The October “Ring of Fire” Eclipse started off the coast of Texas at the Mustang Island State park, and then more-or-less followed I-37 to San Antonio (with a better duration on southern Bexar county), and kept following I-10 out of town for some miles into the Texas hill country.
This April 8 2024 eclipse hits land in the Americas a Mazatlán, Mexico, moves towards Durango, Mexico, to Piedras Negras, Mexico, and hops the border to Eagle Pass, Texas, USA. Then it will continue to cover the northwest third of San Antonio, the northwest half of Austin, all of Waco and then all of Dallas, while continuing it’s path to Canada and back to the ocean.
From a geological/meteorological point of view, your safer bets to see the eclipse without cloud cover interference is to stay south, near the desert area, like in Mexico, or the Eagle Pass area. The farther northwest you go on the path, the more cloud risk is there. When I saw the eclipse in a small town in Missouri in 2017, I barely saw anything because the clouds were so thick.
The eclipse that is coming up is going to make the San Antonio area pretty special. It is not normal for any city to two two eclipses just some months apart. I have even heard from one San Antonian that “eclipses happen all the time,” so they weren’t going to stop working to take the day off. My dad too will be working from home as he does not have PTO, but at least he can use his lunch break to step into his back yard and see a 2-minute eclipse. Eclipses don’t happen all the time. Our next shot at a total eclipse for Texas will be in 2052 and only be in Brownsville, Texas, the gulf of Mexico, and Florida.
This April 8 2024 eclipse is going to be a TOTAL eclipse. It will be different from the 2023 ring of fire eclipse. This one will have the moon closer to the Earth, and the sun is in a solar-maximum phase. When the sun blocks the moon, you will see the rays of light and sun’s corona, unlike the “ring of fire,” which looked like, well, a ring. I tried to see the total eclipse in 2017, but the cloud cover blocked too much to see the magical part.
Yes the magical part is worth driving to the better part of town, to the Hondo area, or to the Kerville area. It’ll be the shortest 2, 3, or 4 minutes of your life.
There are a lot of click-bait headlines trying to scare people away from the eclipse path to stay home, but I myself plan to go.
When I went to the 2017 eclipse, my friend and I went to an event at a native american casino. The place was using their large field as make-shift parking, and getting some easy money with parking fees. I am really thankful to them for opening up their land to let visitors from all over the world come to gaze at the eclipse together. It is alright to see an eclipse alone in your backyard or in a parking lot at a gas station, but being at a public event is so much more fun. Everyone was just happy to be alive and to be there. Everyone was playing around, being goofy, scrolling along the river, and people-gazing too.
I have found that the Texas hillcountry and come across as a bit hostile when wanting visitors.
- I myself wanted to rent out some land to have a public party. One place I called said they were shutting down for business; it was a vineyard with a huge open field, and locked EV chargers. It was also under the heart of the totality umbra. They did not want to deal with the people and did not plan to open.
- Another place I know if locking down their neighbourhood streets to the public; they do not want people parking in their neighbourhood to look at the eclipse.
- Another place wanted $10,000 to rent their land. It just was not worth it. I figured at most I could sell tickets for maybe $20-30 a pop, but I would have to work so much to organize an eclipse party, and likely lose money on the event, so I passed on that idea and decided to observe it privately.
That is why, public domain spaces and places that are welcoming to the eclipse are going to be that much more important. The umbra is a narrow strip of land, and not everyone can get to it. People are flying from all over the world to see the eclipse, seeing it in a group space, and in a safe space is important. It saddens me that so many San Antonians plan to work a normal day at work on this day, and can’t stop to appreciate the wonders of nature. I am not even sure how many aliens out there get to see a perfectly sized and distanced moon/satellite eclipse their home-star.
Some things you may want to consider when choosing where you will go to view the solar eclipse:
- Privacy VS Community – Do you want to be around crowds of people? Sometimes the experience can be enhanced to share the excitement, but if people get to rowdy or you just like quiet, trying to pick a low-traffic area is best.
- Bathrooms – We are all human, so make sure there is access to bathrooms. There was one a time some of my college friend met up at a city park and my friend discovered the toilet was literally overflowing with poo, and the businesses across the street only allowed bathroom usage with a purchase, so don’t always assume you have a place to go.
- Accessibility – If someone in your group needs a walker or wheelchair, some of the free + rustic locations won’t be safe for that person. You’ll probably have to stick to parks with pavement.
- Cost & Experience – I am listing free and low cost places below. Of coarse there are higher-end and more fancy experiences. Just skimming EventBrite, I saw events running $20, $45, and $200 per person, like to view the eclipse from downtown sky scrappers. There is an experience type for everyone. If you are someone who wants access to cold beverages served to you, just showing up and expecting to be catered to, or even a child-free event, you can probably find those on those downtown roof tops. The free events are going to be more work for you and will require more planning from you.
- Set a Timer so you Don’t Damage Your Eyes – Look the the eclipse duration for where you will be here: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2024-april-8. Use the pinpoint to look up the exact duration of the eclipse. Subtract 5 or 10 seconds from that duration. When totality starts (when the moon is completely covering the sun), you can pull off your glasses and look at the eclipse with your naked eyes but first start the timer so you can know when the eclipse is finishing and you can put your safety glasses back on.
Other things to remember:
- If you have a DSLR camera:
- Charge your DSLR camera, make room on the memory card.
- Make sure you put your camera on a tripod, if available use a shutter release attachment.
- If you are photographing before totality, make sure to use a camera eclipse cover.
- Sun screen – I got sun burnt during the last eclipse, even though the sun is covered, it is still a super powerful star that will burn you, no matter your race.
- Stock-up early – Gas, water, snacks, and those eclipse sun glasses will potentially sell out. Buy what you need and bring it in.
- Bring cash – Credit card readers could go down, and it is good to have a back-up plan.
Potential Places to See the April 8, 2024 Eclipse
Texas State Parks
The eclipse that is coming up is going to cover some Texas State Parks like:
Kickapoo Caverns State Park
Many people come to this park to see the bats or the cave, but there is plenty of stuff to look at above ground.
Government Canyon State Park
Just beyond the city of San Antonio, this is a quick drive and a great place to see the eclipse if you are normally living/working on the southeast part of town.
It is really close to civilization and a pretty accessible park. Some parts are easily walkable, to even someone with bad knees if you stick to the headquarters or directly near the picnic areas. There is even an outdoor amphitheater area which could be cool to pay on the stone seating and look up at the sky.
If you are willing and able, you can hike to a clearing in the woods. Some clearings are natural, while some are made by controlled burns. This will give you a pretty clear view of the eclipse. There are also many benches to stop and sit at along the trails.
Again, pack water because some of the trails are pretty long. Also, watch out for snakes; this is their home.
Inks Lake State Park
I won’t bother looking up reservations slots, but this is in the heart of the dead center line of totality. If you have any public domain way of getting to the lake, go for it.
There are some picnic areas close to the park, so have a look on Google maps and see if you can park there.
Enchanted Rock State Park
This park is super close to the center of totality and will get a whopping 4 minutes and 26 seconds of darkness. It is surely booked out, but if you get to hike up the Enchanted Rock to see totality, man, that would be quite a moment to live. There are plenty of ground-level places to look up like the lake behind the rock, or “crystal hill,” but since this is likely booked, I am sure you’ll probably want to scroll on.
Garner State Park
This park is fairly manicured, meaning there is a lot of brush that is cleared out, formal picnic tables, and bathrooms.
Another cool thing about this is the Rio Frio river (formerly called kwana pekwasʉ); you can potentially view the eclipse from the river as long as you are wearing plastic glasses (paper ones might get wet).
My family used to swim in the area near the camp grounds, as it was more interesting than the ‘safe’ dammed up water in the day-use picnic grounds. The day use picnic grounds are a great place for young kids, or people with mobility issues to stay safe.
- Free access –
- If you did not get in to the park itself, you can try your luck at the picnic area, just north of the park.
- My parents also used to park at the bridge of 1050 where it intersects with the Rio Frio and walk onto the public domain river access when we were kids which is free as long as you stay in and near the river.
Llano River State Park
Hill Country State Natural Area
- If you do get in and are able-bodied to hoof-it, following the trail up the West Peak Overlook trail would be fun. You’d plant yourself on top of the hill, and a bit closer to the eclipse by a few feet. At the top loop, there are a few clearings you can set up a tripod and stay on the trail.
- If you are looking for a less upward hiking, the Spring Branch trail, between Mardone Trail and the Bar-O trail has one rocky area that the trail intersects with, so you can stay on-trail, and not stomp on the wild flowers.
- An easier hill top would be the Comanche Bluff overlook. It is a super short hike.
Pretty much unless you booked a reservation, don’t count on getting in.
Also, there is nothing wrong with staying near the parking areas, where there are picnic tables, and bathrooms!
Los Maples
This is another rustic area. I can’t remember any picnic tables myself, but there could be a few out there. The hiking trails can get pretty rustic, so make sure you bring shoes with tread and make skip this park if grandma is with the group.
There are a lot of trees, so you might have trouble seeing the sky clearly unless you can find a clearing or river bed.
City / County / Regional Parks
There are also some city or regional parks you can visit:
Utopia City Park (with a river and dam)
This is a small city park, but it is beautiful. It is smack in the middle of the eclipse trail.
For my family, we considered this a great place to swim when I was a kid. At that time, park entry was free, but they started charging entry fees sometime when I was an adult, so my family stopped going there all but one time after that.
I’d mostly consider this a rustic park. To get to the water, you have to shimmy down a slope, which might not be easy for people with mobility issues. The highlight of the park is the dam. You can swim above or below the dam, and it is fun on either side.
There are a few tables that I remember there. I don’t think there were any bathrooms (unless they added some).
It would be nice to watch the eclipse from the water if you have plastic eclipse glasses, otherwise if there are no baseball games, you can probably watch the eclipse from there as well.
Castroville Regional Park
This is a great place to watch the total eclipse.
It has a mix of river, shade, and open fields. You can escape being sunburnt in the trees, and walk into the large open field to get a clear view of the sky for the eclipse action.
There are picnic tables on-site. You are supposed to pay at the park entrance if you are going to use a table. If you do not use an on-site table, you do not need to pay. There is also a great hiking trail that goes up a hill to overlook much of the park. At the top is an oddly placed cross, if that is your thing. You can also see the back end of the river as it snakes around the park.
There is also a large pond to check out too!
Technically, I think it is advised that you not swim there, but no one is enforcing anything.
Kerrville City Parks
The city is going all out for this. They are closing some public streets, to make the space more pedestrian friendly. They are chalk full of parks that are easy for grandma and kiddos to enjoy.
This is probably a an excellent choice if you have not reserved entry to anywhere else. It is very close to the line of totality and will get 4 minutes and 25 seconds of darkness +/- depending on the park you end up in.
Not all parks have bathrooms, so definitely check Google maps and plan ahead.
Bandera City Park
Long ago my mom’s grandma had a riverside house. It flooded, she died, along with my mom’s cousin. After that, the City bought all the houses along the river bank and turned it into a park. Supposedly, the former house would be where bathrooms now are.
This park is small and peaceful. There are plenty of places to park your car, and your family at a picnic table. There are also plenty of ducks and ducklings. There are on-site bathrooms, trash cans, and grills.
The trees are kind of tall and thick, so you might have some trouble seeing the sun easily, but I think it can be done. Overall, this is a great place for a family to eclipse chase.
During good times, you can swim in the water, but this (2023) summer the swimming was suspended due to lack of flow putting human health at risk.
The city park will get 4 minutes and 4 seconds of total, perfect, darkness. This is a great place to see the eclipse. I mean, for losing about 20 seconds from the dead center line, 4m/42 is pretty good. It’ll be the shortest 4 minutes of your life. 🙂
There is an entry fee to go to the park. I don’t always remember it being that way, but I think you have to pay to enter at certain times/days. I think when I discovered they started charging, that ended up being the last time I stopped by there.
San Antonio City Parks – Free
Basically any city park will do, but I will list out a few that I personally like. San Antonio City Parks are free for general walk-in access, which is a great price for many people. I have not personally been to every city park, but I think they all have parking lots.
Culebra Creek Park
In terms of having a clear, unobstructed view of the sky, I think Culebra Creek Park is a great choice. The biggest part of the park is an open field with cut alien grass. There is a kids play area (I haven’t looked at too closely), and there is my favourite part, the wooded area with Culebra creek. The woods are not that big; you’ll quickly find yourself looking at the back of a Walmart if you trek the pathways.
In terms of eclipse chasing with young kids and the grandparents, this is very accessible. I myself don’t recall bathrooms there, but you could potentially pick up a smoothie or ice cream at one of the nearby shops and use the bathroom. There are a very limited number of built-in picnic tables, so plan on bringing your own if you need one. Bring your own blanket or chair to sit on.
This park has a formal parking lot, but if parking is packed, you can park on the side of the sleepy road.
Lackland Corridor Gateway Park
This is a tiny park, but it is convenient. Just exit off highway 90 and you have quick access to a slice of nature. There is a bit of water from Leon creek, and some spectacular birds. If you don’t feel safe taking your grandparents anywhere too rustic, this could be an option. The parking lot is paved and the walkways are paved. There is not a whole lot to the park, but you do get a clear view of the sky. It might be cool to stand under that strange statue and get a photo of the eclipse through the gap.
There are a few picnic tables but not many. Bring chairs.
You won’t have a long duration for totality, but you will get 100% coverage here. You’ll only get 53 seconds of totality. If you have a car, I’d really recommend driving farther west on highway 90, perhaps to Castroville. Even simply getting past 1604 on highway 90 will give you a minute more of duration; heck, just park in one of those neighbourhoods out there.
Friedrich Wilderness Park
This park, for being part of the San Antonio metropolis get a decent amount of time in darkness: 2 minutes and 44 seconds. That is a real recent amount of time to see the eclipse, especially while not having to drive out anywhere to laborious.
This is a rustic park on the far north side of San Antonio. It is a small sanctuary for nature, as everything around it has been bulldozed in the name of progress. There is a small well onsite, but I did not find it very interesting. The trails here are pretty rough the farther you go in, so unless you have good footing, this won’t be for you, You might even have to scoot on your butt on some of the areas to move down inclines. You might notice from my photos how the trail starts paved, then goes into a gravel path and then gets more rough.
There are actually a lot of trees here, but if you can get to the end with a clearing, it might be a good spot to see the eclipse, being close to civilization but with a bit of free privacy.
Denman Estate Park
This park will have totality for 1 minute and 46 seconds. It is not a whole lot, and it you can you should drive of to Friedrich park, but it this is the best you can drive to on your lunch break, take what you can get.
This park has a pond in the center of it, with a peninsula. The peninsula might actually be the best viewing spot in the park as there are many trees in the park, The peninsula is a break from the trees. There are also a lot of ants scavenging for food on the peninsula, but they don’t bite; they seem only looking for food scraps.
There are a few picnic tables through the park as well and plenty of on-site parking. If worst comes to worst, you can surely park in the sleepy neighbourhood road.
Heritage Duck Pond Park
Totality will be 1 minute and 46 seconds. You’d probably be better served to drive farther west or north, but if you have an old grandpa and you live just outside of the totality zone, this is a decent amount of time to see the eclipse.
Even though this is in a neighbourhood, it is indeed a city park. There is not much to the park, but it is another option to consider if you are just looking to wedge your way into a free spot to view the ring of fire eclipse.
As the name reveals, the star of this park is the duck pond. Somehow with all the pullution and humans around, these ducks manage to find a home here. The ducks may keep you entertained why the slow eclipse process takes place. There is a small playground and some covered picnic tables, to escape from gettting too much sun. I can’t say I remember a parking lot here. Any time I drove by, it always seemed like parallel street parking was the go-to option. Heck, you can even take the city bus to this park if you don’t have a car.
Camargo Park
This park barely makes the cut, but yes, it is in the line of 100% totality. Totality will only be 25 seconds here, so honestly, you would be better off going to a more west bound location, like the Castroville regional park.
I have not been here since highschool, but I will try to remember this one… This is a small park and highly manicured or civilized, so if you have a baby stroller or walker, you can probably shuffle around here just fine. There are generous picnic tables, so you can probably snag a spot to sit. There is a covered area (again, if you need to take a break from the sun). The playground will probably be good to keep the kids entertained if the slow moving eclipse is too boring for them.
This park is a great green-island in the sea of houses that surround it, and is adjacent to Leon Creek.
Parks Not in the 100% coverage zone:
DO NOT GO HERE. You will be just outside the totality line. It is worth driving to the northwest side of town.
- Brackenridge Park – DO NOT GO HERE.
- Hemisfair Park / Tower of Americas – DO NOT GO HERE.
- Alamo Plaza – DO NOT GO HERE.
- Mahncke Park – DO NOT GO HERE.
- Comanche Lookout Park – DO NOT GO HERE.
- Japanese Tea Gardens – DO NOT GO HERE.
Public Domain Rivers / Hill Country Areas
There are some public domain parks you can visit.
These are some public domain areas that are free to access. Generally, you park on the side of the road and walk in, but keep an eye out for signs banning parking.
Generally, Texas allows for public access of rivers, and river beds a few feet out; this includes dry river (or lake) beds. Just make sure you don’t trespass private non-river land to get there. Once you are on the river, you are clear. No person can own the river or create their own blockage of the river. You also have portage rights to go on land to go around dams or other obstructions. See the Texas parks and wildlife for their advisement.
New Ingram Dam (public domain access to the Guadalupe river)
This is the BEST place of my list to see the eclipse and this is where I plan to be. The center of the line of totality crosses over the New Ingram Dam and gets a whopping 4 minutes and 27 seconds of totality.
This place has no designated parking. You are also not allowed to park on the side of the road immediately next to the river. So you essentially have to park at the Dam Store and pay them $8 to park. (The dam store may very well increase parking prices for the eclipse day.) Aside from paying for parking, walking into the “park” is free. There is an on-site grill, two picnic tables under a few frees, and a small dock. There is also one trash can.
The bulk of this area is the dam itself. This is not a safe place for grandma/pa to walk. Even adults and teens slip on the spill over area. Heck, it is so slippery that kids will slide their butts down the dam waterway.
The area immediately near the dam top is blockaded for swimmers only, but some jet skiiers do “accidently” pass over the safety line sometimes. Also some boats kiss the borderline and create kind of annoying wakes. Generally, the best times to go to this area are during work days, or dusk. Since you are looking for an eclipse viewing though, you can expect it to be crowded. This dam is actually right under the eclipse line.
There are no park bathrooms, so maybe you can haggle with the Dam Store. I normally use to bathroom at the Stonehenge place to change, which is like a tourist area.
There is a nearby food truck and pizza shop too.
There is also a rope you can swing off into the water on the far end of the dam.
If you plan to go here, plan to have to find a neighbourhood to park at, or the side of the road (where legal) and walk to the dam. This is really the ultimate best place to see the eclipse for free. I suspect that the high school may offer paid parking (it’d be great money for the school); the totality line goes directly over their football field as well, so try parking near the football field if you have a shot!
Texas Stonehenge
This place has on-site parking and is welcoming to tourist. The stonehenge is open and you can walk right in (check their website ahead in case they have special eclipse pricing). Even if you have bad knees, you can walk in as there is no incline or steps. There are bathrooms in the large building next to the parking lot. You can even snoop around and look at the Guadalupe river.
The Dried-Up Medina Lake Bed (public domain river)
Totality will last 3 minutes, 44 seconds.
The Medina Lake bed is public domain. You can drive or walk down into the lakebed, free of charge and get unobstructed views of the sky. Since the water is supposed to be there, there are no trees in the lake bed. The one good thing about the drought is you get access to the lake bed! The north end of the dam is the dried up half, and the north end will have more totality duration.
If you do go with this plan, drive there as soon as possible and scope out where you will park, or which boat ramp you can access.
Make sure to use the bathroom at a local gas station.
I will share where I walk in, but you can walk in or drive in other places as well.
Tube on the Medina or Guadalupe river.
Texas Bathroom stop between Kerrville and Boerne
This spot gets 4 minutes and 23 seconds of totality. That is just a few seconds less than the dead center line.
Heading towards San Antonio from Kerville is a rest stop (and there is one on the opposite side). The rest stop has bathrooms and a picnic area. If you are looking for a free and easy place to pull over to see the eclipse, this could be it.
There are a few picnic tables and some vending machines. There is also an RV hook-up area.
Scenic Overlook Between Ingram and Kerrville
I have tried stopping here, but it is cluttered with big rigs. If you can wedge your way in here, there are some good views supposedly. There are also a few picnic tables. There are no bathrooms; (just drive down the road to the above mentioned rest stop).
Hey, it is free.
Texas Picnic Area Between Hondo and Bandera
This space gets 3 minutes and 44 seconds in totality.
This is truly a magical place, and it is likely still closed. For no clear reason, it closed when the pandemic started and all Texas parks were shut down, and this never opened again!
I still stop at the entryway though. This little point is far enough away from the light pollution of San Antonio, Hondo, and Bandera that you cans see the milky way. I went here to spot a comet during the pandemic.
When you can access it, the views are breath taking. I swear this is a destination into itself, and yet it is a free picnic area. (I have to dig my photos off an old hard drive sometime.) The stone picnic tables are on the top of a hill and you can see for miles! There are also on-site trash bins.
You used to be able to google map travel to the spot, but even that is is shut down too. 🙁
I can’t think of a better place to see the eclipse. Here’s to hoping it opens up again.
English Crossing (public domain river)
This is a river that intersects with a public road, so again, that means public domain access to the water.
Careful to observe the parking signs. Don’t park too close to the river as local cops will ask you to move or give you a ticket. Once you park and walk down to the river, there is a rocky river bed that you can set up your chairs at.
There are no bathrooms, and entry is free.
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