Goliad State Park and Mission Espíritu Santo – Texas State Park 17/89

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The Deets

Goliad State Park is located in Goliad, TX. Goliad is a half-hour drive from Victoria, TX, and just under 2 hours from San Antonio, TX. This park may be small, but it has a great deal of history to offer. While visiting, you can hike and bike the few miles of trails, fish or paddle in the San Antonio River, bird watch, camp, and explore the historic CCC-built Mission Espíritu Santo. You can even book the Mission for your wedding! The park is open daily from 8 AM to 8 PM. The price of admission is $4 per adult and free for children under the age of 12 (or completely free for everyone if using a Park Pass).

The History

Goliad State Park has a long and interesting history. The major showcase of the park arrived in 1749. That year, the mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zuñiga (often referred to as Mission Espíritu Santo) was moved to Goliad. The Spanish settled Mission Espíritu Santo with the intention of saving souls (converting the Native American people) and colonizing the area. To put it mildly, it was a rough go. They had to build a separate mission farther away because the two local tribes hated each other so much and couldn’t stand to be in the same area. Mission Espíritu Santo was the first large-scale cattle ranch in Texas. Wild cattle were common in the area at the time, and the mission used them to their advantage. Not only did they have enough cattle to feed themselves, but they supplied other Spanish settlements as far away as Louisiana.

The mission closed its doors in 1830 and the compound fell into ruin. Not only was it subject to time and decay, but the town of Goliad actively encouraged its citizens to take and use stone from the mission. It was left completely in ruin.

The CCC Steps In

Fast forward to 1931. The city of Goliad gave the 276-acre area to the state of Texas, and a state park was born. Not only is this a CCC park, but it is also a CCC masterpiece. After a good deal of research, plans were put in place to rebuild the entire mission. Architects studied other Spanish missions that were still standing and made historically accurate plans for the rebuild. Then, the men got to work. What they produced is nothing short of astonishing. The mission stands, as accurately remade as possible, for all to enjoy. The architects planned to rebuild the entire complex, but all Civilian Conservation Corps projects were halted when WWII started gearing up. It’s a disappointment that all of the buildings weren’t finished, but I’d count us incredibly lucky to have what we’ve got.

Our Experience

We had a truly wonderful day. While walking up to the mission, we met a volunteer who was a wealth of knowledge. He shared so much with us about the original mission and all of the CCC’s work in recreating it. It was great to talk with him and learn more about what we were seeing.

All of the staff that we encountered were very friendly and made us feel most welcome. The facilities were clean and everything in the park was well maintained.

The birds here were insane! There were hundreds of birds, and they were beautiful to watch and listen to. If you’re a birder, this is a great park!

The Trails

There are only three trails at Goliad State Park. We hiked two in full and part of the third. The first trail we took was the Aranama Trail. It’s a short, quarter-mile loop. While it is short, it has quite a few stairs. There are two bridge areas, and both have steps down and back up again, so keep that in mind. It was a lovely trail, delightful and easy to walk.

The second trail we took was the San Antonio River Trail. It is a one-way, mile-long trail. This trail is very easy. It has very few inclines and is wide with even ground.

The third trail is the Angel of Goliad Hike and Bike Trail. It measures 2.5 miles one way and leads out of the park in both directions. You can take this trail from the Angel of Goliad statue, through Goliad State Park, and into the town of Goliad. It is paved and relatively flat. We used this trail to connect back into the park after finishing the San Antonio River Trail.

In all, we found these trails easy to walk and the scenery was enjoyable.

Our Takeaway

We absolutely recommend Goliad State Park. There is so much history to take in and you can easily fill a day here. We stayed far longer than we thought we would and enjoyed every minute. The mission was the showstopper for us. It’s simply incredible to marvel at what the CCC was able to reproduce. Definitely check it out.

Want to see the Goliad State Park in action? Check out our vlog episode for this park!
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy