park news

San Antonio swings into top 10 on new list of best Texas park systems

San Antonio has the sixth best park system in Texas.

San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department/Facebook

More bragging rights for San Antonio as a desirable place to live: The city has the No. 6 best park system in Texas this year, a new report says.

The Trust for Public Land's 2025 ParkScore report annually rates park systems in 100 of the largest American cities based on accessibility, equity, acreage, investment, and amenities.

Taking the top spot nationwide is Washington, D.C., for another consecutive year. Rounding out the top five cities with the best park systems are Irvine, California (No. 2); Minneapolis, Minnesota (No. 3); Cincinnati, Ohio (No. 4); and St. Paul, Minnesota (No. 5).

San Antonio ranked 57th nationally after ranking No. 53 last year, and 57th in 2023.

The city has an impressive amount of land dedicated to parks, totaling 28,842 acres, or about 9.1 percent of the total city area. The city invests $140 per resident on its acclaimed park system, compared to the national median $133 per resident.

According to Trust for Public Land's website, San Antonio has 356 parks for locals and visitors to enjoy.

San Antonio park playground San Antonio has many parks with playgrounds for families.San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department/Facebook

“Parks bring people together and deliver enormous physical and mental health benefits for visitors,” said Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, the president and CEO of Trust for Public Land. “At a time when so much in our nation seems fractured or polarized, parks may be the last ideology-free zones, where everyone can come together, form meaningful relationships, and enjoy a few hours of peace and relaxation."

The city still has room for improvement when it comes to accessibility, according to the report. Less than half of all San Antonians (47 percent) live within a half mile of a park. Nationally, 76 percent of Americans in the 100 most populous cities live within a 10-minute walk of a park on average.

Elsewhere in Texas
Dallas-Fort Worth cities dominated Parkscore's list of the best park systems in Texas for 2025. Plano, a Dallas suburb, ranked No. 1 statewide and 17th nationally this year, followed by Dallas in second place and 34th nationally. Landing in the third and fourth spots statewide are Frisco (No. 37 nationally) and Arlington (No. 46).

Austin rounded out the statewide top five and ranked 54th nationally.

Here's how other Texas parks ranked nationally in 2025:

No. 65 – El Paso
No. 66 – Houston
No. 67 – Garland
No. 72 – Fort Worth
No. 76 – Laredo
No. 77 – Corpus Christi
No. 94 – Lubbock
No. 99 – Irving

parkscore report bests lists san antonio green space parks

CITY NEWS

Travel + Leisure names San Antonio among best places to live in Texas

Photo by Katie Haugland/ San Antonio River Foundation

Travel + Leisure is once again putting San Antonio on the map.

The team at Travel + Leisure is giving San Antonio a big vote of confidence. The lifestyle magazine has named San Antonio the eighth best place to live in Texas, one of only two of the state’s major metros to make the list.

To compile the rankings, writer Amanda Ogle chatted with real estate experts from across the state. The list considered all aspects of the city’s quality of living, including entertainment options, dining, highly-rated schools, green spaces, and culture.

“As the second-largest city in Texas, San Antonio has more than 300 years of history, which can be observed through its numerous world-class museums, beautiful missions, and annual events like Fiesta Noche del Rio,” wrote Ogle. “There’s always something to do here, whether it’s tackling the local food scene…catching a San Antonio Spurs game…strolling the River Walk for shopping and dining, or taking the kids to city attractions like Six Flags Fiesta Texas and the DoSeum.”

Putting aside the fact that few locals actually stroll the River Walk, Ogle has a point. While one doesn’t have to do a deep dive to find Reddit posts bemoaning San Antonio’s lack of entertainment options, anyone braving downtown traffic on a weekend can see there’s plenty to do — even if national publications tend to only scratch the surface.

“San Antonio feels like it lacks things for young adults because it’s built more for families and tourists than a vibrant youth scene,” wrote one Reddit commenter. Nightlife is spread out, public transit is weak, and college life isn’t centralized, making spontaneous fun harder.”

Although it is easy for visitors to be enchanted with San Antonio’s many tourist attractions, the experience of living here is more niche. Alamo City is Fiesta and Spurs games, but it also has Michelin-starred restaurants, a spectacular art scene, and underground scenes devoted to oldies, nerd culture, and goth.

Still, we’ll take the honor. During the holidays, the River Walk is indeed spectacular, whether we stroll on it or not.

The best places to live in Texas, according to Travel + Leisure experts, include:

No. 1 — Fort Worth
No. 2 — Pflugerville
No. 3 — Frisco
No. 4 — Sugar Land
No. 5 — Round Rock
No. 6 — Plano
No. 7 — The Woodlands
No. 8 — San Antonio
No. 9 — McAllen
No. 10 — Flower Mound

reports nightlife best cities history culture green spaces entertainment rankings