As the Chronicle‘s own Captain Day Trips, Gerald E. McLeod has logged his fair share of rump blisters from the backs of horses across Central Texas. Heck, we weren’t even surprised to learn that he’s a veteran rodeo-er and one-time wrangler for the Camp Fire Girls (!!!). Quite frankly, between you, me, and the horses, the good captain would rather sit under a shady oak and pop a cold one than ride the wild range. So here’s his list of recommendations should you and your kin wish to get out of town and try your hand (or hiney) at either. And following those, an additional list, compiled by Leigh-Ann Jackson, of ranches recommended to us by other cowpokes who are as adept at ridin’ as they are at relaxin’. –Kate X Messer
7A Ranch Resort, Wimberley
| Pioneer Town at 7-A Ranch |
“Unique is the simple word for it,” says Raymond L. Czichos to describe his 7A Ranch Resort on the banks of the Blanco River. Just a few blocks from the town square in Wimberley, the 7A is certainly unique, but Czichos’ humble word only begins to tell the tale of the resort he began to build in 1946.
In addition to the more than 60 bedrooms available to overnight guests, the 142-acre ranch also features Pioneer Town, a family entertainment center that is one of the more unusual and special attractions in the Hill Country. A reproduction of an Old West town, the mini “themepark” resort is a mixture of the historic and the just plain fun. There is an arcade, an ice cream shop, and a half-scale train that circles much of the property. Horseback riding is by reservation, since they don’t keep the horses at the resort.
At the center of Pioneer Town is the 1880s Opera House that seats 200 and is used mostly for benefit concerts and an occasional special show. The Pioneer Chapel often hosts weddings, with the entire wedding party staying at the resort. There are two log cabins that are more than 100 years old, moved to the resort and decorated in authentic period furnishings. For a special treat, visitors can view Czichos’ collection of 22 Frederick Remington sculptures and paintings by appointment.
The most unusual building on the property is probably the Bottle House, made with more than 9,000 soda bottles. Czichos and a rock mason modeled the house after one at Knott’s Berry Farm in California that was made of champagne bottles. The 7A’s Bottle House “used to be the only soda water bottle house in the U.S.,” Czichos says. “I don’t know if it still is.”
Pioneer Town isn’t as active as it once was because of competition from the big theme parks in San Antonio. Also, changes in area school calendars have altered the pattern of the family vacation. “It used to be the vacation season was Labor Day to Memorial Day,” Czichos laments, “now our season is stretched out all year long.”
The 7A’s accommodations range from individual rock cabins to lodges that sleep 50 people. All of the cottages have kitchens and most have cable TV. The 10-room lodges, with fireplaces, kitchens, and banquet halls, are perfect for family reunions or large parties. The ranch is a pleasant place to stay for a weekend, a vacation, or an afternoon visit, even if Pioneer Town isn’t brimming with high school and college students working the shops and putting on gunfight shows in the streets as it did in the resort’s heyday. May through September, two guests can get a cabin for $55 a night. 333 Wayside, Wimberley, TX 78676, 512/847-2417.
Dixie Dude Ranch, Bandera
| Dixie Dude Ranch |
By most accounts, the Dixie Dude Ranch holds the title of being the oldest overnight facility for wannabe cowboys and cowgirls in the Bandera area. The working ranch has perfected the art of luxury accommodation for guests drawn to its home in the thick forest which covers the rolling hills of the Medina River Valley.
Owner Clay Conoly’s great-grandfather, William Wallace Whitley, started taking in boarders in his rustic cabin to bring in extra cash for his livestock operation during the Great Depression. When Whitley began giving visitors a taste of cowboying back in 1937, it was mostly to Air Force cadets from San Antonio looking for something to do on weekends. Now the ranch caters to families looking for a unique vacation.
Over the years the ranch has grown to include several cabins clustered around the main house, where guests gather for hearty meals served family-style. “A lot of people come out for the food,” Conoly says. During the summer months, the morning trail ride sometimes heads to a meadow where a chuckwagon greets the hungry herd with a gourmet cowboy breakfast. With two trail rides scheduled daily, the ranch also offers overnight horse rides on the 725-acre spread. The daily rides last from one to two hours and go from deep ravines to hilltops that offer lovely vistas of the ranch. “It’s a diverse terrain,” says Conoly, “very primitive and real pretty.”
Between the trail rides the ranch offers plenty of activities to keep the visitors entertained. The Olympic-size pool is a perfect way to relax those sore muscles after a couple of hours in the saddle. There is a fishing pond down the hill from the ranch house, and during the day the trails are often used by hikers with a ranch-supplied birding list. The trails are also great places to hunt for arrowheads and fossils. In the evenings around the campfire the cowboys entertain the guests with music, poetry, and even rope tricks.
The Dixie Dude Ranch has a two-night minimum stay (three nights on holidays). The overnight trail rides are held on selective weekends during the year. Annual events include Easter Egg Hunt, Thanksgiving Feast, and Fourth of July BBQ feast. Adults, $85-95/day; prices for kids range by age between $25-60 — under two are free. Ranch Road 1077 Bandera, TX 78003, PO Box 548, http://www.dixieduderanch.com or 800/375-9255.
Silver Spur Dude Ranch
Thomas Wincell used to spend his vacations going to dude ranches all over North America. In 1980, he left Houston and built the Silver Spur Dude Ranch in the hills next to the Hill Country State Natural Area outside of Bandera so that he wouldn’t have to leave home to do what he enjoyed. His guest ranch incorporates the best features of the ranches that inspired him.
There are lots of ways to work up an appetite for the three family-style meals served in the ranch house dining room. The Texas-sized swimming pool is perfect for a quick cool off or for swimming laps. They also have ranch recreation essentials like horseshoes, volleyball, Ping-Pong, and billiards. Canoeing and tubing the Medina River is only 10 minutes away. “The Medina is much cleaner and not as crowded as the Guadalupe River,” Wincell says. The Spur also offers sunset hayrides, evening and breakfast cookouts, and traditional barbecue meals that will melt in your mouth.
The ranch has 26 horses to choose from, but Smokey is the favorite of many guests. Trail rides on the ranch leave the stables every morning and afternoon for a one-and half hour tour of the scenic hills. “We take lots of breaks,” Wincell says, “so that you’ll be ready to go again.” The professional guides also spend time at the beginning of the ride teaching the basics of controlling the horse. Riding instructions are targeted toward the experience of the riders, from beginner to advanced.
Bandera has produced seven world champion cowboys, allowing the town to proclaim itself the “Cowboy Capital of the World.” The ranch takes full advantage of the activity in town, from two-stepping at local dance halls to rodeos every weekend during the summer.
Rooms at the ranch range from spacious stone cottages to “double king” rooms in the three-story main lodge. All rooms have king-size beds and televisions, but no phones. Many of the rooms also have hide-a-beds. PO Box 1657, Bandera, TX 78003, http://www.texasusa.com/silverspur or 210/796-3037.
Smilin’ V Ranch, Liberty Hill
| Double D Ranch |
Company picnics shouldn’t be boring, staid events that everyone dreads attending. The Vincik family thinks that company parties, family reunions, and conferences should be an opportunity to have fun in a family environment out in the country.
“Some of these city kids who come out here haven’t been on a farm or ranch,” says Denise Vincik. The Smilin’ V’s children’s barnyard is stocked with miniature horses and goats, chickens, ducks, and even a potbellied pig. All the animals are just the right size for small folks to enjoy. There is even a friendly mule named Pumpkin waiting to welcome visitors. Horseback riding at the ranch is by reservation. They house eight horses and can provide more for larger groups. The trail rides tour the 140-acre ranch.
Group gatherings in the 10,800 square-foot pavilion are the ranch’s specialty, with a variety of activities available, including wagon rides, games, and a kid’s rodeo that is as much fun to watch as it is for the participants. The Alamo playscape is a unique feature on the ranch to keep those little buckaroos entertained all day.
The Vinciks can provide a traditional Texas barbecue or a real chuckwagon meal. They aim to provide a great ranch experience in a wholesome Christian environment. The only overnight accommodation on the ranch is a one-room cabin, so reservations are recommended. http://www.weblane.com/smilin-v-ranch/ or 515-6623.
Lightning Ranch, Pipe Creek
The Hill Country Natural State Area preserves more than 5,000 acres of pristine land outside of Bandera, and the wranglers at Lightning Ranch want you to see it the way it was meant to be enjoyed — on horseback.
The working ranch east of Bandera offers a wide variety of tours of the state park. Trips range from one and two hours long to half-day, all-day, and overnight rides. “People definitely come back walking funny after the ride,” says Katy Moorhead, office manager at the ranch. But the trail rides are easier than most mountain bike treks and cover more territory than a traditional day hike. During the summer and on weekends trail rides go out to the state natural area every hour. You do not have to be a guest at the ranch to join one of the rides, but you must sign up at the ranch beforehand.
After a tour in the saddle, guests can return to the ranch and enjoy the swimming pool or just lounge in the shade of the big oak trees. Accommodations at the ranch range from a $25-a-night house trailer to a new log cabin for $120. Several of the cabins are two-bedroom with a fold-out couch and full kitchen. Breakfast is served in the picnic area or ingredients are left in the cabin refrigerator. Other meals are on your own, but the Pipe Creek Cafe, one of the best eateries in the Hill Country, is less than half a mile away. 1283, Pipe Creek, TX 78063, on FM1283 off TX16, 830/535-4096.
Y.O. Ranch, Mountain Home
To the west of Kerrville lies a scenic slab of Hill Country that more resembles a desert than the typical thick forest of the river valleys. Here sits the Y.O. Ranch, an authentic setting for cowboys — cowboys in Africa, that is.
Still owned by descendants of original owner Capt. Charles Schreiner, the ranch is a 40,000-acre working cattle and horse operation. The Schreiners were one of the first family of ranchers to import exotic game for hunting and photographic safaris in Texas. They have some 10,000 of 55 exotic species, including wildebeest, oryz, addax, Japanese sika, aoudad, black buck, antelope, ostrich, giraffe, zebra, and Watusi cattle. Additionally, more than 2,000 head of Longhorn cattle still roam the ranch, making it the largest herd in the world.
Schreiner started the ranch in 1880 and built it to a peak of 550,000 acres. Cattle drives up the Chisholm Trail to northern markets helped the ranch get established. The Schreiner name has been attached to many thriving enterprises in the Kerrville area since.
Visitors are welcome to take a horseback or Jeep tour of the ranch. Overnight guests are offered one of 11 cabins, including five restored historic log cabins with fireplaces. Meals are served in the Chuck Wagon Hall, and visitors may sup alongside working cowpokes. “You get what’s fixed,” says Gus Schreiner of the “ranch-style” all-you-can-eat buffet.
The ranch is open for tours three times a day and can accommodate 35 overnight guests. 26 miles west of I-10 & TX41, 830/640-3222.
Stage Stop Ranch, Fischer
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The Devil’s Backbone, an ominously named section of FM32 between Wimberley and Fischer, twists and turns along a ridge of hills with an expansive view of the Blanco River Valley. At the base of the Devil’s Backbone near Fischer, the Stage Stop Ranch combines all of the elements that make the area world-famous.
Part historical, completely beautiful, with a heavy dose of entertainment, the ranch has just the right combination of elements for any size gathering of true Texans or curious tourists. The historic ranch became a stage stop on the road between Austin and San Antonio in the 1860s. In recent years current owners Troy and Lee Caffey have added a state of the art business conference center. The ranch has lost none of its rustic ambiance in the transition. Quite the contrary — it is still a working livestock ranch with trail rides by reservation. The ranch also offers a lighted riding ring, hayrides, and riding lessons.
On Saturday evenings, 7-10pm, the Caffey’s welcome Doc Toler & His Medicine Show to the Shotgun Stage natural amphitheatre for an evening of fiddle music and storytelling. The show is taped for broadcast on Hill Country radio stations on Sunday mornings. They must be photogenic as well, because the Stage Stop was also featured on Home Matters on The Discovery Channel and on Disney Online.
Lodging is available in the main guest house or in cabins on the property. There is lots to do at the ranch, with its campfire sing-alongs, natural springs, and spas. For those who wish to explore, Canyon Lake, the Guadalupe River, and shopping are close by.
Trail rides, $25; hay rides, $50 per adult. $135 per night for two adults, including breakfast and spa. PO Box 1390, Wimberley, TX 78676; Ranch Rd. 32, http://www.virtualcities.com/ons/tx/a/txa8601.htm or 830/935-4459.
This article appears in May 21 • 1999 and May 21 • 1999 (Cover).
