# Things to do with kids at Government Canyon State Natural Area

> 14 upcoming family events and 1 ongoing programs and visits at Government Canyon State Natural Area, 12861 Galm Rd, San Antonio, TX 78254, in the San Antonio–New Braunfels area. Dates and times are Central Time. Today is Sat, Oct 24.

Source: Grassy Knees is a directory of real family events, places and programs for kids across major U.S. metro areas, where every listing is researched from the organizer’s own page and shows the date we last checked it. https://grassyknees.com covers 42 metro areas as of Oct 25, 2026, with more added regularly. About: https://grassyknees.com/about
Freshness: listings are re-checked on a daily research run (latest check 2026-10-24), and new events are added as organizers post them. Sell-outs, weather cancellations and time changes show up on the live page first: https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/venues/government-canyon-state-natural-area

## Events ahead

- [Wildlife Trick or Treat at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/wildlife-trick-or-treat-at-government-canyon--listing-7eb5bb2b5082a2e9329890fc) — Sat, Oct 24 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · All ages · With admission · checked Oct 14. A short wooded hike (under 0.25 mile) to a series of trail stations about "spooky" but misunderstood wildlife such as scorpions, bats and spiders, each with wildlife information…
- [Trek to the Dino Tracks at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/trek-to-the-dino-tracks-at-government-canyon--listing-5a70cb3614e5d67e0c365d90) — Sat, Oct 31 (+1 more date) · 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · Ages 10+ · With admission · checked Oct 16. A ranger leads a 5-mile round-trip hike to the dinosaur tracks at Government Canyon, left 100 million years ago by a sauropod and a theropod on a muddy beach that is now rock…
- [Nature's Gifts Plant Hike at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/nature-s-gifts-plant-hike-at-government-canyon--listing-faa64a60ad17d9d8efc375de) — Sat, Nov 7 · 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · Ages 10+ · With admission · checked Oct 16. On this ranger-led hike families learn how earlier inhabitants of Government Canyon, including Coahuiltecans, Lipan and Mescalero Apaches and Comanches, used native plants for…
- [Our Dynamic Sun: Solar Viewing at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/our-dynamic-sun-solar-viewing-at-government-canyon--listing-e95f2052783830fcba892664) — Sun, Nov 8 · 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · Ages 12+ · With admission · checked Oct 16. Learn about the sun's layers, solar wind, radiation flares and coronal mass ejections, and how Earth's magnetic field protects us (the battle we sometimes see as the northern…
- [Veterans Day Hike at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/veterans-day-hike-at-government-canyon--listing-3b0961513a95c3816064685d) — Wed, Nov 11 · 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · Ages 14+ · With admission · checked Oct 16. Government Canyon celebrates current and former military members with a Veterans Day hike, and families and friends are invited to come along. Hikers are welcome to carry flags…
- [Colors of the Canyon Nature Art at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/colors-of-the-canyon-nature-art-at-government-canyon--listing-51d54dfc5893e26a5f8bb6ee) — Sat, Nov 14 · 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · All ages · With admission · checked Oct 16. A come-and-go art afternoon at the Group Picnic Pavilion near Government Canyon's Visitor Center. A ranger talks about the area's plants and soils, then visitors create artwork…
- [Winter Holiday Traditions at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/winter-holiday-traditions-at-government-canyon--listing-01b60770fedf69380dc1c807) — Sat, Dec 12 · 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · All ages · With admission · checked Oct 14. A come-and-go event celebrating the holidays the old-fashioned way by hand-crafting items families might have made on the historic ranches that became Government Canyon…
- [Christmas Campfire Story and S'mores at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/christmas-campfire-story-and-s-mores-at-government-canyon--listing-43dbadeb032f689e9a540b85) — Sat, Dec 19 · 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · All ages · With admission · checked Oct 14. A ranger reads a festive story (What the Dinosaurs Did the Night Before Christmas), projected on a screen, at the Amphitheater near the Frontcountry Trailhead, followed by hot…
- [Junior Ranger Academy at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/junior-ranger-academy-at-government-canyon--listing-5545e4dbaedeb39008e38666) — Tue, Dec 22 (+1 more date) · 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · All ages · With admission · checked Oct 24. Explore the trails with a ranger and earn a Junior Ranger badge: take a short hike (under one mile), make wildlife observations, use magnifiers to search for decomposers and…
- [Nest Quest kids bird walk at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/nest-quest-kids-bird-walk-at-government-canyon--listing-0c3c714a050c1f89523e1ed5) — Sat, Dec 26 · 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · All ages · With admission · checked Oct 14. A ranger-led bird walk where kids learn to identify common birds and practice with binoculars, including a short hike (under 0.75 mile) on the Discovery Trail. Meets at the…
- [First Day Hike: Family-Friendly Morning Hike at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/first-day-hike-family-friendly-morning-hike-at-government-canyon--listing-fec22eee4cbf67ee30ea9e0d) — Fri, Jan 1 · 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · With admission · checked Oct 24. Start the new year outdoors with a guided family hike at Government Canyon on New Year's Day. Volunteer leaders take families on a leisurely walk of a little over two miles…
- [First Day Hike: Trek to the Dinosaur Tracks at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/first-day-hike-trek-to-the-dinosaur-tracks-at-government-canyon--listing-750038036d5f927f1e5eb1d0) — Fri, Jan 1 · 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · Ages 8+ · With admission · checked Oct 24. A New Year's Day guided hike to the dinosaur tracks preserved in Government Canyon's creek bed. A hundred million years ago this corner of Bexar County sat on an ocean shoreline…
- [Winter Bird Walk at Government Canyon](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/winter-bird-walk-at-government-canyon--listing-9df1cb17cdee5161d782c842) — Sat, Jan 9 · 8:00 AM – 10:30 AM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · Ages 10+ · With admission · checked Oct 16. Hike 2–3 miles in Government Canyon's Frontcountry with a ranger to look for winter residents such as vesper sparrows, loggerhead shrikes and spotted towhees along Lytle's Loop…
- [Full Moon Hike at Government Canyon (January)](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/full-moon-hike-at-government-canyon-january--listing-890b1409e4c42ca747e6ad99) — Fri, Jan 22 · 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM · Government Canyon State Natural Area · Ages 10+ · With admission · checked Oct 24. An evening walk in Government Canyon's Frontcountry under the January full moon. Guides talk about the moon and the animals that are active at night, and hikers look at the moon…

## Ongoing programs and visits

- [Government Canyon State Natural Area](https://grassyknees.com/san-antonio/activities/government-canyon-state-natural-area--listing-e2b7d2448bca54c64ac7a20e) — Open daily. Gate: Fri–Mon 7 a.m.–10 p.m.; Tue–Thu 7 a.m.–8 p.m. Office 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. · Government Canyon State Natural Area · All ages · With admission · checked Oct 14. A state natural area in northwest Bexar County with more than 40 miles of trails, camping, ranger programs and guided hikes, geocaching, picnicking and wildlife watching. Kids…

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Venue pages are listed once a venue has 3 current listings.