Climbing Culture, Conservation: The Story of Reimers Ranch
What used to be an overlooked cattle ranch in the outskirts of Austin is now better known as Milton Reimers Ranch Park. With hundreds of climbing routes for new and experienced climbers, the ranch humbly began as private land where Milton Reimer, the ranch owner, and his wife Joy Reimer allowed visitors to enter as long as they respected the land.
Climbers initially bouldered at Reimers Ranch in the late 1980s. The Reimer family had no issue with this, as bouldering is a relatively non-invasive practice of free climbing rock structures without the use of a harness or ropes.
However, it didn't take long before climbers realized the potential for sport climbing at Reimers Ranch. People began sneaking drills and bolting equipment into the ranch for practice. The bolts were permanently anchored into rock where a climber would then clip into each bolt and ascend the route. By 1992, 52 sport routes had been established.
When the Reimers eventually found the routes, they were opposed to the idea of allowing sport climbing because of safety hazards and liability concerns. Eventually, the Texas Climbers’ Coalition, formerly the Central Texas Mountaineers, collaborated with the Reimers to establish a liability waiver, along with a $2 entry fee, allowing climbers to enter the land at their risk. All entry fees would be directed towards park and route maintenance.
By the early 2000s, Reimers Ranch had become a staple destination for local climbers. When the family decided to sell their land in 2005, they worked closely with the climbing community to collect signatures for a ballot initiative to make Reimers Ranch public land that would be preserved as a park space. The item, which made it on the ballot, passed by the end of 2005. Today, everyone is welcome at the park.
Since Travis County’s acquisition of the land, the entry fee has increased to $5. The increased fee has helped to fund new initiatives at the park such as educational programs and an astronomical observatory.
The original 52 sport routes eventually expanded to over 450 routes, but that number has since decreased due to the popular ‘Prototype Wall’ collapsing in 2019. The Reimers Ranch sport routes accommodate both beginner climbers, with routes starting at a 5.6 on the Yosemite Decimal System, and more experienced climbers feeling adventurous to climb up a 5.14 route. Climbing routes at Reimers Ranch follow the Yosemite Decimal System, where the 5 denotes that a rope or other gear is necessary to climb the route. The number after the decimal point, which runs from 2-15, the difficulty of the route.
Texas Rock Climbing, a student climbing club at the University of Texas at Austin, recently hosted a one-day group outdoor climbing trip at Reimers Ranch. This location was chosen over other popular sport climbing sites in Austin like Seismic Wall and Gus Fruh.
Ryan Schneider, a sophomore at UT Austin and a Texas Rock Climbing officer, said, “Reimers is the most extensive out of the three [climbing sites] and allows the most flexibility and diversity in routes and difficulty.”
Schneider also said Reimers Ranch has a lot to offer visitors, as far as experience, when it comes to sport climbing.
“I definitely feel like the climbing [at Reimers] bends to my style, and I enjoy it quite a bit,” Schneider said. “There are routes there for every style so anyone could find a route they'd enjoy.”
As for future visits to Reimers Ranch, Texas Rock Climbing plans to base them on demand for the trips and their schedules.
While Reimers Ranch is primarily known for climbing, it offers a vast number of other adventures to the greater Austin community.
With over 18 miles of hiking trails and direct access to the Pedernales River, the park is full of local history, panoramic views of the Hill Country and is only a 40-minute-drive from the UT Austin campus.
Photography by Kate Burke