The Gunn Family Coyote Dog Park at The Rock at La Cantera reopens Friday, August 21, after weeks of storm cleanup, but the 7.5-acre space that once drew roughly 50,000 visitors a year is coming back with far less shade than it had before a tornado tore through Northwest San Antonio last month.
The park sits at The Rock at La Cantera, and its return follows a joint cleanup effort between Bexar County and Spurs Sports & Entertainment staff, who worked together to assess damage and clear debris, according to KENS 5. The dog park includes an agility course, play mounds, dog wash stations, and seating for pet owners, and it remains free to the public. Spurs Sports & Entertainment professionally maintains the grounds, the station reports.
An EF-1 Tornado Tore Through the Corridor
The damage traces back to July 15, when an EF-1 tornado struck near I-10 and Loop 1604, damaging the dog park along with The Rim shopping area and a UTSA apartment complex, per the same KENS 5 report. No injuries were reported from that tornado. A preliminary damage survey by the National Weather Service, cited by Texas Public Radio, confirmed the twister packed peak winds of 100 mph and stayed on the ground for eight minutes along a 4-mile path stretching from southwest of I-10 and Loop 1604 to north of The Rim.
The same outlet reported that the tornado tore a large section of roofing off the Oasis Apartments on UTSA Boulevard, damaging fourth-floor units and displacing at least 10 University of Texas at San Antonio students. Nearby, the storm forced temporary closures at Six Flags Fiesta Texas due to power outages, along with the Santikos Palladium movie theater, Bass Pro Shop, and Marshalls at The Rim because of fallen debris and building damage, according to KSAT. The July 15 outbreak also produced two additional, smaller EF-0 tornadoes with 65 mph winds in downtown San Antonio's Dignowity Hill District and eastern Bexar County, KSAT later confirmed in a separate report on the National Weather Service's expanded survey.
Most of the Park's Trees Are Gone
Bexar County Precinct 3 Commissioner Grant Moody said in August that roughly 80 percent of the trees at Gunn Family Coyote Dog Park were impacted by the tornado, and he noted the county is in ongoing discussions with Spurs Sports & Entertainment on how to restore shade, according to a post on Moody's Facebook page. Replacing mature trees takes significant time and capital, which means that even with the gates reopening, the loss of canopy is likely to remain a challenge for dogs and owners navigating San Antonio's summer heat.
Physical access to the park has been fully restored following weeks of fence repairs and debris clearing, but the shade situation illustrates how storm recovery can outlast the headlines. County crews and Spurs personnel worked through the closure to make the space safe for the public before Friday's reopening.
What Visitors Should Know Before Heading Back
Bexar County's operating rules for the dog park remain unchanged: dogs must be healthy, properly inoculated, and at least 4 months old to enter, and there is a separate area for small dogs standing 17 inches or under, per Bexar County Parks and Recreation. County guidelines also require off-leash voice control and immediate cleanup after pets.
The dog park's trails connect directly to the Leon Creek Greenway and Howard W. Peak Greenway Trail Systems, giving visitors access to more than 40 miles of interconnected greenway routes across Bexar County. It first opened in late 2023 alongside the Spurs' 134,000-square-foot Victory Capital Performance Center and Frost Plaza, making it the largest dog park in the county at the time, according to MySA.
The park is part of The Rock at La Cantera, a $500 million, 45-to-50-acre development by Spurs Sports & Entertainment that broke ground in November 2021. The campus name itself was inspired by a quote from 19th-century social reformer Jacob Riis about a stonecutter's patient, incremental hammering — a philosophy the Spurs organization has referenced for decades. For now, that same patience will apply to the park's tree canopy, which county officials say won't return overnight even as the gates swing open again Friday.
