Goliad: Goliad State Park and Historic Site & Presidio La Bahía

White stucco church with a bell tower

Goliad State Park and Historic Site

Stone Church with bell tower surrounded by a high stone wall

Presidio La Bahía

Painting of a vaquero herding cattle to a fort in the distance. Titled “Cattle on an Early Mexican Hacienda” by Tom Lea

Tom Lea, Cattle on an Early Mexican Hacienda (Dallas Museum of Art)

Vaqueros on horseback in a corral

Mexican cowboys branding cattle in South Texas. (Texas State Library and Archives)

Cowboy wearing wool chaps next to his horse and a herd of longhorn cattle at a watering hole on an empty plain

Cattle round-up. (DeGolyer Library, SMU)

Located a quarter-mile south of Goliad on Route 183/77, Goliad State Park and Historic Site features the reconstructed Spanish Colonial Era Mission of Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zuñiga, as well as the ruins of the Misión Rosario. Tours of the ruins are by appointment only. A historical marker placed in the park commemorates the 1779 Spanish cattle drive from La Bahía to New Orleans – believed to be the first cattle drive out of Texas.

Just south of the park is Presidio La Bahía, a former Spanish fort and cattle ranch whose buildings have been beautifully restored. Visitors can walk the grounds and learn about La Bahía’s 300-year history, which is occasionally commemorated with lively re-enactments.

Goliad State Park and Historic Site

  • Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Admission: Adults and Children 12+: $3
  • 108 Park Road 6, Goliad, TX
  • 361-645-3405
  • Visit Website
  • National Register of Historic Places

Presidio La Bahía

  • Hours: Daily 9 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. 
  • Admission: Adults: $4, Seniors: $3.50, Under age 12: $1
  • 217 Loop 71 Hwy. 183, Goliad, TX
  • 361-645-3752
  • Visit Website
  • National Register of Historic Places
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