A 530-acre swimming and hiking spot with more than a mile of Blanco River frontage is progressing through the development stage and is scheduled for opening in Hays County in 2027.
Sentinel Peak Preserve was purchased by the county in 2022. In addition to being one of the few available and sizable riverfront properties, the park also serves as a habitat preserve for the golden-cheeked warbler, an endangered bird.
When it opens, there will be many amenities for visitors to enjoy. Hays County Parks and Natural Resources Director Karl Flocke referred to it as the county’s “flagship project.”
“It’s quintessential Hill Country,” Flocke said. “It sits on what a lot of locals know as the Devil’s Backbone, which is a very steep area of terrain right on the Hays and Comal county lines. When you enter the park, you’re actually pretty high, and then you drop rapidly to the river right before you get to it. We also have a number of hiking trails that go through some of the hills and canyons around the river, which are really neat features.”
According to previous reporting by the Wimberley View, the property was a 2,382-acre Boy Scout camp called El Rancho Cima, which opened on Oct. 27, 1953. After 60 years of ownership, the ranch was sold and divided into several 250-500-acre tracts. The county partnered with The Nature Conservancy in Texas to acquire the land in 2019 fortified with 2020 Hays County Parks Bond funding.
As part of the agreement with The Nature Conservancy, Flocke said the county will be implementing several restrictions to help protect the property.
Once opened, visitors will be allowed in on a reservation basis, with a 50-person limit for both the morning and afternoon time slots.
Also, the goldencheeked warbler nests in the area from March to July. In line with the Habitat Conservation Program, the hiking trails will be closed during those months.
“What we’re doing is we’re setting aside and guaranteeing habitat for this important songbird that lives only here or breeds only here in Central Texas,” Flocke said, adding that preserving this land counteracts the necessary work like roads and powerlines that will be constructed elsewhere.
Flocke doesn’t expect this to be an issue as the county anticipates the majority of hiking to occur in the fall and winter when the weather is cooler.
The county will be using the footprint of the old Boy Scout camp buildings to build a couple of offices, storage supply spaces and restrooms; Flocke said this will keep the impacts of construction limited. The project is part of a broader effort to expand county services in response to the area’s rapid growth.
Flocke said the Hays County Parks and Natural Resource Department was created last year in response to the population surge in Hays County, which has come with an increased need for government services and personnel. He said accelerated development makes the need for conservation that much greater.
