San Antonio has plenty of tourist attractions, from historic landmarks to museums — but the city has some surprisingly weird sights to see, too.

For those times when you want to check out something outside the norm, we rounded up the strangest attractions in San Antonio, including sites of urban legends, unique public artworks and pieces of the city’s hidden history.

Whether you’ve lived here your whole life or are just visiting, these local attractions will give you a new look at the Alamo City.

Frank’s Hog Stand 1112 S. St. Mary’s St. A remnant of the classic 1920s chain of Pig Stand restaurants, Frank’s Hog Stand reopened in 2010 and served all-American eats. The restaurant has since closed, but the building remains the last pig standing — even when man has left. Credit: Photo by Dalia Gulca
Tom Slick, the founder of Southwest Research Institute and Texas Biomedical Research Institute, was fascinated by cryptids. Slick went on expeditions to investigate both Bigfoot and the Yeti in the ’50s and early ’60s. Artist Elizabeth Carrington took inspiration from Slick’s passion for cryptozoology for her public artwork Nessie, a statue of the Loch Ness Monster in Tom Slick Park. Credit: Photo via Instagram / schraderfotowerks
’Johnny Loves Vivian’ bench B. Naylor Morton Research and Collections Center, Witte Museum, 3737 Broadway, (210) 357-1900, wittemuseum.org Legend has it, American music legend Johnny Cash carved “Johnny Loves Vivian” into the wood of this bench along the River Walk when he was stationed at Brooks Air Force Base in 1951. The message, of course, was in honor of his first wife, Vivian Liberto, who he met at a roller skating rink and dated for three weeks before shipping out for a three-year assignment in Germany. According to the Witte Museum, Cash asked Liberto if she visited the bench in letters he wrote to her. It currently resides at the Witte’s B. Naylor Morton Research and Collections Center. According to the museum, to visit the bench, visitors can ask at the Walker Admissions Desk. Credit: Photo courtesy of Witte Museum
The Ashes of the Alamo Defenders San Fernando Cathedral, 115 Main Plaza, sfcathedral.org After the Battle of the Alamo, the remains of the dead Texans were burned in three funeral pyres on the order of Antonio López de Santa Anna. A year later, the Texas leader Juan Seguin allegedly buried ashes from two of the pyres at San Fernando Cathedral. After remains were discovered near the cathedral’s altar during construction work in 1936, they were attributed to be the those of the Alamo Defenders and entombed in a marble coffin. Credit: Photo via Shutterstock / Nagel Photography
Grave of Pat the Horse Cunningham Gate of Ft. Sam Houston, Corner of Cunningham Ave. and N. Pine St., San Antonio Located on the northwest side of Ft. Sam Houston near the Westfort neighborhood is a single, large grave, where the beloved Pat the Horse is buried. Pat was a cavalry horse in the U.S. Army in the early 1900s. When the army decommissioned its cavalry, Pat was in his 20s and was set to be euthanized, but the soldiers at Ft. Sam Houston lobbied Washington for him to be spared. The request was approved and Pat spent his retirement at the fort. When Pat died at the ripe old age of 45 he was honored with a grave with his portrait on the headstone. Credit: Photo by Sanford Nowlin
Miraflores Sculpture Garden 1234-1366 E. Hildebrand Ave. Artists: Various Artists This decaying wonder near Brackenridge Park is hidden behind a fence but still visible from Hildebrand, guarded by a beautiful gate titled “Monumento a la Ciudad de México.” Created by local physician and art collector Aureliano Urrutia, the green space is full of sculpture, tiled benches and fountains, all falling into graceful disrepair. The garden is now owned by the City of San Antonio and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as designated as a State Archaeological Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission. Credit: Photo by Michael Karlis
Government Canyon Dinosaur Tracks 12861 Galm Road, (210) 688-9055, tpwd.texas.gov Home to South Texas’ only known dinosaur tracks on public land, Government Canyon State Natural Area’s Joe Johnston Route was marked by prehistoric creatures from about 110 million years ago when San Antonio was the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico. The 5-mile round trip takes hikers on a rugged trail to Marker #19 where two types of dinosaur tracks can be found, the three-tip theropod and the rounded sauropod print. Credit: Photo via Instagram / governmentcanyon
Urban Legends From Donkey Lady Bridge to the Ghost Tracks, SA loves its homegrown spooky stories. Credit: Photo by Michael Karlis
World’s Largest Virgin Mary Mosaic 1315 Guadalupe St. Jesse Treviño’s spectacular mural La Veladora of Our Lady of Guadalupe features a 3D votive candle (veladora) with an eternal flame facing Guadalupe Street. Intended to serve as a beacon for the neighborhood, this mixed media mural is truly magnificent, and is even said to be the world’s largest Virgin Mary mosaic. Credit: Instagram / visitsanantonio
North Star Mall – $50 You get lost in the crowds while trying to get your shopping done and lose a turn. Pay the bank $100, because nobody gets out of North Star with their wallet intact. Credit: Photo via Shutterstock / MACH Photos
Robber Baron Cave 115 Camellia Way, tcmacaves.org/preserves/robberbaron A hidden piece of San Antonio history is tucked away near Alamo Heights: the Robber Baron Cave. A trendy tourist attraction in the 1920s, the cave became subject to vandalization and other damage as its popularity — and the city’s population — grew. Acquired by the Texas Cave Management Association in 1995, Robber Baron Cave was turned into a preserve to protect its unique geology and ecology, and the cave was closed to regular visitation, so you can’t easily get an inside look beyond looking at historic photographs. Every once in a while TCMA offers a guided tour, but there hasn’t been one since 2019. However, you can visit the sinkhole where the cave is located and see the entrance. Credit: Photo via Library of Congress / Harvey Patteson
The Picasso Benches Blue Star Arts Complex, 1414 S. Alamo St., San Antonio Blue Star has plenty to offer — from art galleries and boutiques to bars and coffee shops. Even the bus stop gets in on the action, with a set of mosaic benches paying tribute to famed cubist artist Pablo Picasso. Credit: Photo by Dalia Gulca
Bracken Cave 26101 FM 3009, tpwd.texas.gov In the summer, you can find the largest colony of bats in the world right here in San Antonio. About 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats chill at Bracken Cave from March to October, making it one of the world’s largest concentrations of mammals. So many bats are found here because the cave is a maternity site for the species, so females gather here to give birth and rear their young. Credit: Photo via Instagram / ella__ferguson
Grotto 1277 Camden St. Located at a bend in the San Antonio River between the Camden and Newell Street Bridges, this three-story sculpture made by Carlos Cortés is one of the most popular public art projects on the River Walk’s Museum Reach. Credit: Photo via Instagram / match_mlone
They’ve never been terrorized by tales of the Ghost Tracks, the Donkey Lady or the Dancing Devil of El Camaroncito. Credit: Photo via Google Maps
Buckhorn Saloon and Museum 318 E. Houston St., (210) 247-4000, buckhornmuseum.com Started in the 1880s and moved from the Lone Star Brewery to its current downtown location, the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum includes multiple collections, including “The Carnival of Curiosities” and “The American Sideshow.” The attraction is known for its copious taxidermy, a collection that’s as large as it is partly because the saloon’s original proprietors accepted horns, antlers and even rattlesnake rattles in exchange for drinks. Credit: Photo via Instagram / chasnormlawson
Giant Stag Made of Junk 4203 Loring Park, Converse Built from various rusted metal parts — fenders and typewriters included — this Florentino Narcis creation stands 40 feet tall in the midst of a neighborhood in Converse. Credit: Photo via Instagram / therefinedhomellc
Junk Yard Dog 1201 Somerset Road This canny canine is made by the same artist as the giant cowboy boots which sit outside of North Star Mall. Bob “Daddy-O” Wade, who passed away in late 2019, built the pup out of cars in his junk yard: a 1966 Plymouth Fury, a Volkswagen Beetle and the hood of a Cadillac. Credit: Photo via Instagram / richardjgarciacpa
Cool Crest Miniature Golf 1402 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 732-0222, coolcrestgolf.com Considered by some to be the oldest still-operating miniature golf course in the U.S., this amazing piece of Art Deco-style Americana is also home to the Metzger Biergarten, a bar and gathering place on the spot of the former home of Cool Crest’s founders. Credit: Photo via Instagram / coolcrestgolf
Phil Hardberger Park Land Bridge 8400 N.W. Military Highway or 13203 Blanco Road, (210) 207-7275, sanantonio.gov The 150-foot long land bridge connecting Phil Hardberger Park from east to west opened December 2020 and is the first in the world designed for safe passage for both people and wildlife. Deer, raccoons, coyotes and humans can stroll across what is deemed the largest wildlife crossing in the U.S. to date. The land bridge can be reached via the park’s Northwest Military or Blanco Road entrances. Credit: Photo by Airborne Aerial Photography/Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy via Instagram / phil_hardberger_park
F.I.S.H 200 West Jones Ave. Artist: Donald Lipski These models of long-eared sunfish hang under an overpass on the River Walk’s Museum Reach near the San Antonio Museum of Art. Credit: Photo via Instagram / jenhamiltontx
Hot Wells 5503 S. Presa St., bexar.org Back in the day, Hot Wells hot spring resort was a hotspot for some of the hippest celebs of the silent film era, including director Cecil B. DeMille and actors like Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Sarah Bernhardt. Furthermore, the 1911 film The Immortal Alamo was partially shot across the river from the property at Star Film Ranch. The remains of the once-famous resort are now a park, where visitors can soak in the landmark’s unique history. Credit: Photo via Instagram / adm_xander
The Institute of Texan Cultures is haunted AF People say the Institute of Texan Cultures is one of the most haunted places in San Antonio, with tons of ghost sightings attributed to the location. One notably haunted object in the museum’s collection is Castroville’s Horse-Drawn Hearse. James Benavides, the institute’s senior communications specialist, shared a spooky story about the hearse with the Current in 2020: “So, one night, a guard was on duty, making his regular rounds. When he gets to the exhibit floor, he finds the hearse doors open,” Benavides said. “He thought some of the senior officers were playing a joke on him, so he closes the doors and goes about his business. Coming up on the end of his night shift, he’s making his last sweep of the exhibit floor and he finds the hearse doors open again. He laughs to himself, then realizes, he was the only person in the building. … The doors don’t open easily; they take two hands to work a latch and pull open. But stories persist, that from time to time, the guards will find the hearse doors open.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Institute of Texan Cultures
Golden Age Phil Hardberger Park, 8400 NW Military Highway Anne Wallace’s Golden Age springs out of the ground at Phil Hardberger Park. The piece is made up of six wheels made from parts of side roll irrigators, which are used to manage and restore grasslands, with sparkling gold sequins that are meant to evoke the look of a prairie wildfire. Credit: Photo via Instagram / schraderfotowerks
Mansplaining Statue University of the Incarnate Word, 4301 Broadway Though unintended by the artist, the statue Classmates on UIW’s campus struck a chord, as it accidentally immortalizes the unique frustration of being mansplained to. The statue can be found near the college’s music building. Credit: Photo via Instagram / mkomar09

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