San Antonians will have the chance to get their first look at the long-planned “outdoor living museum” before it welcomes regular visitors in a few years.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Arboretum, an in-development public garden that will focus on preservation and research once it opens, won’t regularly welcome its first public visitors until at least 2028.
But community members can get an early peek at the “outdoor living museum” that will eventually encompass 238 acres when it hosts its inaugural ¡Viva El Bosque! Fiesta event on Sunday.
The family-friendly celebration – coming on the last day of Fiesta 2026 – will feature interactive activities, live music, a 5K nature run and the opportunity to take home a tree for free.
Organizers say visitors will also be able to meet with bird experts and local artists, or even “take a pruning principles class with a certified arborist.”
¡Viva El Bosque! will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the arboretum, located at 4226 SE Military Drive. If you plan to visit, register ahead of time here.
Viva El Bosque’s offerings mirror the arboretum’s mission of providing “immersive nature-based experiences that are rooted in San Antonio’s vibrant culture and indigenous legacies,” as outlined in the garden’s master plan published last year.
That blueprint for the arboretum, first dreamt up by former Mayor Henry Cisneros in 2021, features trails, a tree canopy walk, an amphitheater and outdoor classrooms. Over 18,000 people weighed in to help create the final design.
The arboretum will be built in phases over the next two decades. Phase 0, focused on fundraising and establishing a temporary headquarters at the site, is currently underway. Phase 1 will cover the development of the arboretum’s first gardens, tree groves, a parking area and a Visitor Center.
Representatives say 2028 is expected to be the earliest the arboretum will be open for public access, though small-scale private events are already taking advantage of the site.
Once open, the San Antonio Arboretum will be the largest in South Texas and the second-largest in the state, behind Austin’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.