The San Antonio Missions NHP is a little misleading, its not one place. Its 4 missions and they are 3 miles apart. So yes you have to drive to see them all, but it is well worth it. We happened to be visiting on a Sunday and the bells were ringing and I thought that was awesome they still ring the bells. But I kept seeing people walking up to the mission in dress clothes and going in. We walked up to the doors and someone asked if we wanted to come in and I realized they were having church. All 4 of the missions still have services in them. If you are looking for a visitor center it is at the Mission San Jose Church.

In town to visit the Spanish Missions. I teach 7th grade Texas history, so I decided to make the trip out from Houston. I am glad I did, but I wish I wore more comfortable shoes. I got a ton of great pictures, and it was fun to make history real. I am looking forward to bringing it all home to my students. A few recommendations: 1. Wear comfortable shoes and dress comfortably - it is a lot of walking. 2. Expect to make a day of it. 3. Bring water 4. Enjoy the history

We enjoyed our visit to the Missions National Historical Park. It was very educational. The rangers were pleasant and helpful. We recommend visiting at least Mission San Jose first before The Alamo. You will learn about the time of the missions. This is well worth your time to visit!

Fun hour walk through the entire complex. Much has been preserved or restored. The church is still functioning. Great visitor center with park rangers that can help answer questions. Free entrance and parking was plentiful.

Beautifully preserved/restored 18th century Catholic missions, still operational churches today. Beautiful artwork and solemn, contemplative atmosphere with some playing Gregorian Chant to enhance the experience. Each has a small museum detailing the origin, history and culture of the time period. A great way to spend the day, whether driving, biking or, for the stout hearted, hiking. Well maintained grounds and trail system. Knowledgeable and friendly staff, both park service and parishioners, are there to provide in depth information to supplement the museums.

Unesco heritage sites are always worth it--and there are not too many in the United States. We really enjoyed our visit to the Missions Historical Park. Even though it's located inside the city and surrounded by homes and businesses on all sides, the park feels self contained, a beautiful greenbelt housing 4 missions. Each of the missions has something unique and all are worth visiting. Everything is free, and the missions are within a few miles of each other. We only had a limited amount of time, so we drove from mission to mission. It's nicely signed, you can't get lost. If we had more time, I would have loved to walk from one mission to the other. There is a visitor center at Mission San Jose, with a movie and ranger tours. So if you don't know much about missions, that's a good place to start to give some background. Also, as opposed to the Alamo, there were no lines here and no large crowds. By all means, see the Alamo, but the rest of the missions also deserve attention and are well worth a visit.

Wow!! This is almost worth a special vacation just to see these 4 missions. I only knew about the Alamo in the area so finding out about these missions was a definite plus. The park rangers are very helpful and knowledgeable. My goodness the rangers were great here. The fact that these buildings still hold worship services still floors me.

We visited the San Jose Mission. I thoroughly enjoyed the site. The mission is large and the site was not crowded. The park was free to enter and parking was free too. If you enjoy photography, architecture, or history, this is a good site to visit. The stone arches by the church make for a great spot to take photos. The highlight of this site was the church sanctuary. It was open to visitors, and was serene and peaceful. I would highly recommend this site.