and Jacales have RV hookups and each has a bathroom with showers
I would recommend trying to get a campsite in the Vaquero tent camping area. It is well shaded, the campsites are a good size, and it is a pretty good distance from US 183. Unfortunately, it is also a pretty good distance from the nearest bathroom.
The Longhorn Tent Camping area is equally beautiful, but it is a bit closer to US 183. On the plus side, it is much closer to a shower-less bathroom. Both areas have only seven campsites.
The Karankawa camping area is in the middle of the park. It has 50 amp electric service so it is mostly full of RVs. As the Karankawa campground is away from the river, the tree are much shorter, however, there is still a moderate amount of shade. It also has bathroom with showers and a playground.
The Jacales camping area (where we camped) was less than ideal. The whole campground is built around a large parking lot. The tent camping area is a grassy field with some sheltered picnic tables. While the shelters offer some shade, there is absolutely no privacy. I would recommend booking a site at one of the other camping areas if possible.
Kid Friendly Activities
The park is surrounded by the San Antonio River, so there are plenty of good spots to fish with in walking distance from each of the camping areas. Plus, since it is a state park, no license is needed!
Mission Espiritu Santu is located within the park and in easy walking distance from the Vaquero and Karankawa campgrounds. It was built in 1749 to serve the Karankawa Indians and restored by the CCC in the 1930s. While it only kept our sons’ attentions for a half-hour, it was still worth the walk from our campsite.
Presidio La Bahia is across the river from the park. Another 18th Century Spanish fort, it was the site of the Battle of Goliad and later the infamous Goliad Massacre. The museum and grounds have enough cannons and weapons to capture the attention of any small child. Also, Mass is celebrated in the fort’s chapel on Sundays at 5pm.
