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    Massive even by Texas standards, the quietly magnificent Kenedy Foundation Ranch is but a one-hour drive from Corpus Christi, lying some sixty miles south along Highway 77.  Approximately 235,000 acres of the Kenedy Ranch is owned by The John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation, created by Sarita Kenedy East in memory of her father, John Gregory Kenedy, Sr., son of Mifflin Kenedy, and her mother, Marie Stella Turcotte Kenedy. 
   

    The mission of the Kenedy Memorial Foundation, a 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation, is to maintain its portion of the Kenedy Ranch as a natural asset that honors the role of the Kenedy family in both the development and preservation of South Texas.  In 1997-98 the Kenedy Memorial Foundation received the prestigious Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Outstanding Lone Star Land Steward Award in recognition of outstanding efforts in the conservation and enhancement of wildlife habitat in Texas.
   

    The Kenedy Memorial Foundation Ranch is situated in the coastal bend of South Texas’s Rio Grande Plains; the climate is humid subtropical, with cool winters and very hot summers and a prevailing southeast wind.  There is an average of 320 frost free days a year, with vegetation growth peaking in spring and fall.  Annual rainfall averages 26.47 inches, the greatest amount falling in May and June and again in September and October.  
   

    The Kenedy Foundation Ranch is comprised of three sections.  The map on this page depicts the three sections  – La Parra Division, Rita Division (not available), and Jaboncillos Division – in relationship to one another and to Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay.  Across these Divisions, landscapes rich in natural diversity kaleidoscope through native prairie, brush country, coastal marshes, woodlands with shaded ponds, and a serene beach stretching along Baffin Bay’s coastline.
   

     A fascinating aspect of the ranch is its numerous expanses of migrating sand dunes, dramatically rising out of the flatness of the land around them.  With a calm dignity, these gentle giants continually shift and drift across the prairie.  On a windy day, the slow but inexorable process is easily visible to the naked eye.  They are a distinctive ecosystem and provide habitat for birds, small mammals, and large game animals.

     Lying in the southeast boundary area, a colossal spread of uninterrupted mud flats makes another indelible impression.  An unforgettable visual experience, this spectacle rivets the eye, suggesting some strange uncharted world, yet inhabited or visited by a variety of wildlife.  Bring a camera – this is no everyday sight!

     The sweeping array of topography and habitat offered by the Kenedy Foundation Ranch is rooted in the sheer magnitude of the property and has the fortunate result for sportsmen of attracting an abundant variety of small and large game that may be hunted, including but not limited to:

  • White-tailed deer                                           

  • Javelina                                                           

  • Feral hogs                                                       

  • Ducks                                                             

  • Geese                                                              

 

  • Nilgai

  • Wild turkeys

  • Bobwhite quail

  • Morning doves

  • Coyotes

 

    The nilgai, an exotic antelope imported from India to add to the variety of game available, is extremely popular with hunters in large part because it presents such a challenge.  A very fast animal, the nilgai is hard to hit, and with its extraordinarily thick hide frequently is not taken down even when hit.  Bagging a nilgai is quite an accomplishment, one that is exceptionally exciting for the successful hunter.

     In addition to some of the most sought after hunting in South Texas, the Kenedy Foundation Ranch’s considerable coastline along Baffin Bay provides visitors the opportunity to enjoy another local tradition as well.  Baffin Bay boasts some of the best redfish, speckled trout, and black drum fishing on the entire Laguna Madre, and those who enjoy this sport can be rewarded handsomely for their patience and skill.

    The Kenedy Foundation Ranch includes a host of cabins, dining halls, barns, kennels, garages, storage buildings, and weighing facilities.  They are in hunting camps located in a number of pastures on the La Parra and Jaboncillas Divisions. 

    In keeping with Texas history and culture, cowboys still ride the range and cattle still graze throughout the vast Kenedy acres, where indiangrass, switchgrass, sea coast bluestem, and various forbs cover the coastal prairie, and a number of free flowing artesian wells have created lush ponds surrounded by thick grasses. The majority of cattle currently on the Foundation’s property are Santa Gertrudis, but other breeds of cattle have historically grazed the ranch.

 Separate sections on the La Parra and Jaboncillos Divisions of the ranch provide more detailed information on the habitat, wildlife, average annual harvest quotas, camp facilities, and acreage.