It’s pecan season, but there are rules
Pecans are plentiful across San Antonio, but that doesn’t mean you can walk up to any tree in the city and pick as many as you want.
In fact, there are ordinances that were put in place to keep the pecan season orderly.
Unless you have a pecan tree on your property, it’s against the law to pick pecans off trees in San Antonio. It is, however, legal to gather them from the ground.
Denise Hernández tweeted a photo of a purse filled with pecans with a caption that reads “Puro San Anto is eating pecans you find on the ground.” The San Antonian said she gathered the pecans from an area outside of Hello Paradise,
a restaurant on the Northeast Side.
Connie Swann, a marketing manager with the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department, said residents can legally gather pecans from the ground in public spaces.
“The public is welcome to gather pecans that have
fallen on the ground in areas that are open and accessible in city parks,” Swann added.
If you don’t want pecans you find on the ground, be aware that it is “unlawful for any person to climb pecan trees in any public park or street within the city or to throw sticks, stones or other missiles for the purpose of gathering pecans,” according to the city’s ordinance.
Swann said the city discourages picking any pecans from the tree for “public safety, to ensure nuts are fully ripe and to prevent potential damage to the tree.”
On the r/sanantonio Reddit community, one user posted a photo of pecans with the caption that there are a lot of free pecans available “everywhere.”
While that may be true, it’s probably best to avoid residential areas unless a property owner grants you permission to pick pecans.
These are San Antonio parks with a large number of pecan trees: Brackenridge Park, Fairchild Park, Riverside Park, Roosevelt Park and San Pedro Springs Park.