Hays County To Hold Public Meeting On El Rancho Cima – Boy Scout Ranch Conservation Efforts

Hays County Courthouse – The Hays County Precinct 3 Office will host a public meeting Wednesday, October 9, to discuss recent efforts to conserve portions of El Rancho Cima. The meeting will be held at the Wimberley Community Center, 14068 Ranch Road 12, at 6 p.m.

El Rancho Cima, also known as the Boy Scout Ranch, is located 18 miles west of San Marcos on Ranch Road 32 along the Devil’s Backbone. The property includes Sentinel Peak, which at more than 1,200-feet-high is a landmark for anyone traveling the route.

The 2,300-acre ranch was recently sold by the Sam Houston Area Boy Council of Boy Scouts, which was steward of the property for more than 60 years, and the new owner has subdivided the property.

“There has been a great deal of interest in conserving El Rancho Cima,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell said. “We have been working on ways in which to participate in these efforts and now have the ability to secure a 533-acre portion of the ranch that has frontage on both sides of the Blanco River. This gives Hays County a unique opportunity for conservation and partnership opportunities to preserve water quality and endangered species habitat as well as provide public access to a special part of the Texas Hill Country.”

Drone Footage by John Smith

Drone launched from the Hwy 32 rest stop. Fly over of Sentinel Peak, El Rancho Cima, and the Devil’s Backbone near Wimberley, TX. You can see the old Boy Scout camp 4:03, and zip line towers, 4:29 below. Zip lines going across the Blanco River, 4:44. Canyon Lake in the distance at 6:49. Alpaca farm at 11:17 as the bonus.