This view of Edge Falls from behind the waterfall shows rocks and vegetation in the amphitheater. Photos by Linda Byrne

By Linda Byrne
Editor

Ireland is said to have 40 shades of green in the springtime, but Edge Falls on Friday wore a more varied Texas Hill Country palette.

The Bergheim natural treasure was decked out on a beautiful spring day in turquoise, taupe and bone with touches of green. Water gurgled over rocks, the graceful falls whooshed in the background and birdsong filled the air.

Edge Falls has not always been so serene. In the 1960s, it was the “Hippy Hollow” of the Hill Country. High school and college students came from as far as San Antonio to swim, hang out and commune with nature.

But according to one Edge Falls Web site, man didn’t always triumph over nature at Edge Falls. Several people died trying to jump off the cliffs into the water, and Amy Edge Harwell eventually sold the property she had opened to the public in the late 1950s. The change in ownership meant Edge Falls is

Artist Linda Chalberg (above) of Carriage House Gallery sketches an Edge Falls scene during the day.

The Cibolo Nature Center sponsored Friday’s trip for a group of 30 people. Edge Falls now is owned by the Yelderman Family Trust, and the “Great Gatsby” atmosphere of another era has been replaced by conservation and preservation of what has been called one of the Hill Country’s best-kept secrets.

The falls are situated in a rock bowl, deep in the earth, amphitheater fashion. To get there, visitors park in what appears to be a typical Hill Country pasture. But descend down more than 50 steps on a steep metal bridge, and another world appears.

Bill Ward, a limestone geologist, explains that under the Glen Rose limestone strata lies the Hensel. Parts of it are visible in the amphitheatre.

Botanist Jason Singhurst and geologist Bill Ward

Two botanists on the trip, Bill Carr of the Nature Conservancy and Jason Singhurst of Texas Parks and Wildlife, explained that the amphitheatre is home to a number of plants that may not be found elsewhere in the Hill Country. Because it is inaccessible to grazing animals, plants thrive in the moist, sheltered habitat.

They pointed out cucumber weed, which grows in rock crevices, and watercress growing alongside the creek. Water penny provided a dazzling green blanket at the water surface, and spadderdock looked for all the world like wild waterlilies.

The botanists, who recently collaborated with Jackie Poole and Dana M. Price on the book “Rare Plants of Texas”, soon filled their clipboards with Latin names of plants.

Botanist William R. Carr and a group of visitors to Edge Falls look at vegetation around the falls.

Hours later, as the weary group trekked out of the amphitheatre and the falls became a distant shush, there was one immediate sign of welcome: a cool breeze.

The teens who swam at Edge Falls half a century ago may not have been aware of the area’s geological and botanical significance. But a mere mention of Edge Falls brings the same gleam in the eye and contented smile as the mention of Woodstock: “Yeah, I was there.”