This article is featured on the cover of the Winter 2023 issue of Texas LAND magazine.
The 1,165± acre Refuge on the Llano, with abundant live water, native habitat and easy access to Austin and San Antonio, is a one-of-a-kind ranch in a unique part of the Texas Hill Country.
Located 10 miles west of Llano and five miles east of Castell and its famed General Store, the ranch, which fronts on Highway 152, is about 90 minutes from the state’s capital and two hours from the Alamo City. A second entrance, through a deeded easement that extends to County Road 106, provides access to the south side of the ranch.
The Water
For humans and wildlife, water has always meant life. In the era before European settlement, the Tonkawa ruled the Llano Uplift. Then, the Comanches mastered the horse and pushed the Tonkawa out of the water and game rich area, claiming the bounty for their own.
Evidence of the cultures can be found throughout the ranch, lending evidence to the eternal value of crystalline water. When it comes to water, the Refuge on the Llano is almost an embarrassment of riches.
The ranch’s holdings include 5.41± riverfront acres situated on the north side of Highway 152. River access on the Llano doesn’t get any better than this. Whitewater rapids carve through a huge granite outcropping, then culminate in a deep, clear pool lined with massive boulders. A shoulder-deep pool, constantly filled by a burbling waterfall, is likely one of the best swimming holes in the en tire state.
Smoothed by centuries of flowing water, the rocks slope gently down to the water’s edge, providing more than 330 feet, an area larger than a football field, of convenient, easily navigable access for guests of all ages and abilities. The rocks are so perfectly worn that no shoes are required.
Massive oaks tower near the river. The ancient sentinels provide shade to picnic, rest and recover, before returning to nature’s swimming pool.
Across the quiet two-lane blacktop, Hickory Creek runs through the main ranch for about 2 miles. At the downstream end, the creek, which flows strongly in many places on the ranch during normal rainfall years, is slowed by a natural granite impoundment. The resulting private, hidden grotto is spectacular.
In addition to the creek, the ranch is outfitted with four windmills that provide water for wildlife and livestock. Two domestic wells provide water for the ranch’s human inhabitants.
The Land
About the time dinosaurs roamed the earth, the Balcones Fault shifted, and molten magma pushed through the earth’s core creating a unique geologic feature known as the Llano Uplift that, unlike the rest of the Edwards Plateau, is marked by granite formations and outcrops. Some, like Enchanted Rock and Pack Saddle Mountain, are famous. All capture the imagination. The entire Llano Uplift is only 90 miles in diameter.
As the granite eroded and decomposed through the millennia, it created a red sandy soil that is strong and highly productive, much more so than the thin soils that lie over limestone and characterize most of the Hill Country. Because vegetative cover is primarily dictated by the soil, the Refuge on the Llano has a diverse mix of native plants that provides superlative native wildlife habitat and a spring wildflower bloom that is unmatched.
The grass species on the ranch would have been familiar to the pioneering settlers and the aspiring cattle barons who trailed their herds through the untouched plains: big bluestem, little bluestem, yellow Indiangrass, green sprangletop and sideoats grama, the state grass of Texas.
The protein-rich brush and forbs, the basis of a nutritious wildlife buffet, found within the low-fenced ranch are more common in South Texas
than the Hill Country. They include blackbrush, whitebrush, cenizo and kidney wood.
Live oaks and post oaks, in an equal mix, along with persimmon trees and ancient bull mesquite cast long shadows. Their acorns, fruit and beans provide another source of food for wildlife.
Cedar, the bane of Hill Country land managers, isn’t adapted to the soil, so the ranch has been spared the expense of spraying or mechanical clearing. As a result, the habitat is as close to pristine as exists anywhere in Texas.
The Wildlife
Thanks to its strong soil and diverse vegetation, the area’s white-tailed deer naturally grow larger than typical Hill Country whitetails.
Rio Grande turkeys abound. They roost in the trees that rise from the river and creek bottoms. Native grasses provide adequate nesting cover essential for reproduction.
In wet years, the population of wild bobwhite quail surges. They, too, thrive in the sandy land and mix of native habitat.
The Living
The Refuge on the Llano is outfitted for enjoyment. A newly renovated master suite with a full kitchen, master bath and large attached shop/garage is located on the riverfront. A two-bedroom cabin with full kitchen and bath located nearby has also recently been updated. Four RV hook-up sites, a concrete slab for entertaining and a large, stone fireplace that beckons people to gather at sundown round out the riverfront offerings. The improvements are supplied by a domestic water well.
Several potential building sites with majestic views are scattered throughout the ranch, allowing the new owners to build their dream home. One potential hilltop home site, just south of Highway 152 and arguably the most beautiful on the property, is already outfitted with a new well and electricity.
A well-maintained, all-weather road constructed from crushed granite runs through the center of the ranch from south to north, making access easy. Satellite roads and trails angle off the main road.
The Opportunity
Land in the Llano Uplift is highly desirable. Land in the Llano Uplift with abundant live water is an exceptional investment opportunity that also pays dividends with life-affirming memories.
“We are aware of at least two sales in this area at or above the $20,000 per acre mark,” said Wallace Nichols, the sales associate with Republic Ranches. “Although those properties were smaller, the Refuge on the Llano is such an exceptional investment opportunity that also pays dividends with life-affirming memories.”
As one of the largest live water properties in the Llano Upflit, the Refuge on the Llano is one-of-a-kind in an environment unlike any other. Offered for the first time on the open market, this ranch, which delivers a lifestyle that can be envied but not replicated, is a rare opportunity to invest in a premier Texas property.
