14 Oct Lake Casa Blanca State Park Plans New Entrance Off Ranchito Road

Lake Casa Blanca International State Park plans to move its main entrance off Loop 20 and onto Ranchito Road, according to the Laredo Morning Times, with park officials citing safety as the main reason. Texas Parks and Wildlife presented the plan to Webb County commissioners Tuesday, and it was on the agenda for possible action. The department and TxDOT need the county’s sign-off to move ahead.

The issue is the wait to get in. Park Superintendent Querubin Guerra told the Times that big crowds, Easter in particular, leave a long string of cars waiting on the loop. Precinct 1 Commissioner Jesse Gonzalez described the same thing: a nice Sunday can back traffic up, and on a holiday the wait can start the night before.

The plan calls for a new access road with a pair of queuing lanes totaling 2,300 feet, along with its own exit road. Visitors would pass through three check-in lanes, plus a pair of turnaround lanes, and there would be more room to park cars and RVs. A new headquarters building would include check-in, a store, restrooms and water fountains.

The building would go next to the baseball field that’s there now, an area Guerra said sees little use, and the plan saves the big mesquite trees visitors picnic under.

The Times reported that the cost would be split. Webb County would pay for the new road and parking with right-of-way money from TxDOT, while Texas Parks and Wildlife would cover the headquarters building, entrance booth and the landscaping around it. The county is coordinating with the department, Gonzalez said, as roads and buildings shift.

Work is slated to begin in November 2027, and the park plans to occupy its new headquarters in January 2029, the paper reported. The move is tied to TxDOT’s project widening Loop 20 beside the park.

Down the road, the park also wants to expand its trails and use its current headquarters as an interpretive center on the area’s natural and cultural history. More than 185,000 people visited the park in 2025.

The Loop 20 project is also reshaping Casa Blanca Golf Course next door. In June, the county approved redesigning the course, since the widening was set to claim part of the land. About half the course will be affected, and early cost estimates run $29.5 million to $32.5 million.