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- BIKER: I'm loving the flowers this time of year,
it's beautiful.
- NIC: So Government Canyon is different from most parks,
it's a natural area,
it's a wilderness environment.
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And it's completely within the city of San Antonio,
so you can come out inside the city
and have a natural area experience
that you can't get anywhere else.
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- Over 10,000 acres of our property is the back country.
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This is an area that will forever be left primitive, wild,
and as natural as possible.
- NIC: As a state natural area,
our primary focus is the resource.
We are here to protect the water quality
and quantity of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone.
Most people come out here for our 40 miles of hiking
and biking trails.
These trails range from kind of flat, rolling savannah,
all the way up into rugged hill country trails.
- SORUBH: Our first time here in the park.
- CHILD: I'm fast.
- It's a little bit rocky, but it's pretty flat.
She's walking too fast for me.
[Sorubh laughs]
It's been great, very quiet,
actually not too many people outside today.
- CHILD: Oh! - SORUBH: If you keep quiet,
you can really hear all the birds, you can hear nature.
It's just a wonderful place to be, you know?
[bird chirping]
- HIKER: I think we're here.
- JOHN: One of the most amazing aspects
of Government Canyon is we have some beautiful overlooks.
[bird chirping]
- HIKER: The view is pretty from up here.
- JOHN: And you really ought to take the time
to explore them.
There's the South Bluff Spurs Overlook.
There's the overlook on the cliffs
above the dinosaur tracks.
- Look, there's three different sets.
- In the end, we have over 200 tracks
in the upper trackway.
So this is one of the larger theropod tracks that we have.
We see the three toes clearly defined
as well as the talon marks
that would have come off of each toe.
- So our campsites are designed with an impact area
that encompasses the tent pad, the fire ring,
the picnic table, all into one impact zone.
This is one of the hutches that you'll find
at all of our campsites.
You can put your food in here, your food, your gear,
anything you wanna keep protected
from the wildlife and elements.
- MAN: Oh yeah.
- LESLIE: Those looking melty?
- CHILD: Oh yeah!
- They love to be outside.
We do tend to try to go camping at least, you know,
three times a year.
So far, mainly the campsite set up,
that it's set up a little more remote.
You don't have neighbors right next to you,
but it's not a primitive walk-in
that you have to really hike in.
So, perfect mix.
I've never seen a campsite like this.
[children chattering]
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- We are on the ranch road.
This is going to pretty much
cut right through our Front Country Trail System.
[bird chirping]
It's a bunch of Blackland Prairie Savannah.
There's the painted.
Yeah.
We have anything from small songbirds to large raptors,
and anything in between.
- BIRDER: There's some Crested Caracaras,
there's a pair of them.
- JESSICA: Uh, huh.
- BIRDER: Oh, they're cleaning themselves.
- JESSICA: Yeah, they're preening.
[camera clicks]
But that's what makes Government Canyon so great.
- BIRDER: Oh here, right here, right here.
- JESSICA: Is because we do have that large diversity
of birds out here.
- So the recharge zone for the Edwards Aquifer
is a large component of what we're about here
at Government Canyon,
but it's not just recharge of the Aquifer.
I think you'll find that when you come out
and walk our trails...
- RUNNER: Morning.
- JOHN: Listen to the birds...
[bird chirping]
Look at the wild flowers,
take in a gorgeous sunrise or sunset
from one of our overviews,
you'll find your own spirit and soul recharged.
[gentle music]