Sometimes park visits are completely spontaneous, as with park #18 we visited recently: Travis Park. We were downtown running some holiday errands when I remembered this park promised San Antonio a snow day. The park’s free Let It Snow event boasted real snow, a snow slide, lots of free activities for families, food trucks, and a made-by-hand artisan’s market. Although parking wasn’t free, we spent just $4 at a nearby garage to leave our car to explore Travis Park.

I’d hoped to snag some cool shots of the snow but the park was crowded and long lines of people waiting to play in the snow prevented me from getting any photos of it. Still, we had fun navigating the throngs of happy holiday revelers for a short while and I snapped a few shots to give you an idea of what Travis Park offers.

Travis Park isn’t huge; it takes up one city block. Located in the heart of downtown San Antonio, Travis Park welcomes visitors to special events year-round, many of them free. Events include San Antonio Ballet performances, outdoor movie nights, fitness activities, pop up dinners, the annual Jazz’SAlive (a free, two-day jazz festival), Amor y Arte (a monthly market by SA Made By Hand, providing made-by-hand crafts and goods), the SA Urban Pet Market (held once a month), and many more family-friendly events and activities.

San Antonio mom blogger Inga Cotton wrote about Travis Park’s recent improvements last May and included some beautiful photos of the park and its new amenities. For a full history of the park, visit the San Antonio Parks and Recreation website’s Travis Park page.

To keep up with all of the awesome events Travis Park offers, follow the park on Facebook and Twitter.