As it stands today, the entrance of the Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area is easy to miss.
Off State Highway 46 west of Boerne, a modest wooden sign spells out the property’s name in yellow paint. A collection of cramped buildings including a German-style house painted green and a white metal barn sits just beyond the entry.
But soon, the 3,814-acre ranch located just northwest of San Antonio will join the ranks of other state natural areas such as Enchanted Rock, Honey Creek, Government Canyon and Lost Maples. Unlike a state park, state natural areas put “natural resources over recreation,” said James Rice, the natural area’s superintendent.
“That designation affects the planning,” he said. “So once we determined that this was going to be a state natural area, then we said, ‘All right, what would be appropriate recreational uses here that wouldn’t be a detriment?'”
Like Enchanted Rock and Lost Maples, the number of visitors allowed per day at the Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area will likely be limited to protect the area from human impact, Rice said. The property is home to several protected species, such as the endangered golden-cheeked warbler and alligator lizard. Its pristine creeks and streams are extremely sensitive, Rice added.
The property’s rolling hills also hold the rare sycamore-leaf snowbell, big-toothed maple and Boerne bean, Rice added. Natural overlooks throughout the property will allow visitors to gaze over miles of untouched Texas Hill Country.
Willed to the public
Protecting the property was what Albert and Bessie Kronkosky had in mind when they willed the property, which straddles Bandera and Kendall counties, to the state of Texas. Known for founding the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, Albert Kronkosky died in 1995 and his wife, Bessie, in 2010. The couple never had children and wanted to make sure their beloved ranch was never developed.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department accepted the donation in 2011, and Rice became the property’s superintendent two years later.
The process of turning a donated property into a state natural area or state park typically takes years — if not decades, Rice said.
One reason has been inconsistent funding for the state’s parks department, which made planning difficult. Prior to 2019, a loophole in state law allowed legislators to use funds from the sporting goods sales tax meant for the state’s parks to go to other uses, meaning the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department operated on an unpredictable budget. That loophole was closed in 2019, making funding for the department more predictable.
Campsites and backpacking
A rough footprint of what recreation types the property will include was completed under the natural area’s public use plan last year. Next, an official design is needed before construction can begin, Rice explained.
“Now we have to come up with the design plans, then it’s time to build,” Rice said. “That’s a big job, and we are right in the middle of that.”
The department has put out a request for proposals for a design contractor and will ideally have one selected by late fall or early winter this year, he said. The contractor will work with the parks department to draw up plans for the natural area’s roads, buildings, wastewater treatment plant and any additional builds, Rice said. He said he expects the design to be complete and construction to get underway within the next year to 18 months.
For now, Rice and Howell Pugh, the new natural area’s resource specialist, are working to perform biological surveys and water quality testing of the natural area to establish a baseline prior to humans using the site. With the help of a team of volunteers, Rice and Pugh go out onto the property every few days to collect data, which Pugh then sorts through and organizes.
Under the public use plan, the state natural area will have 25 campsites and will allow limited hiking, bird watching and nature observation, Rice said as he drove around on some of the existing pathways in a four-wheeler. Rice pointed out where the natural area’s future headquarters will be, also noting a small open field shielded by several hills where some of the campsites will be located.
“Backpacking will be a big deal here,” he said. “We’re going to be modeled very closely to Government Canyon, so that’s what we’re sort of taking cues off of. There’ll be a mixture of walkup campsites, there’ll be a few cabins, and there’ll be a few screened-in shelters” for public use.
Rice said he and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are hopeful the natural area will be able to open sometime in 2026.
“I’m not sure folks realize the legwork it takes to open a new state [natural area],” Rice said. “It’s definitely exciting to be a part of something so big.”
