I want some San Antonio experts to chime in here.

I go to San Antonio on business quite often, and my office is a block from the Riverwalk, so I usually go down to the Riverwalk to have lunch down there. I also visit the Riverwalk with family quite often.

However, is it me, or does it seem that the Riverwalk is often too crowded? There are times that we can't get into any restaurants, we can barely walk (we almost fell into the river because it was so crowded and people were pushing), and the experience is becoming uncomfortable. This is especially acute at holiday times but like I said, I've been there during the day on non-holidays, and it's still pretty crowded.

My question is:

Do you find the crowds on the Riverwalk have gotten too large? Has the Riverwalk outgrown itself? Will the proposed expansion cause dispersal of the crowds or just increase the visitors? Also, is there ever a time that it is unbusy? Perhaps in the summer at lunch?

I'm not complaining - I enjoy the Riverwalk even when it's crowded, but the scales could tip soon.

I can only speak from my own recent experience - several weekends ago - and I didn't find it too crowded at all. More like "nicely populated". I did wonder in general why we never hear about people falling in the river, but that wasn't based on the crowds being large or pushy. We also had no trouble getting into either Boudro's or the nice Mexican restaurant whose name I can't remember now.

We were there most recently over Easter weekend, and honestly, it reminded me of Bourbon Street in New Orleans as far as crowds in some sections.

We did find a place for dinner, but had to "settle" on that place instead of wait over an hour for the places we wanted.

I am not an expert but I would imagine that most places like Riverwalk would be mobbed during Easter ..
Maybe OO will see this..she is there all the time..lucky girl

Hi Scarlett...

bks, if, as you say, you are here quite often (and you live in Austin so I don't doubt that), then you know Easter weekend was totally atypical! I have never seen it as crowded, with lines everywhere to get into everything. A wait for the Alamo (never), lines for those awful attractions across the street, and all hotels sold out. My husband works on the river so is there daily and said the same thing--never seen it like that. He was a happy camper though.

Two of the largest Texas school districts, Dallas and Houston I believe it was, had Spring Break then. Others get Good Friday off, so it's the perfect time for a quick in-state trip, and San Antonio is a favorite destination for in-staters.

The majority of people checked out Saturday and headed home in the late afternoon to have Easter with their families. I was on the river Saturday, and when we left, car after car loaded to the gills with kids and coolers were headed out on 35...back to Austin or Dallas, bumper to bumper.

The expansion should have no effect on crowds. As you know, people tend to be concentrated in a very small segment of the Riverwalk with Hyatt as an approximate center point, then about 5-10 minutes up and down the walk on either side of it. Past that congested segment, it's lovely and serene. It's lovely and serene there too until about 10:30 AM, and almost always on weekdays. Currently few walk even as far as King William on it, and I doubt seriously that more will come so they can walk to the missions, or Brackenridge Park.

OO,

Thanks for the info.

You are right, the Riverwalk was more crowded during Easter than I've ever seen it before. We were there Friday night.

However, as you point out, the crowds tend to congregate at that section of the river from the "T" that comes from the Rivercenter portion to the Hyatt area. The other sections of the Riverwalk are okay at most times, including the section between the Rivercenter and the T.

That particular section near the Hyatt, more often than not, is quite crowded every time I've been. Now, take into account that most times I'm there at night during holidays, but I noticed crowds even during the day at those choke points.

By the way, we had a wonderful time in San Antonio. We went to Sea World and the weather was lovely (50s in the morning, low 80s in the day).

We enjoyed the Riverwalk as well as my mom had never been. We had 5 adults and 3 kids with us, and I went to one place to get a reservation and the attendant said "There's no place that you'll be able to find that will seat that many people with a river view within an hour." He was wrong because I did find a place, but it wasn't our first choice (or even second/third... )

SA continues to increase in popularity with visitors, and though I may have just the slightest bit of bias here, for good reason. Because the downtown tourist area is on a human scale people do tend to stroll around, and the Riverwalk is the center of things. We actually don't usually go to the Riverwalk when the largest tourist crowds are there, but have noticed more people the last couple times we did go. It wasn't elbow-bumping smashed together jam packed, but definitely a healthy crowd.
Locals (including myself) have been bemoaning what we see as an overabundance of chain restaurants populating the Riverwalk (Rainforest Cafe, etc.) but there still are some gems, such as Budro's. And not far away there are some good options toward Southtown.
With the opening of the new 1,000 room Hyatt at the convention center, I expect the crowds will continue to happen. Fortuantely, the laid back spirit of SA seems to be infectious and people, tourists and locals alike, tend to be friendly. Or maybe it's the margaritas...