AUSTIN, Texas \u2013 A massive stretch of Texas Hill Country is officially becoming a new state park, and it\u2019s set to be one of the biggest outdoor destinations in the entire state.<\/p>\n
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced Wednesday that nearly 54,000 acres in Edwards and Kinney counties have been acquired to create Silver Lake State Park, which will become the second largest state park in Texas behind only Big Bend Ranch State Park.<\/p>\n
The future park is located about 150 miles west of San Antonio between Rocksprings and Uvalde and features rugged canyons, rolling hills, river frontage along the West Nueces River, and a rare 30-acre spring-fed lake known as Silver Lake.<\/p>\n
Why this is a big deal for Texans<\/p>\n
Texas has seen growing demand for outdoor recreation and state park access in recent years, with many parks regularly reaching capacity during weekends and holidays. Officials say this acquisition will dramatically expand public access to protected land in the Hill Country.<\/p>\n
Governor Greg Abbott called the project another example of how \u201cthe opportunities to explore nature\u2019s wonders are truly bigger in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The land was largely donated through the Moody Foundation, which gifted 87.5% ownership of the property to the state. Texas Parks and Wildlife purchased the remaining portion for $11.85 million using money from the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund and Sporting Goods Sales Tax revenue.<\/p>\n
What visitors can expect<\/p>\n
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the property includes:<\/p>\n
Steep limestone cliffs and deep canyons<\/p>\n
Miles of river frontage<\/p>\n
Creeks and natural swimming holes<\/p>\n
Oak-covered hillsides<\/p>\n
Caves and ancient pictographs<\/p>\n
Wildlife including deer, turkey, dove and javelina<\/p>\n
Habitat for endangered species like the golden-cheeked warbler<\/p>\n
The park will be developed in phases. Early access may include guided tours and limited day-use opportunities before larger recreational amenities are added. Future plans could include camping, hiking trails, paddling access and visitor facilities.<\/p>\n
When will it open?<\/p>\n
There is currently no official opening date for Silver Lake State Park. Texas Parks and Wildlife says planners will first conduct environmental and cultural surveys before finalizing recreational plans and infrastructure improvements. Public input will also help shape the park\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Officials say the process could take months, but once complete, the park is expected to become a major outdoor attraction for Texans and visitors alike.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2013 A massive stretch of Texas Hill Country is officially becoming a new state park, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[132,24835,27,29,28,2603,69,6208,851],"class_list":["post-311518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-austin","tag-state-park","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-texas-parks-and-wildlife","tag-things-to-do","tag-travel","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}