Hays County is pushing ahead with a $17 million transformation of Sentinel Peak Preserve, a former Boy Scout camp with Blanco River frontage in the Texas Hill Country, into a tightly managed public preserve. County leaders say the project will add a Hillside Campus for parks staff, an elevated “Warbler’s Nest” restroom, and a handful of visitor amenities, while leaving most of the land set aside for wildlife. Officials expect the public to get at least limited access by 2027.
According to paperwork filed this month with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the county plans a roughly 9,000-square-foot Hillside Campus and a 2,800-square-foot “Warbler’s Nest,” along with a guard shack, a maintenance shop, and renovations to an existing structure, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News. The paper notes that Hays County has earmarked about $17 million for those construction projects, using money from a $75 million parks-and-open-space bond plus county general funds, and that work is scheduled to wrap up by November 2026. Parks and Natural Resources Director Karl Flocke told the outlet, “We’re really excited for getting folks out there.”
How The Land Was Secured
The Nature Conservancy says it stepped in when the former El Rancho Cima camp went up for sale, paying roughly $13 million for a large tract that would later become Sentinel Peak Preserve. The nonprofit reports that Hays County helped fund that purchase and that TNC will hold a conservation easement on the property, limiting future development while the county readies the site for visitors.
Conservation Priorities And Public Access
The county’s parks department describes Sentinel Peak as a more than 530-acre preserve west of Wimberley, with about a mile of Blanco River frontage. Much of that land, the county says, is slated to remain habitat for the federally endangered golden-cheeked warbler. The preserve is currently closed to the public, and officials plan to use a reservation system to control visitor numbers and shield sensitive areas from overuse.
Site Work, Design And Sustainability
The San Antonio Express-News reports that the county has been evaluating what is left of the old camp facilities and is preparing for asbestos cleanup, along with removing some buildings built in the river floodplain. Plans call for the Hillside Campus to reuse the former mess-hall foundation and keep an open-air pavilion as a staging spot for guided tours. The “Warbler’s Nest” restroom is designed to sit up on stilts among the treetops so it avoids floodplain impacts.
County officials also told the paper they intend to capture rainwater runoff and rely on recycled wastewater for irrigation around the new structures as part of a low-impact site design.
History And Local Context
The old El Rancho Cima camp took a beating during the 2015 Blanco River flood, and the broader property was later sold and subdivided. The San Marcos Record reported that The Nature Conservancy acquired a roughly 530-acre section and partnered with Hays County on the deal. Local officials have said the county was able to complete its purchase after voters approved the parks bond, which provided the cash to close on the land and launch the planning process…