River Ranch Interpretive Center
Open daily from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM, the River Ranch Interpretive Center orients visitors and introduces them to the park’s many amenities and activities. Trail maps, park brochures and handouts describing suggested hike routes are available. The IC Library features helpful reference materials. Interactive LOOK, LISTEN and FEEL stations encourage visitors to learn about the park’s flora, fauna and geology. Through the WOODLANDS, RIVER and SAVANNAH displays, visitors become familiar with the park’s terrain and three habitat areas. OUR LAND/OUR HERITAGE, a series of historic photographs and maps, provides insight into the history of the Liberty Hill area.
FRRCP volunteers assist park management by staffing the IC at various times during the week. During an hour-long orientation session, IC volunteers become familiar with the Center’s display area, office, library and classroom. They are then prepared to welcome visitors, distribute park information and answer questions about the interactive educational exhibits. Note that the FRRCP office is open whenever a volunteer is on duty.
Many members of the IC team take advantage of their 2.5 hour shifts to review the wealth of reference material available in the IC Library. For information on assisting with this vitally important visitor service, email us at friendsofriverranch@gmail.com.
Pollinator Garden
A custom-designed Pollinator Garden outside the Interpretive Center at River Ranch County Park is not only attracting butterflies but is also drawing the attention of park visitors. Several organizations collaborated with the Friends group this February to create this beautiful educational addition to park amenities.
The Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), one of the original founders of the Friends group, recently selected FRRCP to receive a grant available through their “Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas” campaign. The Friends group had contacted the Monarch Sanctuary Project (MSP) in January for guidance in preparing our grant proposal and both Executive Director Sonia Koschoreck and MSP Board Member Allison Wilcoxen generously donated their time, energy and expertise by designing a native pollinator garden specifically for River Ranch County Park. Our proposal successfully met the grant guidelines and FRRCP was awarded $600 for the purchase of native plants.
Sonia and Allison then chose appropriate native plants and finalized the layout of the landscape bed. Visit Native Muse Gardens to learn how Sonia and Allison played such a key role in bringing our project to fruition. FRRCP Board Member and Good Water Master Naturalist John Kendall coordinated the project for the Friends group.
FRRCP supported the project by providing funds for Corten steel edging for the bed. River Ranch park staff provided landscaping materials (crushed granite and mulch), flagstone, decorative limestone rocks and irrigation lines. During three work sessions in February and March, volunteers prepared the landscape bed, installed edging, added rocks and planted a variety of carefully selected native plants and flowers.
FRRCP is indeed grateful to the NPSOT and Good Water Master Naturalist (GWMN) volunteers who joined Friends and the Monarch Sanctuary Project in this hands-on effort to beautify the park and educate its visitors, while further advancing our shared goal: “Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas!”
Bird Blind Project
When visiting the park, check out the new Bird Blind located in a grove across from the Interpretive Center. Funded entirely by donations to FRRCP, the 8’ x 12’ wood blind features viewing windows on the front and sides, a solar-powered recirculating water feature to attract wildlife and a bird feeding station. A recent paint job by FRRCP volunteers helps the building blend into the landscape. A 550-gallon water tank adjacent to the Blind will serve as a rainwater collection system. The tank will not only supply the birding station's water feature but will also provide irrigation to native plantings.
Birding Station Maintenance
Birding Station Team Maintains Blind and Feeder Stations
Human Friends are the key to keeping our "feathered" friends at River Ranch happy and healthy. Funded entirely by donations, three feeder stations have birds flocking year-round to the Day Use Area. Two stations provide great viewing from either inside or outside the Interpretive Center. Across the driveway, a third station attracts birds to feeders located adjacent to a stand of stately oaks near our new Bird Blind.
The Birding Station Team is actively seeking volunteers to help refill and maintain these feeders. For Texas Master Naturalists, this task counts towards volunteer hours. (Please note that it is necessary to become a member of the Friends group in order to participate in its Birding Station Team activities.)
To take part in Birding Station tasks, simply click on the link below. Select the date(s) you want to volunteer, then Save & Continue, then Sign Up Now. On the date you select, you may come anytime between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM that is convenient for you. Note that the park admission fee is waived for FRRCP members who are there to handle a specific volunteer task on that date. Training for Birding Station Team members will be provided on site.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084BABA623AAF8C25-54206230-volunteer
Barbed Wire Removal Project
TEAM BEGINS THIRD YEAR OF SERVICE TO THE PARK
On February 17, six hardy members of the Barbed Wire Removal Team devoted the first work session of the project’s third year of operation to a daunting task: removal of flood-damaged wire and fencing (including metal and wood fence posts) along a stretch of the San Gabriel River near EssGee Creek. The group spent 18 volunteer hours on this arduous task, making it safer for park crews to operate machinery in that area.
During a second work session on March 24, two volunteers spent 5.5 hours on the removal of multiple strands of heavy barbed wire surrounding a pasture northwest of the Bell Oak, between the S Trail and the A Trail. The River Ranch park crew continues to assist the team by collecting and disposing of materials.
These 2026 work sessions expanded the scope of a formidable undertaking that got underway in February of 2024. During 2024 and 2025, the team had already devoted 91.5 hours over nine separate work sessions to extracting dangerous stretches of barbed wire and wire panel fencing from areas frequented by equestrians and hikers/runners. Over that two-year period, they cleared the entire length of Long Loop Trail, the western side of Horseshoe Trail, the Red Oak Trail and all of the existing trail crossings within the park.
Project coordinator Scott Korcz and his team of undaunted volunteers (Don Hall, Dave Schunk, Bill Corbett, Mike Chaffin, Steve Bratton, Don Boriack, Don Shawhan and Wayne Collins) vow to continue their efforts to rid the park of these hazardous barriers.
Hikes & Nature Walks Offered
Volunteers with FRRCP’s Guided Hike Team are available to lead both leisurely nature walks and interpretive hikes along trails within the River Ranch County Park trail system. Outings can vary in distance and difficulty level. Some are scheduled in advance and open to FRCP membership and/or general public. Private guided outings may be arranged for local groups and organizations upon request at friendsofriverranch@gmail.com.
For hikers wishing to explore the park on their own, FRRCP and RRCP provide turn-by- turn directions for the 11 suggested trail routes listed below. Refer to the RRCP Trail Map when following these instructions. Routes vary in distance from 1.5 miles to 10.5 miles and range from “Easy” to “Difficult.”
Click on the individual route below to download and print turn-by-turn instructions. Hard copies of these routes are available at the park’s Interpretive Center.
ROUTE
MILES
DIFFICULTY
TRAILHEAD
