Passport to Texas

Enchanted Rock

Fido Free Enchanted Rock Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Visitors to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area may bring their dogs with them – as long as it’s not to the top of the granite dome.

I’m a dog lover – I have two dogs – and I can’t take my dogs up there either, anymore.

Doug Cochran, superintendent at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, says a new regulation went into effect March first; it prohibits visitors from taking their dogs to the summit in order to protect the fairy shrimp that live in the vernal pools atop the dome.

We want to protect these precious resources for future generations. I want my grand kids and my grand kids’ grand kids to come up and have the same experience on top of Enchanted Rock, looking at these fairy shrimp that the kids are have now.

Visitors have unwittingly upset the fragile ecosystems on E-Rock by allowing their pets to drink from, and relieve themselves too close to, the pools—thus polluting the water. Even so, dogs are welcome.

On our loop trail there’s a 4.5 mile walk. You can take dogs out there, and they can get really good exercise, and you can see really great parts of Enchanted Rock on our loop trail that a lot of people don’t get to see because they just go up to the summit and come down.

Find a link to the new regulation for Enchanted Rock at passporttotexas.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti