One of the best parks in the Lower Rio Grande Valley for a casual walk is Hugh Ramsey Nature Park in Harlingen. It is an oasis beside the busy Ed Carey Drive, on the bank of the murky Arroyo Colorado, and adjacent to a major subdivision. I have enjoyed many walks there, and, in 2018, drew a map of the park as a volunteer for the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. A copy of the map is displayed in the parking area.
I most recently walked on a humid September 17, 2023, morning.
Hugh Ramsey Nature Park is maintained by volunteers from the Rio Grande Valley Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists (mostly on the south side), and Arroyo Colorado Audubon Society (mostly on the north side). The City of Harlingen maintains the trails and empties trash barrels, and Harlingen Water Works System provides effluent to the ponds.
I started my walk on the north side of the park on Retama Trail beside Lily Pad and Kingfisher Ponds and stopped there to admire a Yellow-crowned Night Heron, a Great Kiskadee and a Wilson’s Warbler, among other birds, and then strolled a trail around Grebe Pond, with its green blanket of duck weed.
From Grebe Pond I sauntered over to Cypress Pond and sat on a bench to watch Buff-bellied Hummingbirds hoover about the red blossoms of Turk’s Cap. While I sat only 500 feet east of Ed Carey Drive and could hear traffic, it seemed as if I were much further away from concrete, asphalt and exhaust fumes.
From the bench at Cypress Pond, I moseyed south on Retama Trail to the intersection of Indigo Trail and continued along Lower Indigo Trail, stopping briefly to watch a five-foot long Texas Indigo Snake slither rapidly across the path in front of me. I walked generally north and east to the bank of the Arroyo Colorado.
Arroyo Trail follows the bank of the Arroyo Colorado. Homes in the Treasure Hills Subdivision are visible across the arroyo on the high bank. A half mile along the bank the trail veers away from the arroyo, climbs railroad tie steps, and enters the south end of the park at Ebony Loop.
My first stop walking east on Ebony Loop was a bench at Owl Pond, which isn’t a pond but a shallow water feature. There I sat waiting to see if something would come to drink. Soon, four javelinas emerged from the brush. One went to the water, the others stayed near the brush. After drinking, the javelina walked almost to me before it saw me. It stared at me, turned and trotted off to join the others.
I followed Ebony Loop Trail past maintained native plant gardens, some with bird feeders and benches, to the parking lot. I reentered the park on Indigo Trail next to the map I drew.
A loop from Indigo Trail to Retama Trail brought me back to the parking lot after spending quality time outdoors.
