HORSEBACK RIDING NATURE VACATIONS. OUR HORSES, OUR STARS! TRAIL RIDES LESSONS- HOW WE'RE DIFFERENT. GUEST HORSE BOARDING. Early Texas style accommodations, built of native limestone and cedar, echo the homes of the sturdy German and Polish immigrants who settled the region in days gone by, while providing guests luxurious sanctuary from the rigors of modern-day life. Strategically nestled among the oaks in the valley, and perched among the junipers along the hillsides to provide ultimate privacy, each accommodation welcomes guests with oak floors, central air and heat, and abundant wood-sash windows and spacious porches from which to take in the views of the surrounding countryside. Hill Country Equestrian Lodge offers two types of accommodations, Private Cabins, and Luxury Suites. Private Cabins feature bedroom, sunroom (which can be used as a second bedroom), two bathrooms, and a living/kitchen/dining room with cathedral ceiling and 22 foot tall limestone fireplace in the center of the room. Kitchen is fully equipped, and living room has a sleeper sofa. Private Cabins sleep up to six people. Nightly rates are per person. Call or email us for current rates. Luxury Suites feature bedroom, sunroom, (which can be used as a second bedroom), kitchen, (fully equipped), and bathroom. Luxury Suites sleep up to four people. Nightly rates are per person. All nightly rates include breakfast foods, stocked in your accommodation. For lunch and dinner, guests have a number of options. They may bring their favorite foods and prepare them in the fully equipped kitchen of their accommodation, or grill outside. Nearby, Bandera invites guests to sample its diverse selection of restaurants. Or, for an additional fee, guests may enjoy lunch or dinner, (served by candlelight), in the dining room of the ranch house headquarters. Catered meals can also be provided for groups. Trail Rides and Lessons - How We're Different. Copyright © 2000-2008 Hill Country Equestrian Lodge All Rights Reserved

Family Vacation Programs. Hill Country Equestrian Lodge Family Vacation Programs. In addition to its trademark horsemanship program, Hill Country Equestrian Lodge offers the following outdoor, interactive family activities. Parents are invited to join in the fun! Children of all ages are invited to join in our Nature Photo Safaris. Participants are given brief suggestions on composition and light, while the main emphasis is to encourage each one to experience the unique fossils, plants, animals of this area through their own eyes, and to record them in their own individual way. The Lodge will provide cameras, developing, and a personal photo album in which each participant may take home their treasured images of their experience here. $15 per person. Fossils hunts are conducted on a regular basis for guests of all ages. Examples are shown and instructions are given to participants to help them recognize and identify their findings, which they may take home with them. Everyone is guaranteed to find a fossil! Free to all Lodge guests. Star-gazing parties are held on week nights as weather permits, taking advantage of the ranch#x2019;s brilliant night sky. On a clear night, there are thousands of stars visible here which cannot be seen in more populated areas. Constellations are identified, and details viewed on the moon and certain planets. Free to all Lodge guests. Animal trackers is a weekly course of exploring for and identifying the tracks of the varied wildlife that inhabit our ranch. Participants are lead by a guide to watering locations where wildlife leave their tracks behind. They then make molds of their selected tracks, which they may take home as mementos of their nature experience. $5 per person. For the creatively minded, the Lodge offers classes (by reservation) in Natural Arrangements, collecting and utilizing the abundance of natural plants and materials available on our ranch. Great fun for creative people of all ages, and of course, participants may take their creations home with them. $5 per person. Through the Lodge#x2019;s Horse Care Course, children learn about the care, nutrition, and proper handling of horses. Participants help with daily horse-related chores of feeding, grooming, handling, and stable care, and receive a Certificate of Completion. This is an especially valuable tool for parents whose children are begging to own a horse, but who may not understand the effort required to maintain these animals. The Horse Care Course is free to all Lodge guests. The Lodge continues its renowned Whole Horsemanship Program which includes English and Western style riding lessons by reservation, and guided rides on the Lodge#x2019;s select group of beautiful, well-trained horses. This Spring we are also offering an hour lesson in Natural Horsemanship Ground Games. Riding lessons- $52 per hour, $26 per ½ hour. Guided trail rides, caringly lead by experienced guides at a pace appropriate to the riders#x2019; skill level. No more than 5 riders per group. Brief instruction is given before each ride, and along the trail. This is a very different experience than the typical #x201C;dude#x201D; trail ride- $28 per rider per hour. Natural Horsemanship Ground Games- $28 per participant- ( 1 hour session). While the kids are out and about, parents may indulge themselves with a massage, facial, or other spa service in the privacy of their cabin. Fees for spa services are listed under the our Spa Services link. And, of course, the Lodge#x2019;s Jacuzzi Under the Stars is open 24 hours a day. Reconnect, reflect, and rejuvenate with your family at Hill Country Equestrian Lodge!

Treat yourself to the de-stressing benefits of our spa services in the privacy of your cabin or suite. it's the perfect way to spend a quiet afternoon, or to end an active day. (Spa services must be booked 24 hours in advance.). THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE $65 (50 minutes), $90 (80 minutes). Uses a variety of advanced techniques to relieve tension in problem areas, and to promote relaxation throughout the body. SWEDISH BODY MASSAGE $60 (50 minutes), $90 (80 minutes). Traditional Swedish techniques promote relaxation for the body and mind. HOT STONE THERAPY $100 (80 minutes). Warm river stones relax muscles to allow the deepest therapeutic massage benefits, while energy work balances the chakras. RAINDROP TECHNIQUE $75 (50 minutes). This powerful, non-invasive technique integrates essential oils and light massage, dispensed like drops of rain along the vertebrae. The effects may last for days after treatment. HYDRATING ANTI-STRESS FACIAL $65 (50 minutes). This stimulating facial provides important nutrients that restore vitality to stressed skin. PROFESSIONAL DEEP CLEANING FACIAL $65 (50 minutes). Effectively but gently cleanses skin impurities without drying the skin. The regenerating effects leave the skin smooth, balanced, and refreshed. Please cancel 24 hours prior to the scheduled service to avoid a 50% cancellation charge. Cancellations without adequate notice will result in a charge for the full service.

Cattle Clinic Photo Gallery -Click Photos for Larger View- Ice Man says Let's go!. Getting our instructions from Codie and Rey. Dave and Bear get ready to warm up. Chris checks Smoky#x2019;s reins while Pam and Pepper check out the cattle. Richard Grimes and Winston focus on the task ahead. Pam and Pepper execute a wellbalanced turn on the hindquarter. Pam and Pepper, Dave and Bear make their first approach to the cattle. Richard and Winston, Richard Click (Dick), and Diamond, and Rolinda Click and Molly drive their cattle down the fence. Dave and Bear, Richard and Winston, and Pam and Pepper pen their cattle successfully. Dianne and Socks, Colin and Impy, Chris and Smoky, and Dick and Diamond look on. The next morning starts with Peter#x2019;s delicious breakfast outside. Werner#x2019;s barbeque coals glow in the foreground. Rey and Codie pen the cattle to get us started. We begin with exercises on foot; Chris and Colin in the pen, Pam, Dave, Richard, Dianne, Rolinda, and Dick observe. Rey and Codie offer direction all in a picturesque old ranch setting. Pam and Dave cut out that ornery black cow. Codie and Rey watch, while lunch is cookin#x2019; in the background. Back astride Winston, Richard pushes the cattle up the arena. Colin keeps Impy moving and focused. Dick and Diamond, Rolinda and Molly cut 3 head from the herd and push them up the arena. Chris and Smoky, Dick and Diamond drive their group into the pen. Lunch time! Werner#x2019;s barbeque and Earline#x2019;s fixin#x2019;s rejuvenate the riders for the afternoon ahead. After lunch, Colin and Impy cut back 3 head from the herd. Codie and Nickel, Rey and Remington take off after a stray. Codie and Nickel say, #x201C;Like heck you#x2019;re getting away from us!#x201D; Richard and Winston run down to turn back 2 strays and Colin and Impy, Rolinda and Molly help drive #x2018;em home. Pam and Pepper, Richard and Winston, Dick and Diamond complete another successful run. Chris and Smoky, Rolinda and Molly, Dianne and Socks move the cattle quietly down the fence one last time. Werner puts the fire out at the end of a funfilled day. The new swimming pool beckons saddleweary riders

Located 9 and 1/2 miles southwest of Bandera, Texas, Hill Country Equestrian Lodge offers the ultimate horseback riding vacation or nature vacation. Its location adjacent to 5500 acre Hill Country State Natural Area makes it a natural for horseback riding, cycling, hiking, and nature activities of all kinds. Guests may enter the park through the ranch's private entrance, just steps from their accommodations, and enjoy its 40 miles of well-marked trails. The Lodge's excellent horseback riding program makes equestrian activities a favorite passtime. (See links at bottom of page.) Guests may take lessons, clinics, or private guided rides on the lodge's well-trained horses, or bring their own horses and ride at will through the hills, canyons, and streams of the ranch and the adjoining state park. For your hours out-of-the-saddle, hiking, biking, birding, and wildlife watching are great ways to pass the time. Feel free to hunt fossils on the ranch, or fish in its stocked watering hole. Golf is available nearby, as is swimming, tubing, and kayaking in the spring-fed waters of the Medina River. The legendary town of Bandera, which marked the beginning of the Great Western Cattle Trail in the mid-1800's, offers a historical driving tour, shopping, dining, and Western-style night life. Colorful weekly rodeos take place from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day. The historic towns of Comfort and Fredericksburg offer a glimpse into German Pioneer Culture and History, and ample antiqueing within an hour's drive. San Antonio, with its famous 18th and 19th century Spanish Missions, River Walk, the Alamo, Sea World, and Fiesta Texas are also about an hour away. When you're ready to take it easy, slip off to the Cowboy Cool Pool, or the Jacuzzi Under the Stars, or schedule yourself a massage, facial, or other spa service in the privacy of your accommodation. Or simply sit and watch the horses graze from the porch of your very own cabin or suite, read by your fireplace, or count the stars as you sit by a glowing campfire.

 Luggage storage
 Playground for children
 Fitness hall
 Kitchen
 Smoke-free guest rooms
 Parking lot
 Private park, garden, courtyard
 Quiet surroundings
 Fridge
 Private/Ensuite bathroom
 Tea and coffee making facilities
 Patio, summer terrace