South Llano River State Park is a 2600 acre state park located along the South

Llano River The Llano River ( ) is a tributary of the Colorado River, about long, in Texas in the United States. It drains part of the Edwards Plateau in Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin. Two spring-fed tributaries, the North and South Llano, stre ...

Kimble County, Texas Kimble County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,286. Its county seat is Junction. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1876. It is named for George C ...

. The park opened to the public in 1990 and is managed by the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

History

The park's land was donated by its previous owner, Walter Buck Jr., whose family had used the land for

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

and

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

ranching and

pecan The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...

harvesting.

Nature and Wildlife

Animals

Jackrabbit South Llano River SP Texas 2023

The park contains a diverse variety of wildlife. Common mammals include

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

axis deer The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

black-tailed jackrabbit The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a ...

, porcupine, ringtail,

fox squirrel The fox squirrel (''Sciurus niger''), also known as the eastern fox squirrel or Bryant's fox squirrel, is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America. Despite the differences in size and coloration, it is sometimes mistaken for A ...

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littor ...

and

nine-banded armadillo The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also known as the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a mammal found in North, Central, and South America, making it the most widespread of the armadillos. ...

. The venomous

western diamondback rattlesnake The western diamondback rattlesnake or Texas diamond-backWright AH, Wright AA. (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). . (''Crotalus atrox'') is a rattlesnake species and member of the viper family, ...

, and

coral snake Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 16 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera (''Calliophis'', '' Hemibungar ...

exist in the park. Monarch butterfly migrate through the park in October and

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

come to roost from October through March. There are four bird blinds in the park.

Birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

have recorded more than 250 species over the years. Common birds sighted in the park include northern cardinal,

northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe ...

white-winged dove The white-winged dove (''Zenaida asiatica'') is a dove whose native range extends from the Southwestern United States through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. They are large for doves, and can be distinguished from similar doves by th ...

Inca dove The Inca dove or Mexican dove (''Columbina inca'') is a small New World dove. The species was first described by French surgeon and naturalist René Lesson in 1847. It reaches a length of and weighs . The Inca dove has an average wingspan of 2 ...

black vulture The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Cen ...

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members wit ...

house finch The house finch (''Haemorhous mexicanus'') is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is native to western North America and has been introduced to the eastern half of the continent and Hawaii. This species and the other two American rosefi ...

Carolina chickadee The Carolina chickadee (''Poecile carolinensis'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Taxonomy The Carolina chickadee is often placed in the genus ''Parus'' with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' sequence data an ...

, black-crested titmouse, and chipping sparrow. Endangered

golden-cheeked warbler The golden-cheeked warbler (''Setophaga chrysoparia'') is an endangered species of bird that breeds in Central Texas, from Palo Pinto County southwestward along the eastern and southern edge of the Edwards Plateau to Kinney County. The golden- ...

nest in the backcountry of the park each spring and summer.

Flora

Some plants documented in the park include chinkapin oak, plateau live oak, scaly-bark oak,

, cedar elm,

honey mesquite ''Prosopis glandulosa'', commonly known as honey mesquite, is a species of small to medium-sized, thorny shrub or tree in the legume family (Fabaceae). Distribution The plant is primarily native to the Southwestern United States and Northern M ...

, Buckley's yucca,

frostweed Frostweed is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Helianthemum'' or ''Crocanthemum ''Crocanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cistaceae. They are native to both North and South America where they are widesprea ...

, Mormon tea, agarita, tasajillo, Spanish dagger, Texas sotol and

prickly pear cactus ''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...

. The park also contains the endangered Tobusch fishhook cactus.

Recreation

The park draws visitors for water sports such as tubing,

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, canoeing and kayaking. Park guests can

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

in the South Llano River or Buck Lake, an oxbow lake in the park. There are over seventeen miles of

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trails in the park with many also designated for

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

. Stargazing opportunities abound as the park is a designated International Dark Sky Park.

Camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

spaces for tents and recreational vehicles are available

References

External links

South Llano River State Park
* State parks of Texas Protected areas of Kimble County, Texas Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Texas {{texas-protected-area-stub