Phillipshome

Hi All!!!

My family is heading out for Goliad State Park next week. We'll stay until 7/4/06. We are in a full hook up site.

I would love for you to share your experience(s) with that park. I saw that the San Antonio River runs through the park and just can't quite imagine that. If you can help me, please do so.

If you have any suggestions on Must Do's for that area...I am open for anything you might share.

Thank you in advance and happy camping! Susan:cool:

BigBendHiker

Goliad State Park is a jewel. There are many must do's in the Park and in the area. When my kids were little, it was our favorite park to visit (we live in Victoria, only 30 miles from there, so it was convenient as well).

Hike the trail that goes through the park. You have many views of the river from the trail, plus you can get to the river from several locations in the park.

The park is also a nice place to just ride your bicycle through it in the evenings. Also, the city pool is right across from the park and at one time, admission to the park granted you admission to the pool in the summer. Check at headquarters...they will know for sure...

Visit the Mission Espíritu Santo State Historic Site. Then, either drive or take the hiking trail to the Presidio La Bahia (which is across the river and down the road about a half-mile. Presidio La Bahia is where Fannin's men were kept after their surrender. Lots of history there as well and is a must see as is the Fannin Monument. You can also drive to the Fannin Battleground (about 10 miles out of town between Goliad and Victoria) to see another part of Texas history.

Go golfing. If you enjoy golfing, take the clubs. The golf course at Goliad, although a 9 hole course is alot of fun to play. Green fees are really reasonable. Used to be able to play 9 holes and rent a cart for $15 total. That was a couple of years ago, so it may have gone up some.

Visit the Courthouse and and all the neat businesses around it. There is a hiking trail that leads from the park to the town square area or you can drive there.

If you are looking for a place to eat, try the Empressario. The Lost Cajun and Camp Colet are great places to eat with a neat atmosphere. They are located between Goliad and Victoria. Ask at the Park headquarters...they can give you directions.

Visit the Berclair Mansion at Berclair (between Goliad and Beeville). I know they offer tours but do not know when. Do a search under Yahoo "Berclair Mansion" and you can get the phone number to call for information. It is worth seeing.

DayTripper

I cannot vouch for the park as I've never stayed there. However, if you like Texas history, Goliad is certainly a place worth visiting.

I worked there about 25 years ago. I would come in on a Monday morning, work during the week, then return home on Friday. This went on for about 3 months. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to visit the mission and presidio south of Goliad. The mission is within the state park boundary, while the presidio (fort) is just across the river.

As Big Bend Hiker said, the Presidio La Bahia is where Colonel Fannin and his men were confined. They were later massacred on Easter morning. Kathryn O'Connor wrote the definitive history of the area in her book The Presidio La Bahía del Espíritu Santo De Zúñiga, 1721-1846. It is really interesting reading if you care anything at all about Texas history. You can probably pick it up in town some place.

Don't miss the "hanging tree" on the courthouse square. There is a great deal of history in this little town.

A little known side note of the area is that it is the birthplace of General Zaragosa who commanded the Mexican army in its defeat of the French at Puebla on May 5, 1862. This is what is now celebrated as Cinco de Mayo.

__________________
DayTripper

Phillipshome

Thank you so much DayTripper and BigBendHiker. I printed off your suggestions and will read it to the kiddos tonight. I am really excited. We live in Bay City, so we aren't that far away from Goliad. Looking forward to the hiking and relaxing. The kids are looking forward to the hiking and swimming.

I will check back later in the week to read about anyone else advice on Goliad and/or great sight numbers there (trailer).

Thank you very much, Susan:cool:

BigBendHiker

Here are a couple of links on Goliad, one of which talks about the trail that goes from the Presidio to the Courthouse Square (The Angel of Goliad Hiking and Biking trail). You may have already found them, but if not, enjoy....

BigBendHiker

http://www.goliad.org/goliad.html

http://www.txcoastalbend.org/goliad.html

Phillipshome

We're back and loved it!!! We are back home, unpacked and I am doing laundry (what a rude awakening). GSP is incredible. We did all but the 2.5 mile hike. We visited the historical sites, town square, Dollar Tree and Super S for things we forgot to pack, and a local Mexican food restaurant (Garcia's). The volunteers and employees at GPS are/were super friendly and helped us tremendously with learning about Texas history. The facilities were immaculate and spotless!

Side note: Garcia's was not good. We all felt a bit sick after lunching there. They had to search for enough forks for us (and the place didn't have 15 customers) and the cheese tasted very funky. Later that day we passed a cute Mexican food place called Wanda's and wished we had found it before Garcia's.

We enjoyed the city pool across from the park. Our kids made new friends each time we went there. If we hadn't had to leave today (hubby goes back to work), we would have attended the day long 4th of July festivities at the pool. It was a dollar per person, per day for the pool (well worth it).

We also lucked out on this trip because it rained all around Goliad, but only a couple of times during our stay. AND...coming from a mosquito infested town (Bay City)...we were so pleased to be mosquito-free during our camping trip. The weather was mild and pleasant.

If I could make one wish for GSP...it would be that they found a way to have safe, easy river access. The river is definitely not for swimming (don't even think I would fish in it), but it would be wonderful to drop a line in for fun.

Anyway...we are home, well rested and very happy to have found such a "diamond" less than 2 hours from our house.

Next trip...the first weekend of August at Coletto Creek RV. We went there a couple of months ago and fell in love with it!!! We are taking my parents with us. Boy the roles have reversed. It used to be them taking us...now we are taking them. They will bring the boat and kayaks!

Any questions, feel free to email us at phillipshome@sbcglobal.net

Susan:cool: