Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge: Doeskin Ranch

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1992 to protect the nesting grounds of two birds with narrow needs. The golden-cheeked warbler, which is endangered, depends on old Ashe juniper and oak woodland; the rugged canyons here spared old trees from logging and hold some of its best habitat. The black-capped vireo, recently taken off the endangered list, needs head-high oak thickets, the shinneries of the savannas in the refuge's northern foothills.

Below the woods lies karst, limestone dissolved into caves and sinkholes, home to ringtails, cave crickets and creatures that never come to the light, and deeper still the Trinity Aquifer. The refuge records 245 bird species and is a Globally Important Bird Area.

Doeskin Ranch, off Ranch Road 1174 south of Bertram, is the unit for walking, with trails from easy to difficult and a vault toilet at the trailhead. The Shin Oak Observation Deck, a short drive north on Ranch Road 1868, looks over vireo country, and Warbler Vista off FM 1431 near Lago Vista is the place to look for warblers in spring and summer. The public areas are open every day, and there is no fee.