San Antonio parks fill up with campers ahead of Easter weekend

City lifts curfews at 10 parks until 11 p.m. Sunday

SAN ANTONIO – Brackenridge Park was bustling Good Friday morning as people emerged from their tents.

The city lifted the curfews in 10 select parks at 11 p.m. Thursday, and many people wasted no time in celebrating the long Easter weekend by putting up tents and starting campfires.

It's a tradition in San Antonio as longstanding as Fiesta and driving down Commerce Street after a Spurs playoff win.

The Rodriguez-Hernandez clan came prepared to camp out in style.

Beside Easter eggs, signs, and an Easter bunny piñata, they had grub. Working the grill, Rosa Rodriguez said her group had around $2,500 worth of food for the weekend -- all for their 25 Easter campers.

"I always have leftovers," Rodriguez said. "Always."

For hundreds in the Alamo City, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ means calories, close quarters and companionship in Mother Nature.

"This is nothing compared to the fun and the party that we're going to have on Sunday," Amanda Lopez said while her friend Vianca Ramon turned up the music in their car.

Campers staked their claim on campsites with rope, yellow caution tape -- even wet paint.

The Johnson family learned the hard way. After a decade of living in San Antonio, Tommy Johnson said it's their first time participating in Easter camping. He and his 17-year-old daughter Shayla slept in their truck after it took two hours to find a spot.

"Well, I got tired, it got late on me, got dark, got cold," Tommy said when explaining the decision.

Come dawn, he was setting up camp.

"It's hard, but I (will) get it," Johnson said while putting up his tent.

Curfews at all parks are reinstated at 11 p.m. Sunday.