At 8 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, the gates at 15915 Old Fredericksburg Road opened again. There was free coffee and there were pup cups, and Bexar County Commissioner Grant Moody spoke briefly at about 8:05. The Gunn Family Coyote Dog Park had been closed for more than five weeks. The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down in the area on July 15, and the damage forced the park to shut for repairs.
That reopening was the first step in a fuller fall at The Rock at La Cantera, the Spurs-run campus at 1 Spurs Way, just off I-10 and Loop 1604. This year the site's programming has moved away from a few big weekends. Every Spurs game is on the outdoor screen. Live music runs every Sunday. A ticketed fall attraction is open daily for three weeks. For households in Cresta Bella, a short drive down I-10, the useful question this month is which night to go and which events will compete for the same evening.
The Dog Park Is Open Again, and Its Hours Change Next Month
The Gunn Family Coyote Dog Park covers 7.5 acres. It has agility equipment, dog-wash stations, play mounds, seating, trails, and separate areas for large and small dogs. Dogs 17 inches and under use the small-dog side. Entry is free. KSAT reports the park draws about 50,000 visitors a year. Spurs Sports & Entertainment, which manages the park, worked with Bexar County and local partners on the post-tornado repairs.
The date to remember is Nov. 1, when the park switches from summer hours of 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. to winter hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Winter hours run through March 31. If you walk the dog after work, you lose about two and a half hours of evening access starting next month. The park's trails also connect to the Leon Creek Trail System and La Cantera Town Center, according to an earlier KENS report.
One housekeeping note. The Rock's property-updates page still shows the dog park as closed, with an estimated reopening date that has already passed. KSAT covered the Aug. 21 reopening, and the park's own page lists normal seasonal hours. Checking live status before a visit costs nothing.
Every Spurs Game Is on the Big Screen
The Spurs open the 2026-27 regular season at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The Rock's Opening Night watch party starts at 8 p.m., and tipoff is at 8:30. On Oct. 2 the team announced 18 free watch parties at Frost Plaza: 13 official parties presented by Michelob ULTRA and five Spurs Sunday Funday events. Every Spurs game this season will be shown on the plaza's 40-foot outdoor screen.
The scale of last season explains the larger lineup:
"Last Spurs season, we welcomed more than 100,000 fans to our free watch parties," said Duane Randall, general manager of The Rock at La Cantera.
There are three official watch parties in the first week of the season. The opener is Oct. 20, the Rockets game is Friday, Oct. 23, and the road game at the Mavericks is Saturday, Oct. 24. Parking on site is free. On watch-party nights, free park-and-ride shuttles run from the Neiman Marcus lot at The Shops at La Cantera. Seating on the plaza is limited, and the Spurs suggest bringing your own chairs or blankets.
The Rest of October, Date by Date
The Rock's Rocktober schedule fills the rest of the month. Here it is in order, from tonight on:
- Sundays, Oct. 4, 11, 18 and 25, 2 to 6 p.m.: Sunday Scaries, with live music and happy hour specials. Free and open to all ages.
- Saturday, Oct. 10, 6 to 10 p.m.: Light the Night, per the Rocktober page. The Frost Plaza calendar lists a Light the Night entry for Sunday, Oct. 11 at 2 p.m., so confirm the date before going.
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.: Pumpkin Palooza, with games, live music and seasonal food. Admission is free.
- Oct. 17 through Nov. 8: Coyote's Corn Corral, a large corn play pit on Frost Plaza. It opens with a noon ribbon cutting during Pumpkin Palooza. Tickets start at $6 per person, and each session has a limited number. Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 9 p.m. on weekends.
- Sunday, Oct. 18, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Back to Basketball.
- Friday, Oct. 23, 7 to 10 p.m.: Fourth Friday.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Howl-O-Ween at the dog park, with a pup trick-or-treat trail, vendors, food trucks and a SNIPSA adoption fair. Entry is free.
- Wednesday, Oct. 28 through Friday, Oct. 30: Fall Flix, three nights of free outdoor movies. The Hocus Pocus double feature is Friday.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 a.m.: Culinaria's HalloWine 5K run and walk, followed by a wine, beer and food reception.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 6 to 10 p.m.: Halloween Spooktacular, with trunk-or-treat, a costume contest, a live DJ and a petting zoo. Entry is free.
Two more schedule details are inconsistent on The Rock's own pages. The Rocktober page lists Twilight on Oct. 28 and Hotel Transylvania on Oct. 29, but the Frost Plaza calendar reverses the two. The Rocktober page also lists Howl-O-Ween as 4 to 6 p.m. in its schedule and 4 to 7 p.m. in the event description.
Where the Calendar Gets Crowded
Most nights this month have one thing on. Three dates have two, and those take some planning.
Friday, Oct. 23. Fourth Friday runs 7 to 10 p.m., and the Rockets watch party is the same night. The Corn Corral is also open its weekday hours until 9 p.m. On a Friday, all three share the plaza.
Saturday, Oct. 24. Howl-O-Ween is in the late afternoon, and the Mavericks watch party is the same evening. Leashed dogs are allowed on Frost Plaza on regular days, and owners handle cleanup. During ticketed events, only ADA service animals are permitted. If you plan to bring the dog to Howl-O-Ween and stay on for the game, check that evening's event rules before you go.
Saturday, Oct. 31. The HalloWine 5K starts at 8 a.m., with pre-race at 7:15. The Spooktacular starts at 6 p.m. Early 5K registration was $40, and the price went up after Sept. 7, so anyone registering now should expect to pay more. Both events are at the same venue on the same day, with about eight hours between them.
What Is There on an Ordinary Weekday
With a full event schedule, it is easy to forget the plaza is open every day. Frost Plaza is open 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. It has the 40-foot LED screen, a half-court, a basketball tree and food kiosks. The half-court is public during the same hours. Athletic shoes are required, children under 12 need an adult with them, and dunking or hanging on the rim is not allowed.
For a sit-down meal, Roca & Martillo serves Tuscan-Italian and South Texas food with a rooftop patio. Its own site lists these hours: Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Weekend brunch runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Rock's FAQ lists an 11 a.m. Sunday opening, so the restaurant's own site is the safer guide.
The kiosks follow a weekend schedule. Lil' Bros BBQ Shack serves brisket, pulled-pork sandwiches and brisket tacos on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, until it sells out on Sunday. Ice Ice Dady serves Hawaiian shaved ice in more than 65 flavors on the same three days. CrawDady, the seasonal crawfish kiosk that opened Feb. 21, is closed until spring 2027. The splash pad, which runs March through September, is closed for the season. The Spurs Club on the campus is a private, members-only club.
The free monthly fitness series, rockFit, lists its next sessions on Nov. 7 and Dec. 12. Its page also still shows some past dates as upcoming, so confirm before you plan around it.
One I-10 Change for the Drive Out
The Loop 1604 North Expansion Project changed one exit route from this area last month. At 5 a.m. on Sept. 14, the eastbound I-10 entrance ramp south of the Loop 1604 interchange closed permanently. Drivers on the eastbound frontage road now continue through the UTSA Boulevard and Hausman Road intersections and get on the main lanes at the ramp south of Hausman Road. This matters if you leave The Rock and continue toward the city instead of heading home. TxDOT closed the ramp to make room for a new UTSA Boulevard bypass ramp, which will let drivers skip the traffic at La Cantera Parkway. The bypass is scheduled to open at the end of 2026.
Jennifer Santrock follows changes like this ramp closure, the dog park's reopening and the season's watch-party schedule because they shape daily life in Cresta Bella. If you have friends or family moving to the North Side who want to know how a typical week here works, our Relocation Kit is a good place to start. Request Your Free Relocation Kit.
