Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park
An Altamira oriole at a feeder in Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Show map of Texas Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Show map of the United States
Location	Hidalgo County, Texas, United States
Nearest city	Mission
Coordinates	26°10′23″N 98°22′57″W / 26.17306°N 98.38250°W / 26.17306; -98.38250^[1]
Area	764 acres (309 ha)
Established	January 28, 1944
Visitors	52,337^[2] (in 2007)
Governing body	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/bentsen-rio-grande-valley

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is located at 2800 S. Bentsen Palm Drive (FM 2062) south of the city of Mission in Hidalgo County in the U.S. state of Texas. It serves as the headquarters for the World Birding Center.

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History

The park had its beginnings on January 28, 1944, when the parents of Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Lloyd M. Bentsen Sr. and his wife Edna Ruth Bentsen, along with Elmer and Marie Bentsen, donated 586 acres (237 ha) of land to the State Parks Board for a nature habitat.^[3] The park currently encompasses 764 acres (309 ha)^[4]

The park has become a prime area for bird watching and butterfly watching. When the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park became the headquarters^[5] of the World Birding Center's network of nine sites in 2004, vehicular traffic was banned and RV camping was no longer allowed in the park. The other sites, all located in south Texas, include Edinburg Scenic Wetlands;^[6] Harlingen Arroyo Colorado, Resaca de la Palma State Park, Roma Bluffs, Quinta Mazatlan, Old Hidalgo Pumphouse Nature Park, Estero Llano Grande State Park, South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. More than 325 species of birds, and more than 250 species of butterflies have been noted in the Bentsen park.^[7] The park is popular to butterfly watchers.^[8] The North American Butterfly Association^[9] operates the National Butterfly Center adjacent to the park.^[10]

Facilities, hours, admission

Entrance fee^[7]

The park is open year-round. Park tram available^[7]

Y Cafe, Texas State Parks Store^[7]

Exhibits, hiking trail, cycling, birdwatching, butterfly watching, picnicking, tent camping, meeting facilities^[7]

References

^ "Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
^ "Texas State Parks: Natural Economic Assets". Window on State Government. Archived from the original on January 7, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
^ "THC Bentsen Rio Grande". Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^ Behrens, Tom (2009). Camping Texas: A Comprehensive Guide to More Than 200 Campgrounds. Globe Pequot Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7627-4605-7.
^ Parent, Laurence (2008). Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites: Revised Edition. University of Texas Press. pp. 170, 171. ISBN 978-0-292-71726-8.
^ Carville, D. J. (June 2003). "Edinburg launches the first site of the World Birding Center". Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Combs, Susan. "State Park Profiles". Window on State Government. State of Texas. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^ Bahamón, Alejandro; Campello, Alex; Pérez, Patricia (2008). Inspired by Nature: Plants: The Building/Botany Connection. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-393-73251-1.
^ "North American Butterfly Association". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
^ "National Butterfly Center". National Butterfly Association. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.

External links

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains
National monuments and memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Castner Range National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument
National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP
National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Rio Grande
National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River
National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston
National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca
Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Visitor Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway
State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddo Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace
State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum
State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

This page was last edited on 3 May 2022, at 02:14

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