San Marcos Parks and Recreation officials<\/a> said the system has been working well overall, though visitors who purchase tickets before arriving have made the process faster.<\/p>\nArticle continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Out-of-area visitors must purchase their $5 tickets online. Staff at the park gates do not accept payment in person. Visitors who purchase in advance receive a QR code by email that can be scanned at the entrance.<\/p>\n
The city said it has made minor adjustments to the system and entry points since the program launched but has not needed any major changes.<\/p>\n
San Marcos also added four gate attendant positions after the summer began. The employees work at the entrances, assist with ticket purchases and scan visitors entering the park. Park ambassadors focus on educating visitors about park rules and answering general questions.<\/p>\n
The city expects the process to become easier next summer because officials will have more time to promote the program and encourage visitors to purchase tickets ahead of time.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
![\"A]()
<\/p>\n
A riverboarder navigates the San Marcos River on April 14, 2026, in San Marcos, Texas.<\/p>\n
Nicholas Hernandez\/MySA<\/p>\n
Has Rio Vista Park gotten cleaner?<\/p>\n
During Monday morning cleanups, Parks and Recreation staff have noticed less litter at the park, according to the city. But smaller pieces of trash remain a problem.<\/p>\n
The city said some of the biggest sources of micro-litter are plastic bottle caps, bread and bun twist ties and plastic wrappers from juice-box straws.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The San Marcos River flows through the city on April 14, 2026, in San Marcos, Texas.<\/p>\n
Nicholas Hernandez\/MySA![\"City]()
<\/p>\n
City crews install new fencing along Rio Vista Park near CM Allen Parkway in San Marcos as preparations continue for the summer season. The City implemented a seasonal entry fee for out-of-area visitors on weekends and holidays\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy of The City of San Marcos<\/p>\n
What did July 4 look like?<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s data also offers a snapshot of one of the summer\u2019s busiest holidays. On July 4, San Marcos sold 2,377 out-of-area tickets for Rio Vista Park, generating $11,885 in revenue from the $5 managed-access fee.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
The holiday accounted for a significant share of the program\u2019s revenue as visitors headed to the San Marcos River for the Fourth of July.<\/p>\n
Since managed access began, Rio Vista Park has recorded 4,939 total scans, according to the city. Each scan can have multiple tickets attached to it. The city also recorded 553 resident scans, though those individual scans can include repeat visitors throughout the summer.<\/p>\n
![\"Tubers]()
<\/p>\n
Tubers float and relax along the San Marcos River on April 14, 2026, in San Marcos, Texas.<\/p>\n
Nicholas Hernandez\/MySA<\/p>\n
Where does the money go?<\/p>\n
When the fee was proposed, San Marcos officials said summer operations across the city\u2019s riverfront parks cost more than $500,000 annually, including staffing, maintenance and environmental management.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
The fee was intended to have out-of-area visitors help cover those costs, with revenue supporting park ambassadors, rangers and seasonal crews.<\/p>\n
As of August 14, the fee had generated $83,275.<\/p>\n
City officials consider the program successful and expect next summer to be easier with more advance notice for visitors. The managed-access season continues through September 7.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Crowds gather along the San Marcos River at Rio Vista Park on June 5, 2026, as visitors begin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1113,10428,820,82,84,83],"class_list":["post-410764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-mysahillcountry","tag-mysaoutdoors","tag-mysastaff","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}