TEXAS — Texas is getting its second-largest state park behind Big Bend after it acquired 54,000 acres of land in the Hill Country.
The Moody Foundation gifted its ownership interest of Silver Lake Ranch to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), and TPWD bought the rest for $11.85 million with funds from the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund and the Sporting Goods Sales Tax, according to a Wednesday news release.
Meet our newest addition: Silver Lake State Park. 🥳
Just two hours west of San Antonio, this incredible landscape will expand recreational opportunities for Texans and generations to come.
📲 Learn more about this acquisition: https://t.co/YCYmogJKBZ pic.twitter.com/7KpYfrgixn
— Texas State Parks (@TPWDparks) May 27, 2026
“This is an exciting addition to our state park system, and we are grateful to our partners at the Moody Foundation for their philanthropy and for bringing this slice of the hill country to the people of Texas,” said David Yoskowitz, executive director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “Near one of the most popular state parks in Texas, Silver Lake is sure to become a destination for park visitors and be the backdrop of memories made for generations to come.”
The property is located 150 miles west of San Antonio, between Rockport and Uvalde. It features steep canyons, rolling hills and a river front along the West Nueces River. It gets its name from the 30-acre spring-fed Silver Lake and features wildlife like white-tailed deer, turkey, javelina, dove and the greenthroat darter fish. Portions of the park have also been identified as a potential habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler, according to TPWD.
According to the release, the next steps for the property include conducting natural and cultural resource surveys to develop management plans and future interpretive exhibits for visitors. TPWD says it will also develop a plan with input from the public to determine recreational opportunities for the park.
Gov. Greg Abbott praised the acquisition in a statement to TPWD.
“The opportunities to explore nature’s wonders are truly bigger in Texas,” said Abbott in the statement. “With this new land acquisition across the Hill Country, Texans will have access to more than 50,000 acres of unique outdoor activities. This future state park will grant generations of Texans with a deeper understanding of the land that helps make our state the natural envy of the world.”
TPWD confirmed to Spectrum News 1 that guided tours at the future Silver Lake State Park will happen “as soon as next summer.”