What Should Reimers Ranch Become? Spicewood Has Until November 4 To Answer

Travis County Parks is writing vision plans for Milton Reimers Ranch Park and for RGK Ranch Park, the roughly 1,500-acre tract to its east that is still closed to the public. The online survey runs October 7 through November 4. The first open house is Wednesday, October 7, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Lake Travis Middle School, 4932 Bee Creek Road.

The timing matters because of what the rest of the area looks like this month. Reimers is the one public park in the Spicewood area that is open daily, needs no reservation and has no seasonal closure scheduled before next spring. The County is asking for input during the exact weeks the park is doing the most work.

Where Each Park Stands The First Week Of October

Each of the others comes with a condition. To visit Hamilton Pool, you book a morning slot from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or an afternoon slot from 2 to 5:30 p.m. The online reservation fee is $12 per vehicle. You then pay $8 per adult in cash at the gate, and the County says a reservation never guarantees water access. Right now the water is closed because of recent rain and high bacteria levels, and the trail under the overhanging cliff is closed as well. Krause Springs points out that it never closes because of drought, but it does close every winter for property work. In most years that starts November 1.

Reimers works differently. It doesn't take reservations, and the County says plainly that it is a large park and does not expect to fill up. Day-use entry is $5 per person, $3 for seniors 62 and older, and free for children 12 and under. The booth takes cash only.

The Beach Road Already Has An End Date For Its Current Rules

The biggest change at Reimers this fall is on the road down to the Pedernales. The County now opens the beach road seven days a week for dropping off people and supplies. Parking at beach level is still not allowed. The County also says it expects to close the road on busy swimming weekends and holidays in late spring 2027, citing public safety.

So daily drop-off access on the beach road is set for this fall and winter only. Once swimming weekends get busy next spring, the County expects to close the road on those days. The comment window on the park's future closes in early November, months before then. The people giving input are this fall's visitors, the same ones using the road on its most open schedule.

Two other notices from this week are worth checking before you go. The mountain bike trails are closed after recent rain and will reopen once they dry out. Travis County is also under a burn ban, so only propane in above-ground covered grills is allowed. The County's weekly guided hikes and monthly bird walks are still listed as cancelled until further notice, with no restart date.

What The County Is Actually Asking About Reimers

The Reimers plan covers more ground than the park most people know. The planning area takes in the existing park and about 475 acres of new parkland to the southeast, for a total of 3,689 acres of connected parkland. The vision plan is being prepared by RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture, Civilitude, Hicks & Company, and Second Spatial.

The County's campaign page lists four questions for Reimers users:

1. Which access points serve you now, and which could be improved.
2. Which existing wayfinding, trailheads and features you already value.
3. Which new amenities, wayfinding or utility features would help.
4. What you'd like to see on the added parkland.

The same page lists what people already come to Reimers for, including hiking, climbing, biking, horseback trail riding, swimming, fishing, and night-sky viewing through the observatory programs. Each of those groups shows up on the fall calendar below, and each can speak to its own corner of the park. The County hadn't posted the survey link when the campaign page was captured; the page still said "coming soon." Questions go to [email protected].

RGK Ranch, Two Years After The Purchase

RGK Ranch Park is a 1,500-acre part of the Kozmetsky Ranch, east of Reimers, off Highway 71 and Reimers-Peacock Road. The initials stand for Ronya and George Kozmetsky, who bought the ranch in 1970. Their daughter Nadya Scott arranged the sale to Travis County. The County paid $90 million, and The Nature Conservancy helped broker the deal. The family donated more than $30 million in land and development rights. The purchase was finalized in May 2024.

When the deal closed, KUT reported that a public opening was a few years away. As of this week, the County still lists RGK as not yet open, and it hasn't published an opening date. The survey is the first step that turns the purchase into a plan.

The land is a different kind of place from Reimers. The County describes rocky uplands, limestone bluffs, creek corridors, wooded madrone stands and wide Hill Country views, and says much of the property is still undeveloped. Reimers is known for its Pedernales River frontage. RGK's water comes from creeks; 2024 reporting described streams and a Bee Creek tributary running over limestone ledges. The family kept an inholding of about 90 acres with a house and a small lake. Reports said the County has a right of first refusal if it is ever sold.

The County's early ideas point toward a quiet park. It lists backcountry hikes and conservation areas for environmental education as possible uses. Two places will be kept as part of the park: Casa Blanca, a hilltop house with views over the property, and the Memorial Garden. The survey specifically asks for ideas about using Casa Blanca as a venue. Regional greenway planning envisions a trail link of less than two miles between Reimers and RGK, with hiking, birding and horseback access among the possible uses.

Together, the two plans would create a trail corridor running from the Pedernales bluffs east toward Highway 71. The answers people give this October will help decide whether RGK becomes a quiet backcountry neighbor to Reimers or takes on some of the load Reimers carries alone today.

The Reimers Calendar While The Survey Is Open

These events fall inside the survey window or close to it:

• Sunday, October 11, 7:30 p.m. Observatory night. County staff run the program on the park's 25-inch and 15-inch telescopes. The planned topics are star clusters, gas clouds and double stars. The program price includes park admission: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, free for children 12 and under. Payment is cash only at the park. Reservations are required. Arrive on time and park in the mountain biking lot. No November session was listed at the time of capture.
• October 11 and November 8, 10 a.m. to noon. Park Stewards. These are the Travis County Parks Foundation's fall sessions at Reimers. Registration is closed, and the spring cohort opens for sign-up in February 2027.
• Saturday, November 14. The Limestoner 2026. The Texas Climbers Coalition holds its competition at Reimers. Check-in runs 8 to 9 a.m., climbing runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and awards are at 6 p.m. Spectators get in free. Competitor tickets are $50 at the early-bird price through October 18, and competitors bring their own belayer and gear. No ticket includes park entry.

The Limestoner is ten days after the survey closes, so the climbers who come out that Saturday will have missed it. The observatory night on October 11 lands in the first week of the window. Nearly every group the County names as a Reimers user has a reason to be at the park, or at the Lake Travis Middle School cafeteria, before November 4.

If you own land near Hamilton Pool Road or Reimers-Peacock Road and want to know how a future RGK trailhead or new Reimers access points might affect your own plans, Jana Birdwell follows these County plans closely and can talk them through with you in confidence. Request a Private Consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.