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Haby Ranch

Come enjoy over 1000 acres of  a 3500 acre Texas ranch.  Perfect for fossil hunting, biking, hiking, stargazing, and exploring the great outdoors.  Depending on rain and current water levels, you can also enjoy creeks, swimming holes, and waterfalls.  Unplug and make memories sure to last a lifetime. Located 10 miles from Bandera, Cowboy Capital of the World.

Hondo

Find & reserve the best desert campsites near Hondo, Texas with pets. Tent, cabin & RV camp on private & State Parks, on local farms, vineyards & nature preserves.

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Trash

We found some sturdy trees to hang up hammocks and lights! 

Lost Woods

Welcome to our little piece of paradise! 55 acres of woods hidden near town. A network of trails criss-cross the creek and wind throughout the property

under a peaceful canopy of large beautiful trees. Don't be surprised if you run into deer, squirrels, or roadrunners! Our property is home to a wide variety of hill-country wildlife.

- Each of our campsites are private and surrounded by forest.

- Each site has a fire ring for campfires

- Our trees are our most precious natural resource and set this campground apart! Please don't do anything to harm them.

- Port-o-john is available on site.

- All of our campsites are primitive. No electric or water here.

- When you camp with us you are welcome to explore and play on the entire property! We have 55 acres of trails and woods to explore! Please bring your bikes, trail shoes, or whatever helps you have fun in the wild!

- Hammocks welcome!

We have so many trees! All of our sites are hammock-friendly.

- When you check-in, just text us, your host will help you find your campsite.

- Some sites are drive-in where your vehicle can park right next to the fire. Others are walk-in and require a short hike of 100' or less from your parking space. You can indicate your preference during booking or at check-in.

If you want to drive right into your site,

Campsites 2, 3, 6, and 12 are the sites you want.

Some of our campsites are more secluded than others and offer extreme privacy in the most beautiful settings we have to offer. If you're looking for a wilder campsite surrounded by huge old trees and all the peace the woods have to offer, just request Campsites 4, 5, 7, or 8. Each of these sites requires a walk of at least 50' from your vehicle to the fire ring.

Site 13 is only for backpackers or people willing to hike about 500 yards to the campsite over rough terrain. There is no way to drive to it or even get close except on foot. But it is spectacular and beautiful!

Only three sites can accommodate a smaller trailer or camper. Site 1, Site 2, and site 6. Please notify me in your booking if you intend to bring a camper and I can accommodate you.

We practice leave-no-trace as much as possible. So please pack out anything you pack in. You are responsible for removing all trash. If any garbage is left behind in your site you will be billed for the cleanup. We have a dumpster located near the front gate. Please use it and put all your trash in there. 

Heads-up! We have a small farm on the property. 

Dogs are always welcome and we LOVE our furry friends! For their safety and the safety of our livestock please keep them leashed while on property.

Spring comes early in Texas! This is Chinaberry Grove.

Shoshanna Shalom

Welcome to our land, our little slice of heaven, and a place of peace. My kids and I, with the help of the Creator, built this property how it stands today. It started as a tiny house journey through The Garden of Emunah (faith) and has turned into a life-changing  adventure. We moved onto the property with nothing but a power pole and a goal to farm the way the Creator designed and instructed. Since then we have come a long way by building houses, fences, and creating a life beyond the norm. Come join us in our adventure, sit by the fire, meet our friendly livestock, and tell us your story. We look forward to sharing Shabbat or any of the Jewish Holidays with your family.Learn more about this land:Pitch your tent in the cedar or under live oak in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Our remote farm is an hour from the nearest gas station or store down a 4.8 mile dirt road. If your car bottoms out on speed bumps, please DO NOT Book. The livestock is petting zoo friendly and have free range of the entire farm. Prepared to be visited by sheep, goats, cows, dogs, and chickens.  

The campsite we picked out of the six Daniel has created had a beautiful platform for star gazing!

Your host, Daniel, and his adorable baby Zebu named Roo 

There are many cool paths to hike and explore

Although we camped in our tent, we were happy to see that our RV was able to make the bumpy journey to the campsite

There's an awesome hand built sukkah the family constructed for the holiday Sukkot. For those that aren't down for rustic camping it provides a very cool alternative

Meet Heidi, one of the most friendly loving cows you will ever see!

Perfect place for hanging out or stargazing

There's plenty of firewood available for fire building

Chula Vista Farms

Great News: 

Willie Nelson is coming back to Floore's Country Store where his music began. (also where Elvis got his start). His  long-standing favorite, Shotgun Willie, was based on John T Floore. Willie and Family will come on Wednesday,  October 23. Tickets go on sale 8/29. Floore's is within walking distance of the campsite. Also, on the list Robert Earl Keen (9/2); Josh Abbott Band (9/7); The Mavericks with Asleep at the Wheel (9/14); Gary Allen (9/21) Eli Young Band (10/5). Please check dates.

 From the campsite, you will hear all outdoor bands and Willie's is outdoors.

I was not looking for another house to buy, but my daughter wanted me to look at a "little cottage" in Old Town Helotes. Just to shut her up, I made an appointment on a rainy day so I could not see/access the back of the property. The house was 3,000 sq feet and I fell so madly in love with it that I made an offer two hours later. I saw the potential of both house and land. Only after moving in did I walk the pasture and realize how much land I had bought.

The house was featured in the San Antonio Express News (Spaces 2/27/2011) as a home for the arts because I collect folk art: mostly from Mexico.

My daughter Kelly and I worked on the front gardens first; butterfly and cactus gardens, always mindful of choosing local plants and trees. In the spring, the mountain laurels add color; honeysuckle and jasmine scent the land and the flowers on the cacti bloom scarlet and yellow. The summer and fall produce the yellow and orange Esperanza bushes and the Mexican Bougainvillea.

Three years ago, I decided to maximize the use of the back pasture which is separated from the front by a dry creek bed. Kelly and I started an heirloom vegetable farm with raised beds and terracing. We installed some stone steps for easier access. According to the "old folks" here, this property was part of a ranch on the stagecoach line replete with cowboys and Indians, started out as a two-room stone shack and blossomed into a Cinderella home with Moroccan arched ceilings and even a wine cellar.

As parking is on one side of the creek and camping is across the creek, RV's and camper vehicles are discouraged. However, if you message me prior to booking, we can accommodate one low one under the oaks in the front and you will have access to front chiminea and back pasture amenities also.

We are proud to announce that our campsite has been nominated for Best Hipcamp in Texas for 2019 and was recently featured on television to promote Hipcamp. The video can be found under S A Live Hipcamp and provides a visual description of the layout of the property.

Note: Only two tents per site and only two cars per site. 

Mardi Gras in the Cowboy Capitol: Bandera, Texas. Fun will begin Thursday, 2/17 and continue till Saturday, 2/19. Please visit website for tickets/events including bull riding.

So you want to spend a weekend at Chula Vista Farms and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Here is the recipe for a unique experience. You check in Friday afternoon and set up camp. Then you walk into Old Town, shop at the antique shops and gallery (Hill Country artists), have a beer with the old-timers at an outdoor picnic table at the Country Club, have dinner at El Chaparral Mexican Restaurant or Big Daddy's BBQ. Then you kick back-- sipping a glass of wine at Wine 101. Then you carefully walk  back to the farm, sit in the zero-gravity chairs, watch the stars, and listen to country music coming from Floore's Country Store.

 Next morning, you walk to the Cracked Mug in Old Town for coffee, and then, for breakfast,  drive 30 miles through the Hill Country to the  famous OST Cafe (Old Spanish Trail) in Bandera--the Cowboy Capital.  Not only is the cafe famous for its western saddle bar stools, its John Wayne room, its down-home cooking--it is also the destination for the leather-clad,  serious-helmeted motorcycle riders from San Antonio who rendezvous and ride up there every Saturday. So you end up with quite an eclectic crowd: serious old-time ranchers, drug-store cowboys, the Steve McQueen type motorcycle racers, and the tourists. And the prices are right! Then, after visiting Bandera, you head out Hwy 73 for 13 miles to Camp Verde--an old Army Camel Fort from the 1840's with a still-functioning post office, and a gorgeous restaurant along the banks of the river (best onion rings this side of heaven).   On the return on Hwy 16 (Bandera Road), turn off on PR-37 and visit Medina Lake., Then you return to camp for siesta--before  repeating last night's adventure.

 Next morning, you walk into Old Town and have breakfast at the Helotes Bakery--full breakfast and baked goods--Texas-size Cream Puffs. On the way home, you stop in Grey Forest and walk/hike through the one-lane roads of this enchanting artist colony with its 300+ cottages and rock homes.   

Also every first Saturday, Old Town hosts Market Days--music, crafts and food. We are beginning to host artists who want to paint the Texas Hill Country--what a neat idea: camping and painting. Old Town has just opened its first art gallery featuring local artists and Chula Vista Farms is hosting its second "en plein air" event in the fall. 

Ten miles from the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Chula Vista Farms, in Old Town Helotes,  lies at the gateway to the Texas Hill Country. Camp under magnificent old oaks in the front area or up in the back pasture ( with our heirloom tomatoes) across the creek. See the stars (no city lights) and experience total tranquility. Old Town Helotes is home to several antique stores, wine and coffee bars, El Chaparral Mexican Restaurant and Floore's Country Store—the oldest honky-tonk in Texas where Willie Nelson plays twice a year and country music bands play on weekends. You can hear the music from your campsite. 

Chula Vista Farms is part of Old Town Helotes so you can walk to the restaurants and shops. Across the highway (four miles) is the quaint town of Grey Forest with hundreds of artists' cottages and gorgeous walking trails with hills; three miles away is HEB plus—a mega-grocery and wine store; 10 miles is downtown San Antonio with the  Riverwalk;  30 miles is Bandera—the Cowboy Capital of the world—a stunning drive of hills and western panoramas--home to the famous OST (Old Spanish Trail) cafe and 13 miles from Bandera lies Camp Verde-with,  serene streams, lovely picnic area, a still-functioning post office (from the 1850"s), and a famous restaurant with panoramic views. Camp Verde sits on land which housed a civil-war-era army fort which experimented with camels from Egypt. Four miles away from Chula Vista is Government Canyon -a primitive hiking experience. 

Chula Vista Farms has five private campsites in the back pasture. This field is also ideal for group camping--20 tents could be accommodated. We have a communal fire pit, tables,  adirondack and  zero-gravity chairs  and four chimmineas for easy, romantic fires. We can accommodate small pop-up campers under the oaks in front area--but only one at a time. Please ask before booking. Thanks!

You could spend a week here and not run out of things to do: shopping, sight-seeing, walking, hiking, eating, drinking, relaxing, cooking,  painting, sitting by the fire, listening to country music and, of course, camping and being close to nature.    And if that is not enough, we can put you to work with our heirloom tomato, herb and vegetable farm where names such as Eritrea Basil;  White Icicle Radish; Ruby Queen Beets; and tomatoes with exotic titles: Black Vernissage; Black Beauty; Indigo Apple; Ananas Noire; Pork Chop; Lucid Gem and my favorite- Chestnut Chocolate- constitute the language of the day.

grabbing firewood from across the creekbed 

grabbing a post-supper cuppa at the Cracked Mug 

Kelly - chief farmer of the heirloom tomatoes

covered outdoor seating right next to camp

Boulderdash Cabin & Camping

Hi Hip Campers! Spend some time in the beautiful Texas Hill Country at Boulderdash. Located along the serene Medina River, you can enjoy riverfront access and the peace and quiet of the great outdoors. Boulderdash hosts a variety of accommodations for every type of camper. Enjoy a cozy rustic three-bedroom cabin, primitive tent camping, full hookup RV sites, riverfront tent sites, and more! Play in the river,(please check lake levels) unplug, reconnect with friends and family, and enjoy the views of this beautiful country setting! Enjoy feeding the deer and watching the many varieties of birds, foxes, armadillos, squirrels and others! Our place is just 9 miles from Bandera, TX, the "Cowboy Capital of the World," where you can get a taste of the cowboy lifestyle with horseback riding, ranch tours, rodeos, museums, and more! This is one Texas destination you don't want to miss!

Al's Hideaway Escape to the Country

Get ready for an adventure of a lifetime! Imagine yourself surrounded by the picturesque Texas Hill Country, while enjoying the best of both worlds- modern amenities and nature's beauty. At Al's Hideaway, we pride ourselves on being an eco-friendly resort that is nestled on a massive 20-acre land. But don't worry- we've only developed three acres so that we didn't displace any wildlife! 

Get your hiking boots on and explore the lush greenery that surrounds you or take a dip in our sparkling swimming pool. If you're a foodie, then our outdoor kitchen and large smoker will be your paradise. And that's not all- Al's Hideaway now has an app that helps you stay up-to-date with all the exciting events happening in the area. From animal encounters, horseback riding, museums, caves, and hiking to motorcycle riding, wineries, breweries, and distilleries- there is something for everyone in this area. And to top it off, you can enjoy concerts and shopping, too! 

Don't just take our word for it- come and experience the magic of Al's Hideaway for yourself. We can't wait to welcome you!

60 x 40 Pavilion with a full outdoor kitchen, Men and Women restroom with showers.

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Haby Ranch

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