Barton Warnock Visitor Center, Environmental education center in Brewster County, Texas, United States.
The Barton Warnock Visitor Center is an environmental education facility in Brewster County, Texas, serving as the eastern gateway to Big Bend Ranch State Park. The grounds contain exhibition buildings and cultivated desert gardens that showcase native plant species and help visitors understand the region's natural environment.
This facility began in 1982 as the Lajitas Museum Desert Gardens, founded by the Lajitas Foundation. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department took over the operation in 1990 and renamed it to honor botanist Barton Holland Warnock.
The center tells the story of how the desert landscape has shaped life and settlement in this region over centuries. Exhibits explore the relationship between local communities and their natural surroundings, showing how people adapted to this challenging environment.
The center provides maps, permits, and trail information for visitors planning to explore the park and surrounding areas. Staff can advise on hiking routes and outdoor activities suitable for different experience levels and seasons.
This facility is named after botanist Barton Holland Warnock, who dedicated his career to studying the plants of the Chihuahuan Desert. The multi-acre garden on the grounds displays hundreds of native species collected and cultivated specifically from this desert region.
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