Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

Park Alerts...

Sustainable Projects

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is working to become the “greenest” TPWD park. We are pursuing this goal on many fronts.

Dark skies

In 2014, Enchanted Rock earned a Gold-Tier International Dark Sky Park designation.

To qualify for the dark sky park designation, we had to improve our lighting. We added shields to outdoor lights so that light spreads downward rather than out or up. We also replaced standard light bulbs with lower wattage bulbs and removed some fixtures. These steps helped us lower light pollution and reduce energy usage.

Solar savings

Enchanted Rock's headquarters building with solar panels on the roof.Sun Club logo - says "Green Mountain Energy Sun Club"Green Mountain Energy Sun Club chose Enchanted Rock State Natural Area as a grant recipient in 2015. The Sun Club grant paid for an 11kW solar photovoltaic system installation on the roof of the park headquarters. This project was completed in spring 2016.

Energy from the sun helps cut the headquarters' utility bill in half. Savings help fund future sustainable building upgrades in the park.

Water wise

Person filling water bottle We switched the park’s water fixtures to lower flow options in 2012. Since then, visitation has increased 20.2 percent, but our water usage has decreased 34.6 percent. Look for signs with tips for conserving water during your visit.

The Friends of Enchanted Rock also purchased a large rainwater collection system that we are installing. We plan to use this water to help fight wildfires in the park and nearby. We also plan to use this captured water at headquarters in the future.

Water bottle filling stations came online in spring 2016, thanks to Whole Earth Provision Co., Chaco and Friends of Enchanted Rock. Refill your water bottle, rather than throwing it away. Save money and keep plastic out of the landfill! The filling stations track the number of water bottles saved.

Recycling rangers

new recycling binWe installed five large recycling containers for plastic and aluminum around the park in February 2015. Grants from Whole Earth Provision Co. and Chaco, as well as donations from the Friends of Enchanted Rock, paid for these containers.

We recycle about 4 cubic yards of plastic, aluminum and glass per month.