Family Ranch Holidays in Texas

By Rhonda Carrier

A family ranch holiday in Texas offers a truly unforgettable blend of authentic Western adventure and outdoor fun and activities for all ages. Take the Family can help organise your dream Texas holiday, with all ages catered for, and treasured memories guaranteed. From guided horseback rides and cattle drives to kids’ activities and stargazing opportunities, these family-friendly dude ranches deliver immersive experiences that appeal to both parents and children alike.

Why Choose a Texas Ranch Holiday?

Horse-riding, fishing, hiking, swimming, white water rafting, zip-lining… If you and your kids love some or all of these activities, then a ranch holiday in the USA may be the perfect fit for your family, despite being something that you’ve not thought (or perhaps even heard) about. Add to the mix watching cattle drives and rodeos, and perhaps even joining in with Western dancing, and you may have the perfect family holiday to America staring you in the face.

'We took a thrilling hayride to help feed the ranch’s famous Texas longhorn cattle and also learnt to lasso with some of the ranch wranglers, who shared tales of their extraordinary lives.'

We discovered three dude ranches on our recent trip to the Texas Hill Country, a fascinating area of southwestern central Texas, west of the hip city of Austin (itself great with music-loving kids) and north of San Antonio, packed with hiking trails, live music venues, wineries – and working ranches welcoming families.

Our first-stop was the Dixie Dude Ranch near Bandera, a town dubbed the ‘Cowboy Capital of the World’ for its having been an staging area for the last great cattle drives of the late 1800s. An institution dating back more than 85 years, the family-owned ranch is a great getaway from everyday life and a place to deep dive into authentic Western culture, with home-cooked food (we loved the BBQ ribs, brisket, and Southern fried chicken) served in the rustic ‘chow hall’, cosy campfires and the chance to go horse-riding across part of its 725 unspoilt acres.

Horse Riding Family Holiday Activities for Kids in Texas

I was nervous of taking to the saddle, having not ridden for a while, but these are the most docile of horses – to the point that they can even be ridden along the property’s dusty trails, lined by fragrant plantlife, by beginners and kids of all ages. Also available year-round are hiking on the property’s trails, hunting for fossils and arrowheads, exploring the century-old barn and Range War Cemetery, fishing (catch-and-release), pickleball, tetherball and cornhole, horseshoes, volleyball basketball, and table tennis, and there’s a seasonal outdoor swimming pool. There’s no time for Tik Tok here!

Texas Family Accomodation

Accommodation (in cabins, cottages, and bunkhouse and lodge rooms) is quirky – this is not a luxury dude ranch for families (we can recommend some of those, though). Dixie Dude is a real working ranch where actual cowboys work the horses and compete in rodeos. And it’s one of the best all-inclusive dude ranches for families; rates embrace two horse rides a day along with all other ranch activities, three home-cooked meals a day and evening entertainment/campfires (all except Sunday evening), and accommodation.

Bandera itself is a must for those looking for the romance of the Old West – we particularly recommend the weekly Steak Night at the 11th Street Cowboy Bar, with its traditional wooden honky-tonk dance floor and live country music (one of the great pleasures of a Texas holiday even if you thought you weren’t particularly a fan of country music). It’s a great place to mingle with locals, as you bring your own meat (local steaks are phenomenal) to cook on the large communal grills, topping up with sides sold at a stall, and listening to live music as you feast. You might even find a cowboy invites you to the dancefloor to try the Texan two step; your kids might also love giving it a whirl!

Kid-Friendly Dude Ranches in Texas

Other kid-friendly dude ranches in Texas we visited were Rancho Cortez, also near Bandera, which doubles as a fitness retreat, with horseback rides, hikes and workouts, followed by relaxing nights around a campfire, stargazing. We didn’t come for the fitness, though – we took a thrilling hayride to help feed the ranch’s famous Texas longhorn cattle and also learnt to lasso with some of the ranch wranglers, who shared tales of their extraordinary lives.

Last up was Bandera’s Mayan Dude Ranch, another family-friendly all-inclusive ranch with fun in and out of the saddle. We especially loved taking another hayride out into the surrounding countryside to a open-air cowboy breakfast cook-out of ranch beans, hamburger rice, eggs, hash browns, ‘biscuits’ (savoury scones), pepper gravy made with bacon fat, and southern grits – part of your daily package and one that makes this among the best dude ranches for families.

Choose Take the Family for your Texas Family Holiday