Dixie Dude Ranch — Local services in Bandera

Incredible experience! My wife and I wanted to give our twin 12-year old girls a dude ranch experience as we both fondly remembered when we had gone to dude ranches as kids, when we were their age over 40 years ago. Dixie Dude Ranch was awesome. First of all, we loved the fact that there was no cellular service at the ranch. So, we were all forced to totally tune out the outside world, which we all welcomed. When we arrived we were greeted by a welcoming staff who knew our name before we even walked in the door. After getting an overview of how the meals and horseback riding worked, we then went to our cabin. While certainly rustic, the cabin was very clean and welcoming just like the staff.

The dude ranch was a truly authentic experience. We did horseback riding, a hayride, swimming, fishing, played horseshoes, had s'mores by a campfire, stargazed, and met some incredible people from Scotland, the UK and France.

The food was traditional cowboy fare. We had BBQ chicken and sausage the first night and a pork dish the second night.

We had many highlights during our stay at Dixie Dude Ranch. The top highlight was the cowboy outdoor breakfast. On Mondays and Fridays the ranch has a cowboy breakfast where you ride up on horses for about 45 minutes to a beautiful spot on top of the hill country. Upon arrival at the breakfast spot, we had a delicious breakfast including eggs, biscuits and gravy, and coffee made on a campfire. Then after the wonderful breakfast we hopped back on our horses for another beautiful ride back down. Not everyone got to ride the horses to and from the cowboy breakfast, some went there and back on a hayride. But, since we were leaving Friday afternoon we got to ride the horses up as that served as our final horseback ride. The cowboy breakfast was truly an experience of a lifetime.

The next highlight was being able to take my twin girls fishing for the first time. The ranch provided us with fishing poles and bait at no extra charge. What really made the experience incredible though was one of the ranch's dogs, "Pancho," saw us with the fishing poles. He barked at us as we were leaving to find the pond to fish. Then, he trotted up to us and showed us exactly how to get to the pond. The dog then stayed with us the entire time we fished and then led us back to the ranch when we were done. I have never seen a dog do something like that before and it really made our first daddy-daughter fishing experience one I will always fondly remember.

The final highlight was the incredible stargazing. My older twin daughter and I on both nights sat out on Adriondack chairs provided by the ranch for hours until past midnight just gazing at the stars. Because the ranch is so secluded there is little to no light pollution and we were able to see millions of stars. It was breathtaking.

In all, the horseback riding was great, the staff and the wranglers were friendly and very accommodating, the food was delicious, and the setting and experience as a whole was one we will always cherish. We hope to be able to return sometime soon.

Just a couple of tips. You are able to bring alcohol to the ranch. So, if you enjoy a good adult beverage, be sure to stock up on your way to the ranch. Secondly, you might want to bring your own pillow as the pillows were a bit small for our liking. Thirdly, while the ranch provides marshmallows and sticks for the campfire, if you want the full s'mores experience be sure to bring your own chocolate and graham crackers. Fourthly, understand that there is no cell service. You can get on WiFi in the main building. But, tell your friends and family that if they try reaching you while you are at the ranch not to expect an immediate response. With that being said, if you want an incredible western experience, Dixie Dude is phenomenal. My only regret was staying only 2 nights. I wish we had stayed for at least a third night. From the staff, to the food, to the wonderful authentically western experiences, Dixie Dude Ranch is a tremendous...

Total rating lands at 2.5 stars.

Food: 4 Stars Accommodation: 2 Stars Horse Riding: 2.5 Stars Horse Care: 0 Stars

Let me start by saying that I cannot recommend a visit to this ranch, at this time, due to the care of the horses. The horses remain saddled and tacked up from about 8 am until 4/5 pm. It's a hard no for me and just unnecessary and lazy. The horses are the stars of any dude ranch and should be treated as such. I've been riding my entire life and refuse to patron anywhere that treat their horses like this.

When we arrived, we checked in and were told about the main lodge and where meals would take place and the location of our room. We were not given any additional information which was needed. We later found out from other guests that there were hiking trails with maps, a cemetery on site, as well as a lake with fishing and rods and bait available. We weren't able to take advantage of any of this as we simply weren't told about it. The remedy for this is simple, a better introduction upon arrival.

Another issue we had was never being asked about our riding experience at all. This is truly a must have to pair riders with horses and based on the rides offered. When we booked I specifically asked about rides that would include trot/canter as we are experienced riders and were told fast rides could be arranged. Unfortunately, when we did one of the "fast rides," a rider who had never been on a horse before was on this ride. While this rider may have asked for a fast ride, this could have been avoided by asking the riders experience. Every other dude/guest ranch and even day riding we've been to have asked.

Additionally, trail rides were advertised as 1 hour, but always fell around the 45-minute mark during our stay. The morning rides started at around 9 am and were staggered throughout the morning based on riders as the same horses were used. Same as the afternoon, rides started around 2 pm and were staggered. As an aside, this meant the horses were tacked and saddled from at least 11 am until 2 pm in a pen for no reason.

The food was good. A lot of the reviews we've seen say the food was exceptional and that wasn't our experience. It was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. Only one meat option was offered at a time, which was fine for me, however, anyone who may be more particular with foods such as fish, pork, etc may need to inquire about the menu. I do think if they posted the menu options it would be really helpful. Additionally, Saturday morning breakfast consisted of pancakes, oatmeal, and sausage. No eggs or toast was served, which we found odd for breakfast. We ended up going into town to grab something with a bit of protein.

Accommodations. Here is where some money needs to be spent. We expected rustic, which we were fine with; however, there is a difference between rustic and run down. Only one of the 4 outlets in our room could be used as they were old and loose to where nothing, including the lamps in the room, could stay plugged in; everything fell out. The bathroom was where the most work is needed. There was quite a bit of mold and the sink and toilet seat were cracked and had lots of missing pieces out of them. Most of the changes needed are simple and not expensive which truly makes me think the care is just not there.

The wifi did reach our room, which was nice surprise (rebel) and the heat and hot water worked great! The staff was all very friendly which is also a plus. There was an advertisement that there was nightly entertainment and campfire provided; however, we only received the campfires. We did get a hay ride before dinner one night to feed the Longhorns and horses, so I'm not sure if that was that evening's entertainment. We did enjoy it and loved that addition.

TL;DR - Cannot recommend in its current condition, but with some small changes and improvements in accommodations, horse care, and communication could be a 4-star dude ranch that's perfect...

This review is our experience, and things I wish I had known prior to booking our stay.||I was traveling with my adult daughter over Memorial Day weekend. Room choices were limited - we picked "Bunk'n" We had tried for weeks prior to find any photos of the room we were staying in - but no other reviews showed it - just the one photo on the ranch's page. I only took one video of the room, as we were not there long.||The desk staff were very kind when we arrived and when we left.||Parking is not marked, so we parked under a tree and carted our luggage a short distance around a corner and up the steep steps. Upon entering the room, we noticed the smell and the darkness. With all lamps on the room was still fairly dark, except around the top of the door, where the door did not fully close. ||There was a window a/c trying desperately to keep the room cool. The window near the beds was hard to see out of and had quite a few cobwebs. The bathroom, while adequate, was very small and they'd only supplied 2 towels in the room - the room has 5 beds in it. ||We are long-time Texas residents - the heat is not a surprise. The room's temperature and smell were. We unpacked and decided to walk around the property before dinner. We encountered the only staff member who we found rude when we asked where the bottled water was sold at. ||With temperatures nearing 100 we looked at the pool, but it was overflowing with pool toys and children and would have been awkward to utilize as two single women. The adults all appeared to be sitting off to the side of the pool, so we went back to our room to wait on dinner.||Dinner was when we knew we couldn't stay three days here. The seating is assigned - ours was in the middle of a group who all seemed to know each other. I can only go by this meal, but the food was not great, it was hot in the dining hall, flies buzzing around. There was coleslaw which looked like soup, cold hushpuppies in a basket, and what I'm told was fried cat fish - I did not confirm that. Another person at our table was concerned about food allergies - eggs specifically - but was assured they don't use eggs to batter their cat fish. ||Despite the no refund policy we elected to leave less than 3 hours after arriving. We paid $800+ upon check out and a deposit of $360 was already paid. This place isn't for everyone and we can appreciate when we made a poor choice. We made an excuse about the heat triggering health issues, as we did not want to hurt anyone's feelings and were not offered any concessions, it does say no refunds. ||They also asked if we wanted to tip - we declined. Total spent/lost was around $1,100+ We had saved up for this trip, and it was not a small financial loss- but well worth it to not have to stay. The drive was 6 hours to the ranch, and we gladly made the 6 hour drive home the same evening.||As a long-time employee for a major hotel chain - I feel my expectations were on par for the price point and amenities offered. The rate we felt was justified, as the meals were included. Calling something rustic and non-luxury should not be an excuse for subpar...