Mother Neff State Park - Texas Parks and Wildlife

06/13/2026

See below for upcoming summer fun with Mother Neff State Park and the Gatesville Public Library!

🌳🐾 Calling all young explorers!

Mother Neff State Park is visiting the library today at 11:00 AM with a fun, hands-on program for ages 5–17! Discover wildlife, learn about nature, and hear what makes Texas state parks such amazing places to explore.

Whether you're a future park ranger or just love the outdoors, this is one adventure you won't want to miss. Join us at 11! 🍃📚🦋

06/10/2026

This event is now full.

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED - Limited Spots.

This Saturday we are hosting a Star Party at the park! It’s been a while since we last had one, and have limited spots. But don’t worry if you can’t make it to this one, because we will be hosting more soon! Follow the link below!

Join a park ranger to explore the night sky looking at planets, satellites, constellations and of course… stars!

Explore the stars with a park ranger at Mother Neff State Park, looking at various celestial bodies like distant stars, planets, and track satellites as they trail across the sky.

06/09/2026

It’s a stellar night! Venus and Jupiter are shining bright.

06/06/2026

It’s a Super Scorpion Saturday! Checkout this momma and babies. On average scorpions have a litter of 31.

Learn more about these intriguing critters at https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/striped-bark-scorpion/

Photo credit: Ranger Matt

06/03/2026

UPDATE: The funnel spotted yesterday was a cold air funnel and not one that would have produced a tornado which explained the lack of severe weather alerts. With that said, those pop-up thunderstorms do come up quick so keep an eye on those radars before you head out for a hike.

Thank you to our weather experts for explaining what was seen and why we were puzzled when our weather alerts weren’t buzzing. Checkout the comments or below for more information on this “cool” weather phenomenon.

Learn more @ https://www.weather.gov/lmk/cold_air_funnel

Today the park was a recipient of pop-up thunderstorm that materialized without any weather alerts other than the forecast with a low chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

This cell blew up rather quickly and we were very fortunate to just get a drenching rain despite the funnel cloud that was spotted in the approaching storm that arrived at the park around 12:15pm.

Stay weather aware this week! Lots of chances for storms.

Photo credit: Ranger Larry

06/01/2026

Welcome June!

Love is in the air with this pair of Northern Cardinals. This tender exchange helps strengthen pair bonds and better their skills for feeding young.

June is typically seen to be one of the busiest wedding months dating back to Ancient Roman traditions, Medieval and Renaissance traditions and overall better seasonal conditions. If you married in June did your spouse feed you some wedding cake on your special day? Hopefully they were as polite as these two lovebirds seem to be.

Photo credit: John Pitts

05/31/2026

Very neat job opportunity for Texas State Parks!

Texas Parks & Wildlife is hiring two Preservation Specialists for our team!

Preservation Specialists review projects affecting structures and sites over 45 years old and coordinate repair projects and trainings, through the professional application of the SOI Standards, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Antiquities Code of Texas. We're seeking historic preservation professionals who will be advocates for the history and built resources on State Parks properties.

Please see the job posting for more details: https://capps.taleo.net/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=00058548&tz=GMT-05%3A00&tzname=America%2FChicag

05/29/2026

🌅June may be hot, but there are always fun activities to find at Mother Neff State Park!

🦋From learning how to find your first geocache, celebrating pollinators by building your own butterfly, and looking (safely) at the sun on the longest day of the year, there is something for everyone!

🌌Our night activities will be RSVP, and those links will be posted on our website soon. This Saturday we are hosting a Star Party at the park! It’s been a while since we last had one, and have limited spots. But don’t worry if you can’t make it to this one, because we will be hosting more soon! Follow the link below!

Join a park ranger to explore the night sky looking at planets, satellites, constellations and of course… stars! Event is now full.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/calendar/mother-neff/star-party-rsvp-required

We hope to see you out this month!

05/28/2026

It takes a while for the rain to go downhill after a good storm like we had recently. Take a minute to slow down and relax with this video of the rainwater trickling downhill at Tonkawa Cave.

🎥Ranger Britton