The San Antonio Mission trail is one of the longest trails in San Antonio, with impressive historical sites, and as such, it’s great for all-day riding, especially for beginners. It takes about four hours and 21 minutes to complete on average. Additionally, you get to go through all the five missions in San Antonio established in the 1700s.
The trails are wide and mostly paved, and while this may tempt you to whip out your road bike, several sections may need all-terrain tires and bikes. Also, if you’re visiting from out of town, there are bike rentals, so you don’t have to carry your bike all the way.
The San Antonio Mission trail starts at the parking lot off Felisa Street and remains adjacent to Mission Road for the first few miles. Given that it’s a loop, you should return to the parking lot once you’re done.
Unfortunately, there’s not much shade, so if you go in the summer, expect to experience some heat during the ride. However, there are several resting places along the way with benches and picnic tables.
It’s considered an easy trail, and the fact that most of the trail is a 5% grade or less means even novice bikers likely won’t have a hard time with it. The only challenge might be in the 13.9-mile total distance, although that’s why you have resting spots.
Once you get onto the eastern side of the trail, all-terrain tires become necessary, which is why taking a road bike might be a bad idea. Also, trail markings aren’t as many as we’d like for people new to the area. As such, you may need to be careful to avoid getting lost or exiting the trail unintentionally.
The missions are part of a National Park. That said, unless you plan on renting a bike instead of carrying yours, there aren’t any charges, and you can explore them at your leisure. Also, if you rent a bike at one mission, you can drop it off at other bike stations near the others and take a bus back.
The interesting parts of this trail include the missions, especially the unique Spanish architecture.
10 mi 
