The Riverwalk is About to Light Up for Christmas
The Legendary San Antonio Riverwalk is set to light up for the Christmas season next month! The famous holiday lights on the River Walk will turn on this year on November 29, 2024, at their Annual Ford Holiday River Parade and will remain on from dusk to dawn nightly through January 5, 2025 at dawn.
The Riverwalk will be lighted with over 100,000 lights (2,250 strings of light) draped over the towering bald cypress trees that line the River Walk. As always, the Riverwalk is FREE. However, you do have to pay to park in downtown San Antonio!
@visitsanantonio ✨Holiday Lights are officially on through Jan. 7 2023 ✨ Experience over 100,000 lights (2,250 strings of light) draped over the towering bald cypress trees that line the River Walk. ❄️🎄✨ #SARiverWalk #VisitSanAntonio #sanantoniotiktok #holidaycountdown #riverwalksanantonio #christmas #holidaytiktok #christmaslights #riverwalkchicago #sanantonioriverwalk ♬ We Wish You A Merry Christmas (TikTok Version 1) - Elsa Japasal
Have You Ever Seen the Riverwalk Without Water?
For those of you who don't know, The San Antonio Riverwalk is drained every two years! Maintenance is scheduled bi-annually and is typically scheduled in January! This year it is scheduled to be drained from January 12-21, 2024. The question then becomes, what do you find in the river?
@treywilsonattorneytx Time for and maintenance. Crazy what they find down there. Soneone has a rough ride on a #birdscooter#mud#tourism#emptyriver#texas#cleaning#maintenance#walk#stroll#river#sanantonio#riverwalk♬ Hooligang - Joey Valence & Brae
According to the sa.gov website, Public Works and Center City Development & Operations work together to maintain the San Antonio River Walk. Through maintenance, they can improve water quality and ensure the structural integrity of the main river channel, river loop, and extension areas. Check out the map of river closures.
Just so you know, the Riverwalk is more than an attraction.
KWSanAntonio offers a great read on 15 things you might not know about the Riverwalk including that the Riverwalk serves as an important drainage and floodgate system for the city of San Antonio. Check this out! Nearly 50 people were killed in 1921 as a result of a downtown flood in San Antonio! So, the Riverwalk started as an idea for a drainage system incorporating the San Antonio River. That was before Robert Hugman introduced the idea of having an intricate floodgate system that doubled as a "marquee urban walk space."
Luckily for the over 14 million visitors to the Riverwalk annually, Hugman had the idea and proposal that we save the river from turning into a big drainage ditch!
Funky Finds At the Bottom of the SA River Riverwalk
Gallery Credit: Youtube/Jigging with Jordan