rancho cortez day trips

I definitely want to return to rancho cortez someday, myself and my family had a blast on our day trip, with two trail rides, great food, friendly staff, a spirited owner, and end of the day campfire. The wagon ride to feed the cattle was fun as well.

Hoarse ride up cliff was great fun, food was fabulous. If weather is chilly or raining not a lot to do so watch the forecast. Chris was a great guide and my children loved the experience. A must see.

With my husbands work schedule we could not stay over night but luckily we are only 1.5 hours away so we were able to spend the day there. Everyone was friendly from check in until we left after the campfire. We enjoyed the horseback riding and the beautiful views. We brought our (exchange student) son with us who had never been on a horse before and he was apprehensive. (He never would have gone had we not drug him along). Larry was awesome and gave us some roping lessons, after that an impromptu lesson for our son and he learned a lot from the experience, he tried hard, and felt good about riding. The food was really good, we enjoyed playing pool in the game room, and we liked relaxing and roasting marshmallows over the campfire (another new activity for our son). Half way home our son thanked us for taking him riding, he was so happy he went (he has enjoyed activities with us before but never made it clear that he was as grateful for the experience as he was that day). The day was more then we had expected and a really memorable experience for our son who now is ready to get some cowboy boots!

We stayed on the ranch doe three days with my teenage grand children and daughter and her husband. We had a great time . They were very helpful in getting us to do the trail rides. As I was a big chicken to ride the horses they even gave me some private lessons. The food was very good but you basically ate what ever they fixed.

We spent a day at Racho Cortez - what a fantastic day! Before we arrived we had a helpful mail conversation with Cheryl. Even when we had a logistic problem at the day we arrived Cheryl was very helpful. During the day we experienced a fine balance between getting enough time for the riding, rope exercise, feeding the longhorns and having time for relaxing and using the convenient pool.At lunch and dinner you are eating together with the staff/wranglers which makes the day something extra. In generel all staff and the wranglers are serviceminded, relaxed in the texas way and very interested in their guest - you just feel yourself very welcome. The horriding we had was for beginners, but I am sure more experienced riding can be arranged. Rancho Cortez gets our best recommendations.PS: Please be sure to read the location desciption on their site, since not all GPS can find the rigth way to the ranch.

We booked a half day trip here for a birthday celebration. We wanted to do some horseback riding and relaxation. Rancho Cortez definitely delivered pretty well, but we did not get to use all of the amenities. There was a bit of a lack of organization for those shoe wanted a tighter schedule of activities. Some of the facilities were run down and seemed dated. But overall we had a good time. The staff were pretty friendly and helpful and the food was good.Would definitely return, but maybe do things differently.

First, I want to start my review by saying the staff were friendly but at times appeared either overworked or inexperienced.I have riden horses at various times for over 40 years including two stays for a week each at ranches on the East coast and Northwest.Horseback experience- I had never before been on a ride where they didn't first ask your level of experience. The best ranch I've been to spent time matching the horse to your level of experience, weight, and even personality! This ranch simply put you on the next horse. Most ranches will go thru a basic training session regardless of experience. They want you to turn the horse, stop the horse, and back up. This is always done in a corral or controlled space. This was not done at Rancho Cortez. I've never seen the ranch hands not check the saddle tightness (girth strap) after you have gotten on the saddle...not done here. Riders are often placed on the trail ride position by ability and horse. Also the ride usually has a lead and back or trailing rider from the ranch. Again, not at this ranch. My horse got spooked by a jack rabbit, reared and started to turn to run-if I was an inexperienced rider it could have been dangerous. The ride was boring and in places the horses slipped on rocky terrain.The ranch experience- guest quarters were very clean and well furnished. Air conditioning was a big help. But what happened to the campfire, roping and other activities? Yes there were plenty of ropes to use from fake horses on fake cattle but if you had never roped you could get instruction if you happened to catch Chris walking by. The mess hall had a typed notice showing trail rides on the hour (i.e. 9:00',10:00. Etc) but as far as we could tell there was only two or three one hour rides a day. The food was poor...reminded me of basic training which is probably unfair to the military. At dinner we were scolded for almost taking a stuffed red pepper that was only available to the weight loss training participants. Boiled brisket was tasteless to say the least. Drink choices-ice tea, water, or coffee unless you buy a soda at the ranch store. The ranch hands, again nice but young, virtually disappeared after dinner until the next morning. Most of the guests either retreated to their cabins after dinner or drove the 20 plus miles to town for something to do. My wife and I did not feel totally safe after dark.The owner Larry, is a rough cowboy. He does not come across as welcoming and was rarely seen over our day and a half stay. My best ranch experience had the owner and ranch hands (some with 2o-30 years experience!) spending time with the guests. Not here!Needless to say, we left a day early as this was not the experience we had hoped fr.

As we did not have the time in our itinerary to stay on a dude ranch overnight, we booked a day at the Rancho Cortez in Bandera - and we had a marvellous time. On arrival we were swept off on our first trail ride. Not being experienced horse riders, the wranglers picked us the most appropriate horse -and the horses were in excellent condition as were saddles and reins. The first ride lasted an hour riding through the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Once back at the ranch, we had a wander around and we were impressed by how the place is run, this is not a tourist attraction but a fully working Texan resort ranch. After a hearty lunch in the chow hall, we went off on another ride, this time the ride lasted about 75 minutes and we had slightly friskier horses as we were more confident in the saddle. Late in the afternoon, after a trip on the hay wagon to feed the Texan Long Horns, and a huge meal in the chow hall, the wranglers, and the ranch owner tutored us in the art of roping a steer. Then we all made our way to the camp fire where we ate smores, listened to the owner tell cowboy stories, and listening to an excellent country and western singer strum his guitar and sing traditional cowboy songs. Then it was time to head back to San Antonio, dodging deer and racoons on the road. A fantastic experience - and we have to give special thanks to Garett and Eileen, our wranglers, for looking after us so well.

We recently gave our grandchildren a choice of the Cortez Ranch or San Diego for a little trip while they were out of school. They chose the ranch. We stayed on the ranch, rode every day, swam, took the wagon ride(they got to drive the team), learned basic horsemanship, played ping pong, dominoes, and enjoyed the camp fire complete with smores and stories. They were completely disconnected electronically. We all had a total blast. The kids gained confidence riding and we got that special time with them uninterrupted. The people that worked this ranch were efficient, helpful, and were REAL cowboys. The kids even ate the "ranch food" the kitchen made. It was tasty! The rooms were great as well. We even got to see a world famous trick rider. We are looking forward to taking our horses down, staying, and riding on our own.

We had a 3 day weekend,stayed in a large bunkhouse,just the 2 of us,were comfortable.We had a good time. Larry was always happy to show us western life. We went to bandera and walked the streets,even saw marti gras parade. The food was good,but get there early in case runs out and to eat while hot. The staff was there to help any way needed. Very good for families with kids. We enjoyed our weekend.

The day after Christmas my husband and I took our 4 grandchildren to Rancho Cortez. Their ages are 10 to 6 and this was part of their Christmas present. This trip was a huge sucess!! Anyone that has children that age can relate...they love their electronics and I refused to buy them anymore and wanted this outing to be different. We were there for 4 days and had the best time ever! The kids loved the horses, hay rides and especially the camp fires after dinner. They staff was excellent from the owner on down. They made you feel at home the minute you checked in and by day four you were no longer a guest but part of the ranch family. The cabins were nice and clean and the food was great! We will go again for sure. In fact, my granddaughter is going back for camp this summer. Thanks Larry and staff for a winter break!

At rancho cortez , you ll find peace and calme . Always something to do there and you can help at any time . Be a part of this cowboy Family and share good food ;) ! Best memories of our road trip , thks marc !

Do not under any circumstances pay for more than a week at a time. Although the people mean well and truly want to help. The facilities leave something to be desired (exercise in poop in/around barn). The pool was down for two weeks. Staff had high turn over, novice's, and many canceled classes. Told to monitor my own food intake, which is what I was paying them for. I can go on. I asked for a credit, but because of poor follow through I made other arrangements. And they will not do a cash refund, and did not respond to the BBB. Other people got injured or just disgusted and could only be compensated by returning to finish their contract. So only pay for a period at a time and extend as you go.

Probably the best thing I've done while visiting San Antonio! First of all- the drive to the ranch is very scenic, simply gorgeous! While at the rancho - me and my sister were giggling the whole time as all these handsome rugged men in boots and cowboy hats kept calling us "M'am"...! The property itself is very beautiful and worth exploring. That was my 3rd time ever on a horse- so yeah, I was scared! But the instructions on how to control the horse, how to sit in a saddle etc given by our guide (the owner) calmed me down and the fact that 4 employees were accompanying us during the ride definitely gave me confidence! The trail itself was absolutely amazing: up and down the hill, through the trees and bushes, passing by the pasturing longhorns and deer... And throughout the entire ride the owner (REAL cowboy - boots, hat, spurs and all!) was striking conversations with each rider: encouraging, firmly giving instructions in difficult situations, telling Texan stories and jokes, he even sang a country song !!! I felt surreal, like I was in the middle of a Western movie! It was pouring rain that day, but despite the unfortunate weather conditions we left the rancho soaking wet but with happy smiles on our faces! Such a unique experience, such a trill! I only wish I could stay there overnight/over weekend! Highly recommend!!!

Excellent half day tour. Decided to do this instead of staying at the ranch and think we made the right choice. Nice pool to keep you cool after the ride on the Texas heat. Surprisingly good food !