Brand Book

Texas dude ranches

Texas ranches sit much closer to cities than the mountain West does. Dixie Dude Ranch is in the Bandera hill country west of San Antonio, Texas Ranch Life about an hour from Houston at Bellville, and Wildcatter above the Brazos near Graham, within reach of Dallas and Fort Worth. That makes Texas the easiest state here for a short stay.

Texas Ranch Life is the one that puts guests into real cattle work, with open-range riding, a cattle drive and team penning on a ranch running its own longhorn and quarter horse herds. Dixie raises longhorns, Spanish goats and pigs, and its cowboys rodeo, but guests ride rather than work. Wildcatter calls itself a boutique resort and runs cattle drives a few times a year.

Filter Texas ranches by month or stay length
Burnt Well Guest RanchCanyon Madness RanchConcho Hills Guest RanchDixie Dude RanchGeronimo Trail Guest RanchLa Union RanchLos Pinos Guest RanchRainbow Trout RanchTexas Ranch LifeVermejo, a Ted Turner ReserveWildcatter Ranch
Dots mark each ranch's nearest town. Select one to open the ranch.

Texas at a glance

Ranches
3
Offer cattle work
1
Short stays OK
1

Working ranches 1

Family ranches 1

Luxury ranches 1

Common questions about Texas ranches

How many dude ranches are there in Texas?
3 on Brand Book, each one checked against the ranch's own website: 1 working cattle ranches, 3 family ranches and 1 luxury guest ranches. A ranch can count in more than one of those.
Can you do real cattle work at a Texas dude ranch?
1 of the 3 Texas ranches here offer cattle work. None of them are hands-on operations, so cattle time here is usually a demonstration or a single day.
Are Texas dude ranches good for families?
3 of the 3 are family ranches, but none of them runs a children's program. Children are welcome; nothing is organized for them, which is the difference worth checking before you book.