The Narrows in the Texas Hill Country

A breathtakingly beautiful place in Texas Hill Country on the Hays/Blanco County line where a coral reef once thrived in land covered by an ocean that is now dry and frozen in time.
The Narrows got its name from the narrow appearance of the gorge from above. The gorge widens at the water’s edge; water has eroded potholes into the rocky banks and river bottom. Springs flow from the cliffs and provide moisture for various species of ferns and watercress growing along the banks.

NARROWS (Hays County). The Narrows is a gorge formed by a series of cliffs seventy-five feet high and a quarter mile in length along the Blanco River in southwest Hays County, just upstream from the junction of the Blanco and Little Blanco rivers (at 30°03′ N, 98°17′ W). The surrounding countryside of the Texas Hill Country is characterized by sloping limestone and is used for pastureland. Live oak, juniper, and mesquite grow in the shallow clay loam. The Narrows was part of the Hermann Schlameus ranch and appeared on local tourist maps from the 1930s through the 1950s, when it was a scenic park. The ranch was sold in the early 1960s, and the Narrows was closed to the public.