Joey Lopez took office in 2019 as Cameron County’s Precinct 2 commissioner. 

He took office with $500,000 for park development as made available from a successful 2012 bond vote. The funds, Lopez said, were just sitting there and not being utilized in his northwest county precinct. 

Lopez began scouting for landowners who could donate tracts of land to the county for park development. The county commissioner set his focus on the Olmito area between Brownsville and Rancho Viejo. There was still plenty of open land there amid the development of a fast-growing county. 

And Olmito had another advantage. A large and wide resaca runs through the unincorporated community. Lopez met with three family groups and the county commissioner laid out his plans for a county park. Each of the land donation offers were appreciated by the county commissioner but were fairly modest. 

Then came the offer Lopez was hoping for in a nearly 40-acre tract that has a resaca waterfront. Frank McKinney and Jane McKinney in 2019 made a generous land donation of 39 acres that includes 3,240 linear feet of waterfront on Lake Olmito Resaca. From there, through various efforts to secure additional funding and the work needed to design and construct the park, it all came to fruition in mid-February with the opening of the Olmito Nature Park.

“The park is just outside of the city,” Lopez said of the park’s proximity to Brownsville. “It’s like bringing a little piece of nature into your backyard.”

State Park Quality

A recent walk through the park reveals the classic native terrain of the Rio Grande Valley.

There’s the thorny brush made up of mesquite, ebony, huisache and prickly pear cactus. The variety of the native vegetation emits a sweet scent that’s common when you visit a national wildlife refuge or a state park in South Texas. In many ways, the Olmito Nature Park mimics the feel of a Bentsen State Park near Mission with its deep green vegetation, waterfront views, access to fishing, and winding walking trails.

Picnic shelters are found throughout the park and embedded on the edges of brush lines. Other amenities include birdwatch overlooks, a nature scape playground, comfort stations, and wildlife friendly lighting. Thick stands of sabal palms line the resaca, a vivid highlight that visitors are indeed in deep South Texas.

“It’s a quality-of-life feel of being outdoors and in a natural setting,” Lopez said. “This park gives you all of that and it’s close to home.”

More Phases Coming

The first phase of the park cost $6.4 million to complete with funds derived from the county, Texas Parks & Wildlife, the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation, the American Rescue Plan Act – and the generous land donation from the McKinneys. 

The next phase of the park is already under construction. It would include launching access areas to the resaca for kayaking. Educational pavilions with information about the wildlife and flora found at the park will be another added feature. Additional parking will be constructed on the southern end of the park. A third phase will develop an RV park area, with the goal being that fees from that addition to Olmito Nature will make the park self-sustaining in covering ongoing maintenance costs. 

And another added element that’s forthcoming is the extension of Brownsville’s West Rail Hike & Bike Trail to the nature park. The Brownsville trail currently ends less than a mile from the park. Connecting it gives Olmito Nature access to the city’s extensive network of hike and bike trails. In all, the park’s full development will cost just over $12 million. 

There is no admission fee to enter the park and it’s located at 9538 Hayes Road in Olmito and a short drive away from Expressway 77 as it heads to-and-from Brownsville. It’s a little piece of nature in Brownsville’s backyard.