About the Park

We are volunteering at S. Llano River State Park in Junction, Texas.  We’ll be here through January, 2020.  This is a beautiful area in the Texas Hill Country.  We’ve stayed at this park many times but this is our first time volunteering.

Walter Buck, Jr. moved to this area with his family in 1910 when he was 18 years old. They lived in the house that is now park head­quarters.  He took over the family ranch after his father died.

A bachelor all his life, Buck used to say that this land was his one great love. He do­nated his whole property to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1977 for wild­life conservation or park purposes. The park opened in 1990.

South Llano River State Park expanded from about 600 acres to 2,600 acres in 2011, when the Walter Buck Wildlife Management Area became part of the state park.

Located on the western edge of the Hill Country, South Llano River State Park is a unique com­bi­nation of rocky upland back­country and a lush pecan grove river bottom.

One of the lar­gest winter Rio Grande wild turkey roosts in Central Texas is inside the park.

Wild Turkey

In the fall and win­ter, many turkeys gather at the park and make their way into the pecan forest. In the evening, they fly high up into the tree branches and sleep there for safety.  

Records of turkeys roosting in the park go back about 100 years, but the turkeys have probably been here much longer.

If they are disturbed, they could leave.  From October. 1 through March 31, the turkey roost area is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This allows plenty of time in the morning for the turkeys to leave the roost to look for food in the surrounding area, and time for them to return in the afternoon.

One of our jobs (along with the other 3 volunteer couples) is to open and close the “gates” going into the turkey roosts area.

The park has two miles of river front­age, and multiple put-in and take-out points for tubers along the way.

S. Llano River

There are 22.7 miles of trails. Trails range from easy to difficult, and cross river bottoms, steep ridges and wooded areas in between.

There are 58 campsites with water and electric hookups, and a restroom with show­ers nearby.

Six walk-in sites have water and a restroom with show­ers nearby, while the five prim­i­tive hike-in sites have a chemical toilet nearby, but no water.  The five primitive sites are about 1 1/2 miles from the parking area.

The park has a very active interpretive ranger that offers lots of activities.  The three months we will be here the park will be closed 2 weeks a month for hunting.  There are only eight hunters allowed in the park at that time.

Unlike some parks that have a "season" for volunteers (usually Memorial Day to Labor Day), this park has volunteers year-round. 

More to come - stay tuned.