The people that run this ranch are not reputable. They took our group's deposit for a reservation in 2024 last year. Recently, when they figured out that they are in the path of the total eclipse during the time of our reserved stay, they jacked up the price by over 10X and told us to pony up more money! When we refused, they cancelled the reservation. And now they are stalling on the refund. This is no way to treat customers and no way to run a business. Take your business elsewhere. read more

We took our 3 & 5 year old grandchildren for Pony rides at The Twin Elm. We did not expect such a professional and amazing introduction to horseback riding for these little ones! Miss Shirley involved the children in such a beautiful, calm and caring way, She engaged all of us in the experience. We also loved her stories of raising her children when she was on the Pro Rodeo circuit as a Barrel Racer! Thank you for a wonderful experience, Miss Shirley!! read more

This is the best place ever! I went there for my birthday and it was an amazing place to stay ! If you want a family vacation or if you just need some me time it is the best place to go ! It has trail rides and a pool and you can bring your pet! They have animals roaming around and the even had a deer named Lindsay ! And SUPER nice staff ! read more

The staff was so accommodating to customize a weekend for us. The hospitality and food was off the charts! Everyone wants to make it an annual event! read more

I have to admit, I only went to the rodeo they put on on Saturday night and I didn't bring any beer so I don't know what the ranch is like and I don't know how the rodeo could have been WITH beer but.... It was pretty poor without beer. I've been to small rodeos before but they have got to do something about the average time between rides. For the audience there were times between events and pauses in action as long as 17 minutes. I know this isn't the PBR but, come on! Anyway, if we had brought beer it would be more fun but keep that in mind, they do not sell beer and you are allowed to bring it. So pack a cooler and it may make your downtime a little more enjoyable. read more

What a wonderful place to visit. We did a 1 hour trail ride with Colton and it was so relaxing! Amanda and Mrs.Shirley gave our daughter Addie a lesson on rodeo just made it an extra special day. read more

Twin Elm Guest Ranch - Horseback Riding Near Me

Spent memorial day weekend at this beautiful ranch. We were able to camp right on the river. The ranch offers tubing and horseback riding that we participated in. Our nights ended with smores by the group camp fire every night. Camping, meals and activities are all reasonable priced. The staff is so accommodating all you have to do is ask! We will definitely be coming back!! read more

Twin Elm Guest Ranch - Horseback Riding Near Me

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We were looking forward to our stay but when we got there, we encountered many hurdles. 1)When I booked our campsite, I had asked about the distance to the restroom/showers from our camp site. I was told that we would be camping right by the building that had restrooms/showers and we could walk there. This was important to us because we all had little kids. The tent camping is actually on a separate piece of land about 1/4 mile away from the ranch. So, when you tent camp, know that you are DRIVING distance from the bathroom area. It's not walking distance because you have to get on the highway to get to the other location. 2)The tent sites are right off the highway so there is no seclusion. We asked if the gate would be locked at night since we were the only campers (all girls with young kids) and felt unsafe it being open to the public at all hours. We were told it would be locked and we would be given the combination to unlock it. Neither of these were done. We took it upon ourselves to lock it and when we called the front desk to unlock it the next morning, the guy gave me a lot of attitude about locking it. He said they hadn't locked it in 6 months, and he didn't know the combination. He came and unlocked it right then, and told me it was a "lucky guess" of what the combo was. He was very irritated. 3) The horse handler (I believe her name was Sarah) was the best experience we had. She was great with the kids and showed great hospitality. Jolynn was kind to show us other options as far as camping, after finding out about the restrooms. Other times we felt like WE were an inconvenience as paying guests. 4) As with nature, things happen. I was swimming and got bit by a snake. When we went to the lodge to see where the closest medical facility was, the guy had no advice other than to drive an hour away. He offered no help in regards to First Aide or advice. We ended up driving into town and stopped at a gas station and asked a local where we could go. That person told us about the town EMT station. As a Guest Ranch that is suppose to show hospitality and care, it seemed that we were more an inconvenience than anything. We didn't expect anything more than what they say they provide. read more

The pool was pretty nice, and the RV spots were pretty large. The only complaint we had was the flies! They were everywhere, although we contributed this to the horses all around and the dry weather. All-in-all, pretty nice place, the small girls loved the horseback riding, read more

Awesome experience!!! Kathlyn and her staff know how to take care of you. We hiked down to the river, it was very beautiful. The wranglers and the horseback ride was first rate, I had not been on a saddle in 30 years. They made sure every rider was comfortable before during and after. And the ride was beautiful. Food was 5 stars alone and the cowboy ambiance was superb right down to the campfire, being serenaded by harmonica and guitar. Highly recommend. read more

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Drove down from Dallas for the weekend and experienced more than I could have imagined. The trio at Twin Elm, Kathlyn, Graham and Cody, made it feel as though we were all family and had know them for years. The ambiance was something I had not experienced before. We went tubing, fishing, on hayrides, horseback riding (my first time ever), horseshoe tossing and did some major eating. I must say Kathlyn makes some cornbread to die for!!! After eating it the first time, we requested it for each meal. It was that GOOD!!. Graham has the patience and ability to make you want to learn all he can teach. After this weekend I convinced I'm part cowboy. Trust me this is a must visit place and a trip that will be well worth it.!!! Upon leaving, my son asked if we could come back next weekend. So what does that tell you, and he is a city as they come, like me!!! read more

Our dude ranch adventure was to check an item off my grandmother's bucket list. Our entire stay was nothing but fantastic! We were one of two groups for the weekend. The food was fantastic, everything was safe (both in terms of COVID and horseback riding), our cabin was spotless, and everything was really affordable. I highly recommend staying here and taking part in their activities, whether family, group, or individual! read more

I would not recommend this place. The staff is disorganized and need some help or training in how to manage a small business. First there was the Rodeo on Friday which we were told by staff accepted credit cards or debit at the gate. They did not we found out at the gate Only cash. Rodeo is not for you unless you enjoy watching small children riding on large bucking bulls getting mauled which was not nice to watch. I had to leave early. Then we tried to schedule a pony rides for the kids and were told that they were at 930. When we went to our ride they said we didn't schedule the ride. Then they rescheduled the ride to 11am that day. When we arrive for the ride we were told the rides were at 1030 and we had missed them. Luckily the ranger staff worked us in for 5 min rides instead of 15 min rides that pony rides normally have. Then we tried to go fishing only to have people at the fishing site say that we couldn't go because they were having a wedding which the staff didn't tell us about any reservations to the river area being made. So no fishing was done that day. Then we tried to go to the dinner that they said was every night and no-one was there so no dinner that night. Then they said that campfire was every night with roping and songs but at 8pm when campfire time was supposed to be there were no songs no roping and no staff available. There was a small fire though. Then they said there was to be a hayride but apparently the tractor was broken so no hayride. The t.v. in the rooms didn't work well and we weren't given an internet password until we asked. On the positive side the ranger staff especially Kevin was magificinent and the river as pretty and the horse ride for adults with ranger staff was incredible. Still wouldn't recommend though. Don't go unless you want to be frustrated. read more

While the ranch has the potential to be something great, with its beautiful backdrop, unbelievable horses, and good hearted staff, the place sincerely falls short. We stayed for 3 days and nights, and before going, I asked a million questions, and viewed every video on the site a million times. I am a serious city slicker, and I was looking for the ranch experience for myself, my mother and my son. After looking at all of the sites, I thought Twin Elm was the place for me. Boy was I wrong! On a side note, we were the only guests at the ranch during our stay. On the last night another family arrived. Our stay consisted of bad food, drunken staff and a whole lot of reading on our Kindles read more

NOT the dude ranch you are looking for! I booked a 3 day easter weekend for my wife and kids at twin elm. After staying at their neighboring competition 2 months ago (The Mayan dude ranch) we might have had too high of expectations, because I couldn't tell what was worse...the PLACE or the EMPLOYEES. According to their website, we were in for 3 days of horseback riding, campfires, hayrides and cookouts. You know...the "Typical" dude ranch experience. But upon check in (5:10pm) I asked what they were serving for dinner. We were told that we could have no dinner because they were almost finished cooking and we hadn't put in our order?? Hello....we are JUST NOW checking in!! (I guess they do not assume people checking in will want to eat dinner that night.) So I then asked about scheduling our 3 days of horseback rides. The "manager" (if you can call him that) tells me that they have a huge group coming THE NEXT DAY and that he could give us rides on Saturday but that is it. Meaning....NO MORE RIDES because for some reason this group was way more important than any other guest there....and they hadn't even arrived yet! So I try to plan for breakfast for my family the next morning. I was under the impression that if you had any food requests, to let someone know and they would try their best to abide and help out. HA! They didn't give a DAMN about ANY request we made about ANYTHING! I was told breakfast would be bagels and cereal. (Some country breakfast huh?) ok so skip breakfast....whats for lunch? They had the nerve to tell my family that if they cooked we would be the only ones eating because everyone else had checkedout and they were getting ready for the big group tomorrow. So, this is day 2 and we have YET to have a single bite of food at this place! Now keep in mind they said everyone else had checked out. So why couldn't this place keep the ONLY FAMILY THEY HAD happy??? Ok so skip forward to dinner time. I call the office to see what is for dinner and GET THIS: These rat bastards told my family that they were already cooking for the group of 60-70 people and that they could not feed us. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? You are already cooking for 70 people and my family of 4 that have had these reservations for 3 friggin months CAN'T EAT TO???? So here we are....day 2. We have now been here for 24 hours and have not had a single bite of food from this place because my family was not important enough to them once they had taken our money. We ended up speaking to 3 differnt people. 2 of which claimed to be some sort of manager. From the first words out of our mouth you could see their eyes glaze over as they start shaking their heads no. At NO POINT did any person take responsibility or blame for the horrible experience we have had so far. Nothing was their fault and they showed absolutely NO concern that none of my family had eaten or even enjoyed themselves so far. (Keep in mind....they told us everyone else had left so they managed to let down the 1 family they had staying with them.) After speaking to management and seeing how little they cared about their guests, we told them to check us out and would cancel our easter trip and head home. Now, we are not hard to please. As the owner of a business myself, I realized just how EASILY this place could have fixed our problems and made us happy. All we needed was to be fed some food and maybe let us do some of the things you promised on the website when you took my money. If you are looking for a dude ranch, I BEG YOU to look elsewhere. These people only care about your wallet, NOT your famly. I stayed at The Mayan ranch next door and was BLOWN AWAY by how nice the place was and how well we were treated. Do yourself a faovr and stay somewhere else. If you stay here and ruin your vacation after reading this review...that is on you and your family will hate you for it. ANY place in town is better than this rat hole. **UPDATE: Notice how fake their google reviews are. For their REAL reviews...check out YELP! 75% of people hated staying here with nothing but negative reviews. read more

My mom and I just came here for a weekend in early sept and we really enjoyed ourselves. We wanted to just relax and spend some time outdoors. We stayed in a cabin and while it was a little rustic with older bed linens, the showers worked just fine and towels were clean. This isn't the Hilton, but it was clean, quiet, and we slept well. My mom and I wanted to relax, do some horseback riding, get in a good hike or two, and enjoy some good weather and this place gave us all of this. The staff is wonderful, Mike took us on a nice horseback ride, matched our skill levels with the correct horses and was so helpful and a great guide. We ate three delicious meals a day. The brisket Pete makes right there on the ranch is really solid. The coffee's good too. I can't emphasize enough how great the staff was; nice, interesting, and easy to get along with. They will try to make your trip as successful and fun as possible, you just have to say it and they will make it happen. The only thing I didn't like was the fact we were the only guests on the ranch, it probably would have been fun with more people, but it was perfect for one weekend getting out of the city. On that note, this would be a great location for large groups and there's lots of activities for the kids. read more

Exactly as advertised! Great people, great rooms, amenities, etc. Activities were super fun. My son and I were there on a weekend and we got to go to the Rodeo as well (on Sat.). If you want to see and be a cowboy, this is the place!!! read more

While this place reeks of old-timey flavor, this place reeks. The hotel accommodations are filthy and beds sag in the middle. The managers are seemingly nice, but a little weird-crazy. The very first thing this couple did when hired on at the beginning of last summer(2015) was PAINT (yes paint) most of the valuable, authentic western artifacts this place is known for. Picture wagon wheels, old saddles and harness.... skulls.... painted PASTEL PINK and PURPLE!!!! BARF! Bad flashback to the 60's - that ONE LSD trip. If I were the owners I would have kicked these characters out faster than a jackrabbit on fire! The decidedly mammothrept female manager, Kathlyn, (the pink and lavender skulls are her work) struts around the grounds like the Queen of Bandera who, to the chagrin of the locals, tried to establish a high dollar V.I.P. seating area at their tiny, badly organized, backyard Saturday night rodeos. Assumedly to keep the rich and famous clientele separated from the local hoi polloi. That really went over well with the locals! The scheme flopped, the rich and famous were a no-show, and the Queen was the only one sitting there all alone. While they post photos of Harleys on their website the Aussie manager, Graham, secretly HATES BIKERS and calls them "Bloody Hoons" which is REALLY NOT NICE in Aussie-speak. The horses ARE fairly well cared for and if you want to go for a really BORING trail ride (I went on one) then this is the place for you! If you want a much better DUDE RANCH experience overall I highly recommend the close-by DIXIE DUDE RANCH in Bandera, Texas. The RV park at Twin Elms, aka 2E, boasts, untruthfully, to be "the best RV park in Bandera". How dare they. While it may be one of the cheapest the park is sparse, dusty, no shade and swarms of flies attack you anytime you risk the outdoors. This is due to the fact your RV space will be adjacent to several open horse pens that are rarely "picked-up". Read: a LOT of HORSE POOP for flies to be fruitful and multiply. The RV park is small and gossipy and if Kathlyn doesn't "like" you, you won't be granted a space. Sour grapes? Perhaps. But isn't there a law against that? Since I wasn't granted a space by the queen, even though there were several available, I subsequently found a much better long term RV Resort: LAKE MEDINA RV RESORT! Goes to show when one door closes another one opens -THANK YOU GOD!!! read more

This ranch was great. We were there in off-season and almost the only guests which made it even cooler. If you are looking for very nice people (owner and staff) and a real texican experience this is very good and fun place to go. read more

Excited at first to get there for horseback riding for the kids. Tried calling several times to get information and details about the ranch, but no one answers the phone. Finally arrived only to find out that they weren't sure about giving kids pony rides that day and asked us to wait 30 mins that the owner would call us and let a know....well we waited an hour and half and no one called. read more

We held our wedding reception at the Twin Elm Guest Ranch. Wow!! They definitely went above and beyond our expectations. The property and the rooms were wonderful. They spent a lot of time making the ranch look great. The pavilion was decorated gorgeous for the reception including a large center piece. After eating, the tables were moved out for some evening dancing. The staff was more than willing to address any question we had to make our wedding day that much more special. Most of the cabins and rooms rented by our guests and we all loved being able to stay right at the reception area. Rooms were perfect for the ranch setting and the A.C. worked great. We had a lot of children attend and they all had a wonderful time playing volleyball, basketball and, swimming in the pool. In the morning all the kids (and a few adults) went horseback riding thought the beautiful property. Ultimately, made for a wonderful wedding weekend. Look forward to having many more weekends at the ranch. Thank you! read more

we have so much fun when we are at twin elm ranch, we don't want to leave, kathlyn is one of a kind and the owners really need to keep her around for ever. and the food is awesome, we love the old country feeling when we are her. read more