After years of delays, River Ranch County Park set to open in 2023

BY RACHEL MADISON STAFF WRITER

River Ranch County Park is finally going to open. While an official date has not been set, county officials are confident that River Ranch County Park will open sometime this spring.

Park supervisor Robert Moss said the project was restarted in spring 2022 after several delays.

The park office (top photo) and the Interpretive Center (this photo) are near completion at River Ranch County Park, which is located on CR 279 just outside Liberty Hill. The 1,354acre park is expected to open to visitors this spring. PHOTOS BY ROBERT MOSS

“The park is a couple of years behind as far as opening,” Moss said. “That was due to Covid starting out, and then after Covid we had issues with getting materials and getting contractors. After that, we started having some contractor issues. As we started looking at things closer, we found there were quite a few issues with the construction that had been done and we weren’t making the progress that we wanted.”

Moss said the county released the previous contractor about a year and a half ago because of this, and went through and redeveloped a new scope of work for what needed to be corrected and completed at the park. Chasco Constructors was hired to finish the park in spring 2022.

At the end of 2022, Moss said overall construction at the park was 50 percent complete, with the biggest hurdle being the drainage, due to mistakes the previous contractor had made.

“We have had a lot of issues with water running down the middle of streets, or too close to buildings and in buildings, so we’ve had to correct a lot of that,” he added. “A lot of the work to complete has also had to do with the buildings. They were about 90 percent done, but they weren’t completed. Now things are moving along good.”

Besides these major projects, Moss said the rest of what needs to be completed at the park are “punch list” items—projects that need some tweaking or still need to be completed.

“We will go through the park from front to back and mark everything that still needs some attention,” he said. “That can be the buildings, electrical, plumbing, road work—anything. Believe it or not, those small things can take a quite a bit of time to get done. We just want to make sure the park is complete and safe for everyone to come out and enjoy.”

The park spans 1,354 acres and includes 73 campsites, 24 of which have water and electric hookups for RVs. It also has 20 miles of hiking and equestrian trails, a day-use area that has horseshoes, washers, picnic tables, a playground, grills and a large pavilion. River access is also available at the park for swimming and fishing.

Additionally, the park has a 4,800-square-foot interpretive center that will feature the flora, fauna and history of the area through interactive exhibits, as well as a rentable meeting space and library. It will be managed by the Friends of River Ranch County Park, a nonprofit organization that was created to support the park’s operations.

(Above) The South San Gabriel River runs through the River Ranch County Park.

“This group’s specific charge is operating the interpretive center,” Moss said. “You will find one or more of those folks there when the doors are open, and they will basically be the a endants at that facility. They’ll be providing some programming and educational opportunities to the community as well.”

Russell Fishbeck, director of Williamson County Parks and Recreation, said the Friends group has an agreement with the County to support the ongoing operations of the park through volunteering.

“Through our contractual relationship, we sit down and basically establish what our needs are and how they as a nonprofit organization can support us,” Fishbeck said. “That will translate into volunteer labor, operating our office and interpretive center, and they might help us with park maintenance projects.”

In addition to volunteering, Fishbeck said the Friends group also hosts fundraisers not only to operate their own organization, but also to raise funds for projects at the park in the future.

Robert Moss with Sarj the raccoon. Moss is the Park Supervisor. (Courtesy Photo)

“The group also advocates for the park itself, as well as its operations and marketing,” he added. “They really supplement our operation. We have needs that might not be met through funding, or we might not have enough staffing to do certain things. We can use the group to get projects done we couldn’t do on our own. We don’t yet know how busy the park will be, but I think with it being a seven-day-a-week operation, we will need that volunteer help.”

The Friends group currently has about 50 members, Fishbeck said, but he expects that number to rise once the park opens. Entry fees to the park will be $2 per person per day. Campsites with water and electric will run $24 per night, while the other sites will range from $12 to $16 per night. The park will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For more information on the park, visit www.wilco.org/rrcp. For more information on the Friends group, visit www.friendsofriverranch.org.