Texas’ ‘best kept secret’ endangered by ‘environmentally focused’ development, land owner says

A creek on the border of Travis and Hays Counties that scientists have called one of the last “untouched” corners of the state has become the center of a debate between conservationists and developers. A pristine waterway, Roy Creek Canyon, is home to 700-year-old cypress trees and numerous endangered species. Last year, plans were announced for the construction of a new 1,400-acre “conservation-scale” development called Mirasol Springs on the surrounding ranch land. For the past three months, KXAN has been taking an in-depth look into the history of the reserve, the development and the debate over the future of Roy Creek and the Roy Creek Canyon Reserve.

Hidden among rolling canyons and deep ravines, Lew Adams calls the Roy Creek Canyon Reserve “one of the best-kept secrets” in Central Texas. There are no public roads and no public access. Seeing the site firsthand is invite-only. The canyon is located just a few miles west of Austin, near Hamilton Pool and Reimers Ranch. Roy Creek runs through the reserve, fed by naturally occurring springs, and then flows into the Pedernales River. Adam’s father and a friend bought the canyon from the surrounding ranch in 1941 after stumbling on it during a hunting trip. “They decided at that time, seal the deal with a handshake, that they would keep it in its pristine condition forever and never develop it,” Adams said. The canyon has become a sacred site for students and scientists over the decades. The University of Texas at Austin has hosted a field lab at the canyon for years and scientists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the San Antonio Zoo have conducted research with the canyon.