A wide lawn in the 600 block of River Road runs down to Cibolo Creek under a line of trees. One photo from the City shows a man fishing at the bottom of it. Until this year it was private property. As of September, the creek end of that lawn is public, and it connects to River Road Park with no fence in between.
This fall, the biggest change to Boerne's public creek frontage is about 1.25 acres. It came from a land purchase the City made two years ago and opened without a ceremony. The $17.25 million park everyone has been watching is still months from opening. Meanwhile, the creek you already walk keeps gaining small pieces.
How a private lot became part of River Road Park
My Boerne News reported that the owners approached the City about a purchase. The City Council approved the sale, and the City bought the property in fall 2024, with the owners remaining in the home through spring 2026. The City presented the purchase as an answer to its 2024 Citizen Survey, where open space preservation ranked among residents' top issues.
It opened while the City was still planning the lot's future. The July high water took out most of the fence between the new lot and River Road Park. Parks and Recreation decided not to rebuild it and left the property open to the public. Staff spent several weeks building and installing new rails and gates along the dam.
Mayor Frank Ritchie explained the purchase to My Boerne News this way:
"Opportunities to preserve property along Cibolo Creek don't come along very often, especially in the heart of our community."
Here's how it works today. The creekside part of the lot is open for fishing, passive recreation and sitting by the water. The house and the back of the property are closed while the City considers what to do with them. Parks and Recreation Director Lissette Jimenez told the outlet the department plans to ask the community for input "when the time is right." For now, the lot looks the way it has for decades.
Where the new lot sits on the walk you already take
The lot matters because of where it is. River Road Park sits in the middle of the Cibolo Creek Trail. That puts the new frontage on a paved route that already links City Park to Main Plaza. In 2024, San Antonio Report put the Cibolo Creek Trail at 1.75 miles and the Old No. 9 Trail at 1.4 miles, out of 3.65 miles of paved trail citywide.
Going east to west, the route as San Antonio Report described it runs like this:
- Start at City Park and pass the AgriCultural Museum and Arts Center.
- Reach the Sheep Dip Crossing at River Road and Herff Road.
- Follow the River Road sidewalk for about 0.4 mile.
- Go back down to the creek through River Road Park, where the new lot now joins the park.
- Pass under South Main, West Theissen and West San Antonio streets.
- Finish at Main Plaza by Peggy's On the Green.
Old No. 9 is a separate, straight paved path from Esser Road to Garden Street. A connector and bridge link it to the Patrick Heath Public Library.
That route description dates from 2024, before this summer's storms. The latest update on conditions came from The Boerne Life on September 18. It said the City had begun a longer-term restoration phase along the creek, removing damaged trees and debris. The downtown work was expected to take seven to 10 days, and the Cibolo Trail would stay open during it. The same update said the City will spend the coming months assessing areas with major tree loss and planning replanting. Some stretches of the walk may look thinner overhead than they did a year ago.
One more caveat. In its July account, the City said River Road Park's piers, elevated boardwalk and creekbank had held up. We haven't found a later public update on those features, or on City Park and Old No. 9. Check posted signs before you count on a particular pier or bridge.
What's open now and what's still on the calendar
The changes along the creek this year are small and spread out, and the large investment is somewhere else.
| Project | Where | What it adds | Status as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| River Road creekside lot | 600 block of River Road, next to River Road Park | About 1.25 acres of creek frontage for fishing and passive use | Open since September; house and back of lot closed |
| Downtown creek cleanup | Cibolo Creek corridor | Removal of damaged trees and debris, with replanting planned | Underway in September; trail stayed open |
| Old No. 9 bridge replacement | Behind Patrick Heath Public Library | Steel bridge replacing the narrow wooden one | Planned for 2027, with TPWD grant help |
| Old No. 9 extension | Old No. 9 Trail | A small extension, part of a citywide sidewalk package | In the budget year that began October 1 |
| Sheep Dip Crossing redesign | Herff Road at River Road | Turn lanes, plus a proposed shared-use path and pedestrian bridge | Early TxDOT proposal; no timeline or cost |
| Boerne Heritage Volkspark | Near Adler and Toepperwein roads | Nearly 40-acre park with a half-mile paved ADA trail | About 50% complete in August; opening planned for spring 2027 |
The Old No. 9 work appears in My Boerne News' rundown of the city budget. The extension is grouped with new sidewalks on East and West Hosack, West Theissen and Schweppe streets and on Herff and City Park roads. An Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization grant covers 80 percent of the package, and the City pays the other 20 percent. Herff Road and City Park Road both lead to the creek's east end. Gap-filling sidewalks there are the same small-scale stitching as the River Road lot.
The Sheep Dip proposal would matter most to people who walk the trail. As The Boerne Life reported in its August 18 issue, TxDOT's design would add two left-turn lanes and a free-flow right turn at an intersection the county has called its "worst." The design also includes a shared-use path and pedestrian bridge. The Sheep Dip is also where the trail now leaves the creek for the River Road sidewalk. The project has no construction timeline or cost estimate yet.
The big park, for scale
Boerne Heritage Volkspark is the project the City calls "the single largest parks investment the City has ever made," in a quote from City Councilman Ty Wolosin reported by My Boerne News. Phase one includes an all-abilities playground, a splashpad, two lighted multi-use fields, two covered basketball courts, 12 pickleball courts, a dog park, a food truck park and a half-mile paved ADA walking trail. The City says the design keeps more than 96 percent of the existing trees, and nearly 100 new trees will be planted.
The park was called Northside Community Park until June 2026, when City Council voted unanimously to rename it in honor of Boerne's German roots. A May 2025 report suggested it could open by the end of 2026. The current plan is a grand opening and dedication in spring 2027.
Compare the trails. The Volkspark's half-mile loop is designed to be fully accessible, and families with strollers and wheelchair users will get real use from it. The Cibolo Creek Trail, by San Antonio Report's 2024 measure, is three and a half times as long and runs right past the new River Road lot. This winter, the creek route is the only one of the two you can walk.
Two dates on the creek this month, and where to stop after
The Cibolo Nature Center sits at 140 City Park Road, at the east end of the creek trail. Its 2026 night-hike schedule lists an adult hike on October 16 at 6:45 p.m. The Cibolo describes adult hikes as longer walks on unfamiliar trails, led by Nature Education Director Noah Lawrence. The center's Trailblazers program for ages 13 to 18 lists Butterfly Day Volunteering on October 24 from 10 a.m. to noon.
If you walk west to the Main Plaza end, North Main has a couple of 2026 additions and regulars:
- Selah Café Coffee + Market, 616 N. Main St., held its soft opening on March 9, 2026. Community Impact reported bagels, sandwiches, bakery specials and espresso drinks on the menu.
- Salty & Sweet, 123 N. Main St., sells ice cream and candy and was open when MySA visited in June 2026.
- Bear Moon Bakery was running its breakfast service when MySA profiled it in February 2026.
Parks and Recreation hasn't said what the River Road lot will become. It could stay a quiet lawn, or the house could someday take on a public use. Until then, the creekside part of the lot is open to anyone who wants to fish or sit by the water.
Do you live near the Cibolo Creek Trail, River Road Park or the future Volkspark? A new public lot or a planned bridge can come up when you price your home, and it helps to know how. At Harkin Realty, we follow these projects block by block across Boerne. Get Your Instant Home Valuation to see where your home stands this fall.
