The view from the levee separating the 200-acre Llano Grande Resort from its 18-hole golf course is worthy of stopping for a moment to take in. It’s the expanse of what’s essentially a small town within Mercedes’ city limits.

The resort has over 1,100 spaces where its 2,000-plus residents reside in homes, cottages, apartments, mobile homes and RVs. Llano Grande recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in Mercedes and is nestled by a levee managed by the International Boundary and Water Commission. The federal agency’s regional headquarters are in close proximity to the resort just south of Business 83 on Mile 2 W Road. 

Winter Texan communities like the one at Llano Grande have their own sense of place. They are defined by long-standing friendships and shared generational and cultural experiences of being from the Midwest and Canada. The residents living in Llano Grande, like similar parks in the Rio Grande Valley, are in the midst of a great shift from World War II retirees to the burgeoning baby boomer generation reaching retirement ages.

Staying Active

Estimates are there are 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 per day, bringing with it huge changes in the U.S. workforce. Thousands of Americans are leaving behind work every day in seeking a life with more leisure. With another Winter Texan season ending, the tourist industry is seeing the generational change amongst the Valley’s northern visitors. 

“They’re more active and younger,” said Mary Lou Cantu, the events coordinator for Llano Grande. 

The assessment is borne out in the number of fitness centers, swimming pools, tennis and pickleball courts, and a golf course that has seen $1 million in improvements in recent months.

The activities at Llano Grande go beyond the traditional RV park offerings. They include a woodworking shop, an art studio and daily yoga classes. The 55-and-older residents at Llano Grande want things to do and they do them daily.

“It’s fun to see,” Cantu said of how active the resort’s residents are.

Physical & Social Networks

Driving a golf cart on the levee in providing a tour is Kim Poyer, Llano Grande’s community manager. She marvels at the size and life found at what she calls “our little piece of paradise.”

“Llano is like a little city,” she said.

Poyer’s description of the resort as a small community is reinforced by the fact that it has its own fiber network with connected internet and cable systems. 

The network covers the original Llano Grande site east of Mile 2 Road with decades-old oak trees and its canopies extending over carports and anchored mobile homes. The resort’s original events and activities center is also located in the older section of Llano. A yoga class was underway in the center on a recent morning. Across the way, to the west of Mile 2, is where the majority of the resort’s residents live. The area includes more traditional housing with well-kept lawns and two-story apartment buildings. 

Llano Grande, like all RGV resort communities, includes a healthy contingent of temporary RV-vehicle residents who stay for a handful of winter months before heading back to Canada or the Midwest. More of its residents, however, are choosing to stay year-round, said Poyer. They are building an even stronger sense of community at the resort.

Local Connections

That connection is what Llano Grande is trying to build outside of its boundaries. It’s a point Poyer highlights during a recent tour of the resort she helps manage. Llano Grande was purchased by California-based BoaVida RV Parks & Resorts in 2021. Since then, and under the leadership of General Manager Mike Herrick, the resort has nurtured closer ties to Mercedes, Poyer said.

Llano Grande works closely with local first responders. The resort actively supports the Mercedes Fire Department’s holiday toy drive. The city’s police department is responsive to the resort’s calls and Poyer praised officers for being diligent in looking out for the safety and well being of its residents. At Llano Grande’s newer events center, high school proms take place at the 25,000-square-foot facility with community market days regularly in the facility’s spacious parking lots.

“The residents have a big heart for Mercedes,” Poyer said. “We feel like we’re part of the community.”