234 Ranch Road 1050, Concan, TX 78838, US
We help sustain & improve Garner Park for all generations.
Visitor AND NATURE Center
Located on the west side of the park in Shady Meadows camping area
Hours are 9-3 Mon-Sat, and 9-1 on Sundays
News! The Garner Visitor Center will hopefully be getting a makeover in 2023. Ideas and plans are being developed to update the interior of the structure built back in the early seventies. This likely includes taking down the old paneling and lighting, overhauling air conditioning and some electrical, closing in a window or two making more wall spaces for new exhibits inside. New TWPD exhibits will present the plants and animals of the area, rivers and geology of this part of the hill country, the skies and heavens around us, the history of the CCC building the park, family traditions, and the dance culture that has existed at Garner. The old interpreter's office could become a video display room and be connected to the nature garden becoming pathway for inviting visitors through the center. The gift selection area will be concentrated to make room for the inviting exhibits. The counter space will be enlarged to accommodate a workspace enabling our park interpreter to engage better with everyone. Come by and see the changes in 2023 as they happen!
aluminum Can recyling
Friends of Garner Recycling Project
Friends of Garner Recycling Project
Friends of Garner Recycling Project
Friends of Garner Recycling Project
Friends of Garner Recycling Project
Thanks to all Garner State Park visitors for recycling and to all our park hosts for collecting aluminum cans this past spring and summer. What a difference you have made for the park's beauty and for Friends of Garner's fundraiser. Here is the result of all your dedication. Just waiting for help to bale and for the price of aluminum to be at its best for these days and times.
Friends of Garner Recycling Project
Marching towards Christmas - Dec 10th
Join the Buffalo Soldiers program and friends as they stop into Garner State Park before leaving for Christmas break. Fun, Frontier, Christmas activities for all.
Monthly Meeting - Dec 14th
Join us for our monthly meeting, Wednesday, December 14th, at the Shady Grove group day shelter at 5pm.
New Year Eve Party
Join us and park staff employees for a New Year's Eve celebration.
More details to come.
Frio Freeze - Jan 1st
Join us for a plunge into the Frio at the dam on New Year's Day. If it's cold outside, the Frio might almost seem warm! More details to come.
Park Closed - Annual Hunt
The park is closed for its annual wildlife management hunt - January 2 -17th. Friends of Garner participates by helping feed and assist TPWD personnel, hunters, and youth during this time. See the TPWD website for more information on Drawn Hunts - TPWD (texas.gov), and this year's Garner State Park Hunting Information (texas.gov).
Contact FOG at 830-232-5999 for information on joining FOG and helping this year's hunt.
Park trails will be closed December 5-19th for archery hunting.
Trail Workdays - THE WEEKEND AFTER Martin Luther King holiday weekend 2023
The trail clean-up will start on Saturday, Jan 21th, 2023, at 9am. This is the weekend after MLK Weekend due to this year's hunt schedule. Meet us at Shady Meadows Dining Hall. Fun for the whole family and help the park by removing trash and trimming branches.
IMPORTANT
Make your park reservations early! Park reservations must be obtained by phone or online. Overnight or day-pass reservations will be required. Contact our park headquarters on reserving a limited number of free campsites for trail cleanup participants.
Highway Cleanup - Jan 21st
We had rains and were blown away in November. Join us to do trash cleanup on our stretch of US83 at 9am, Saturday, January 21st.
We meet on the northeast side of the park headquarters building at 9am to get started.
Spring and Summer Hayrides
Join us next spring and summer, most Tuesday and Thursday nights, to ride the Frio Canyon Trail in a hay wagon pulled by a tractor. We will tell you about the history, nature, and culture of Garner State Park.
Volunteers will be needed to coordinate, drive, and narrate these hayrides. Please help the tradition continue and provide memories to those that are still to come visit and enjoy Garner State Park.
FRIENDS OF GARNER
We are the Friends of Garner.
For those who float the river all day and dance all night...
For those who hike the trails...
For those who appreciate outdoor beauty and wildlife...
For those who return year after year...
We are the Friends of Garner.
For thousands of years, people have enjoyed the protection of the hills, the lushness of the land, the abundance of the animals, and the coolness of the Frio River... the same reasons we love it today.
We are the Friends of Garner.
We formed our non-profit organization solely to conserve and preserve your Garner State Park for generations through donations and activities.