Four times this winter, the gate at 12861 Galm Road will stay locked to everyone except people holding a drawn-hunt permit. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department alert page for Government Canyon State Natural Area lists the windows to the hour. Each one starts at 10 p.m. on a Monday and ends at 7 a.m. a few days later.
On a calendar, those windows fall in an unusual pattern. Twelve of the fifteen full closure days are Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. Only one Saturday and one Sunday are affected all season: December 5 and 6. Weekday hikers and trail runners in Helotes, Leon Springs and the rest of the Northwest Side absorb most of the closures. For weekend visitors, the main thing to plan around is a single weekend in early December.
The four windows, by day of the week
TPWD's 2026–27 drawn-hunt listings for Government Canyon set the hunt dates inside each closure. An archery hunt runs November 17–19, and centerfire-rifle hunts run December 1–3, December 4–6, January 5–7 and January 12–14.
| Public closure window | Full days closed | Days of the week | Hunt inside the window |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 p.m. Nov. 16 to 7 a.m. Nov. 20 | Nov. 17–19 | Tue–Thu | Archery |
| 10 p.m. Nov. 30 to 7 a.m. Dec. 7 | Dec. 1–6 | Tue–Sun | Rifle, two back-to-back hunts |
| 10 p.m. Jan. 4 to 7 a.m. Jan. 8 | Jan. 5–7 | Tue–Thu | Rifle |
| 10 p.m. Jan. 11 to 7 a.m. Jan. 15 | Jan. 12–14 | Tue–Thu | Rifle |
The December window is the only long one, because two rifle hunts run back to back from Tuesday through Sunday. That is why it reaches into a weekend when the others don't. The park reopens at 7 a.m. on Monday, December 7.
The weekday timing has another effect. Government Canyon's gate is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Monday, but only 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. So the hunts take the days that already have the shortest public hours.
Why a natural area schedules hunts at all
The hunts allow white-tailed deer, javelina, feral hogs and exotic mammals. The archery bag limit is three white-tailed deer, one javelina and unlimited feral hogs. TPWD's wildlife management guidance gives the general reasoning. Hunting keeps deer numbers within what the habitat can support, limits habitat damage, and reduces the impact of growing feral hog and exotic animal populations. That matters at a property TPWD describes as conservation-focused and protective of the aquifer and its wildlife.
The closures fall inside the backcountry season
Timing matters because the hunts overlap the park's most popular trails. TPWD keeps the Protected Habitat Area trails open only September through February. Endangered golden-cheeked warblers arrive in March to nest. That makes winter the main season for the longer backcountry routes, including the five-mile hike to what TPWD calls the only known dinosaur footprints on public land in Bexar County. Scientists attribute the tracks to Acrocanthosaurus and Sauroposeidon, and the route is rocky.
From mid-November through the end of February, about 15 of the remaining days of that season fall inside hunt closures. If you plan a dinosaur-track hike for a weekend, only December 5–6 is off the table. If you usually hike midweek, cross off twelve days between now and mid-January.
Rain closures are harder to predict
The hunt calendar is published months in advance. Rain closures are not. TPWD says Government Canyon's trails can close for poor conditions or weather, and that staying off wet trails prevents rutting, erosion and trail damage. TPWD gives no fixed number of drying days. When MySA covered a closure in July 2024 after more than three inches of rain, it reported that trails would reopen once conditions improved and that more rain meant more drying time.
One trail usually stays open through these closures. In early November, TPWD's trail update notice read:
ALL TRAILS are CLOSED except for the 1.25-mile Discovery Trail. Bikes are not permitted on this trail, but dogs are welcome.
The notice changes as conditions change, so check it before you load the car. TPWD posts capacity closures and trail reports on the park's X feed and Facebook page, and the park office answers at (210) 688-9055.
What changes for dog owners
The Discovery Trail stays open in most rain closures, and it's also where dogs are allowed. Pets must be leashed and stay on front-country trails, so the backcountry routes, including the dinosaur-track trail, are off-limits to dogs. For a dog owner, a rain closure changes less than the hunt windows do, since the hunts close the whole park, Discovery Trail included.
One more note for dog owners this season. A TPWD alert dated June 13, 2026 reports New World screwworm in parts of Texas. It advises checking pets and livestock for unusual wounds or maggots. TPWD's visitor guidance adds covering your own cuts, inspecting pets regularly and calling a veterinarian if a pet may be infested.
The lost weekend lines up with Boerne's
December 5–6 is the one weekend affected, and it overlaps one of the bigger holiday weekends in the Hill Country gateway. Boerne's Weihnachts Weekend page lists a Wassail Walk and caroling on Friday, December 4. The 39th annual Weihnachts Parade, with nearly 100 floats, steps off at 6 p.m. Saturday, December 5.
That makes the Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne a practical swap for a Saturday morning hike. It's free, it's open dawn to dusk every day, and leashed dogs are welcome as long as owners pick up after them. Its visitor center keeps weekday hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A morning on the Cibolo trails and an evening at the parade make a full Saturday without driving back toward Galm Road.
On Saturday, December 12, Government Canyon is open and hosts Winter Holiday Traditions, a craft event for all ages from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. No registration is required, but entrance fees apply. That evening, the Helotes Hill Country Christmas Parade runs 7 to 8 p.m. at Old Town Helotes, 14391 Old Bandera Road. The city lists closures at the Riggs Road, Old Bandera Road, Antonio Road, Scenic Loop Road and Floore's Drive intersections. Leave the park early enough to get through Helotes before those roads close.
Other Northwest trails with closures of their own
The hunt windows aren't the only closures on the Northwest Side this winter, and the nearest backups have their own rules:
- Friedrich Wilderness Park has about 10 miles of trails and is open sunrise to sunset daily, but it doesn't allow pets or bikes. Its trails also close after rain until they dry, and the park points visitors to the City's closure page and the park office for status.
- Crownridge Canyon Park offers a 1.3-mile trail, open sunrise to sunset, with no pets or bikes on the trail.
- Eisenhower Park is open sunrise to sunset and doesn't allow bikes, skateboards or rollerblades on the trail. The City's closure list, updated October 21, 2026, shows its playground closed for construction.
- Leon Creek Greenway is closed from north of the Valero Trailhead to The Rim for TxDOT construction until about mid-2027, according to the same City of San Antonio closure list.
- Phil Hardberger Park has two designated dog parks open sunrise to sunset. Starting November 16, 2026, the same night Government Canyon's first hunt closure begins, its Voelcker Homestead trailhead and parking lot close through summer 2027 for a SAWS water-line project. The Salado Greenway segment stays open, with occasional temporary closures.
Friedrich and Crownridge are the closest wilderness-style trails to Government Canyon, but neither allows dogs. Of the places listed here, the Cibolo Nature Center and Hardberger's dog parks are the only dog-friendly options during a hunt closure.
Reopening days fill up
TPWD says Government Canyon often reaches capacity and recommends reserving day-use passes to guarantee entry. Adult entry is $6 a day, and children 12 and under get in free. The park reopens at 7 a.m. on Friday, November 20, Monday, December 7, Friday, January 8, and Friday, January 15. Three of those four reopenings fall on a Friday, the day before a weekend, and the November 20 reopening comes just ahead of the weekend before Thanksgiving. Book day passes through the Texas State Parks reservation system or by calling (512) 389-8900.
For more on how the Northwest Side's calendar changes through the year, see our Northwest and Gateway to the Hill Country guide and our earlier look at the Northwest Side's September calendar.
At Abrahams Real Estate TIES Team, we track the dates that shape everyday life on the Northwest Side, from hunt closures on Galm Road to the trailhead closure at Hardberger Park. If you'd like to talk through what that day-to-day rhythm means for your home, book a consultation or request a free home valuation, and we'll give you a clear picture of your corner of the Northwest.
