Westcave

October 14, 2023

Westcave

So in opting out of attending day three of the ACL Festival, I wanted to get out and explore the natural beauty of the relatively nearby to Austin, Texas Hill Country. In researching potential places to explore, I came across the Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center located in the speck of a community known as Round Mountain, Texas. It is located about thirty miles from Austin and the closest small town is Dripping Sprimgs, which is about fourteen miles away.

The 76-acre nature preserve is basically separated into two sections, the Uplands which represents about 45 acres which features about a mile and a half of trails that wind through the Live Oak and Juniper Savanna. The trails traverse the rolling prairies and feature two bird blinds from which you can watch, secluded from the birds and other wildlife that call the area home.  The Uplands are open for exploration for all and is a pretty beautiful and tranquil part of the experience.

The real gem though is the Canyon experience, which is only accessible on a limited schedule guided tour and this what I signed up for and what draws people from all over to see the amazing canyon and grotto and the famous Westcave itself. The one-mile guided tour takes about two hours with an expert naturalist who explains the flora, fauna and natural history of the area. It is simply a stunning experience and the photos just don’t do it justice.

The Canyon is the result of an immense limestone cave in southwestern Travis County which gradually collapsed, the centerpiece of this natural beauty is most definitely the waterfall at the terminus of a half-mile-long trail, where spring-fed Heinz Branch Creek rolls over a 40-foot-deep chasm, into a crystal-clear pool at its base.

.Providing the necessary moisture for a spectacular variety of plant as well as animal life along the canyon that leads to the Pedernales River, the waterfall is the culmination of the hike along a steep and winding trail that features numerous wonders in a natural terrarium. The result of a preservation project that began in 1973 with the purchase of the property by Austin architect, John Covert Watson, 

Westcave Preserve was first the brainchild of environmental activist, John Ahrns, who was hired by Watson to manage the property, and who, for 10 years, cleaned it, warded off trespassers and arranged for public tours. Following this decade, the property was then sold to the company that now leases it to the Westcave Preserve Foundation, resulting in the development of the preserve itself, including tour continuation, and the development of a 3,000-square-foot learning center which was constructed in 2003.

The trail itself, en route to viewing the preserve’s breathtaking cave formation, water features, and lush vegetation, drops 40 feet along the path, and in conjunction, the temperature can also drop noticeably while live oaks and cedars quickly give way to enormous bald cypress trees and tropical-looking vegetation. Westcave Preserve is truly a Texas Hill Country gem of nature.

After visiting the preserve, I drove the fourteen miles to the quaint Texas Hill Country town of Dripping Springs to have a Texas barbeque lunch at the Pig Pen BBQ before taking in the sites at this tiny, tourist friendly small town. I had a drink at the local Brewety and walked around Main Street.

Meanwhile, Kathy was entertaining visitors at our Colorado house. Her longtime friends Kate and Anne arrived for a mini-reunion and the trio spent time exploring Colorado Springs, along with our dog Clove. They hiked through the Garden of the Gods and spent time in Manitou Springs, Old Colorado City and Colorado Springs.

https://www.westcave.org/