Field Trip: Berry Springs Park and Preserve, Sunday, October 26, 2025

— Cindy Chrisler

Renovations and improvements are near completion at Berry Springs Park and Preserve in Georgetown. Improvements include the new Milkweed Trail that takes visitors to the newly opened South Acres, across the county road from the main entrance. We will take a leisurely walk from the Donkey Viewing Area to the Milkweed Trail entrance, under the bridge where CR 152 crosses Berry Creek. The Milkweed Trail is about a mile of mowed grass or mulched pathways that encircle a 30 acre meadow and meander through the tip of an historic  pecan grove. We will encounter some riparian habitat along Berry Creek and  Dry Berry Creek, where flying squirrels and swamp rabbits have been documented. Bring your camera to capture late summer flowers, bees, butterflies, and birds. Visitors are allowed to harvest pecans if you can beat the squirrels to them.

  • What: Easy walk for about 1.5 miles on mulch, mowed grass, and pavement
  • When: Sunday, October 26, 2025, from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm
  • Where:  Berry Springs Park and Preserve, 1801 CR 152, Georgetown, TX. Meet at the donkey compound.

The field trip is open to all, members and non-members, and no RSVP is required. Wear clothing appropriate for the weather and bring water and snacks. We recommend using bug spray and sunscreen.

Directions from the south via I-35:  From I-35, take exit 265 and stay on the service road for about 0.7 miles. Turn right at the stop sign for TX 130 and remain on its service road for about 0.8 miles. Turn left on CR 152 and proceed for about a mile to the park entrance. Turn left into the park and proceed about a quarter mile to the first parking lot. Park in front of the Visitor’s Center or the donkey compound. Meet at the donkey compound.

There is no entry fee. Take a few minutes before or after the field trip to visit the new Visitor’s Center and pet the donkeys!

There are restrooms and water stations at the Visitor’s Center, at the top parking lot, and in the campground. There are small pollinator gardens at the end of the entrance avenue, at the campground entrance, near the large pavilion, and at the observation deck for the springs. 

If you have questions, please contact the Field Trip Committee (contact form here).

————–
See photos from some of our previous field trips in our Field Trip Album.

image of wildflower meadow
Wildflower meadow at Berry Springs Park and Preserve, May 2013. Photo by Bob Kamper.

Final plant list for the In-Person Sale on Oct 11, 2025

The final draft of what we will have at the in-person native plant sale Saturday morning has been added to our page Fall 2025 Native Plant Sale.

The biggest changes are in the tree section involving items that sold out in the online sale.  If what you desperately wanted is not there, please ask at wilco-chapter@npsot.org.

Old Man’s Beard, Clematis drummondii, will not be available.

Torrey’s Yucca, Yucca torreyi, is not coming, but some very nice Plains Yucca, Yucca campestris, are coming instead.

    • The in-person sale is October 11, from 11am-2pm, at Southwest Williamson County Regional Park, Boulder East & West Pavilions (near the Quarry Splash Pad) 3005 County Road 175  Leander, TX 78641.

    — Beth Erwin, NPSOT-Wilco Plant Sale Leader

    plant sign

    News Bulletin: Location change for Oct 9’s chapter meeting 

    Due to A/C maintenance at the Georgetown Public Library, the in-person location for the meeting on Thursday, October 9, has moved to the Community Room at the Georgetown Parks & Rec Administration Building (address below). The Zoom information has not changed.

    Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, October 9, 2025, when our featured topic will be The Soil Food Web Under the Lens of a Microscope with Laurie Dixon.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  The guest presentation begins after a short business meeting.

    ==> If you attend in person, this month we’re at the Georgetown Parks & Rec Administration Building, 1101 N College St, Georgetown, Texas 78626 (not the public library). Come early (6:30 PM) for expert advice, to check out the seed swap board, or just to visit.

    ==> To attend via Zoom, register at https://npsot-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/zDUfv6hKQMqLTpNQjtM-vA#/registration

    See the original meeting announcement at this link for speaker and topic details.


    At every meeting, we give away a book — about native plants or the meeting topic — to one randomly chosen in-person attendee!


    * If we have permission from our guest speaker, we record the presentation for our YouTube channel. (See a list of past topics at this link.)

    Have an idea for a speaker?  Let Program Leader Susie Hickman know via  email to wilco-chapter@npsot.org.

    NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public. We hope you attend!  Meetings may be in person, virtual, or both, so be sure to check details in the meeting announcement. Meetings are announced on our website, our calendar and Facebook. See upcoming topics on our Home page or on the Calendar.