Peaceful Acres is a fantastic horse rescue. The people that own it care so much for these horses…read more All of the volunteers have hearts of gold as well. The horses in their care came from some bad situations, but now are surrounded by love and friends. They work so hard to get the horses healthy and hopefully into new loving homes. It's just amazing! I had a unique experience with this group through Girl Scouts. I heard about a hands on class they offer for Scouts to come out and learn about horses in a very hands on manner. I booked my Troop of 4th graders for a 3 hour class. During the class, my girls got to meet all of the horses, learn about their backstories, learn how to take care of horses, and even learned to ride unassisted at the end. Ms. Sherry worked with me to get my Troop booked for the event. She was so helpful and easy to work with. She ran our visit too. She had these 9 year olds out there cleaning and brushing the horses, getting dirty and messy, trying new things, and making them all feel valued. Ms. Sherry is an spitfire angel! I believe they also offer affordable horse back riding lessons for all ages to help fund their rescue mission. I highly recommend checking into Peaceful Acres for education events or to volunteer. They are doing good things that make your heart feel good helping.

We love this place! I first learned about this place because my daughter was invited to their farm…read morefor a birthday party. The staff was so friendly and there was so much for the kids to see and different animals to pet. We loved it so much I booked for my 5 year olds birthday. They brought the horses to us and the kids loved petting and riding the horses. The owners were so nice and engaged with the kids. I would definitely recommend and book again.

I observed as Liz worked with a young rider learning to handle the horse in a vatiety of exercises…read more She was very encouraging as the young rider was learning how to handle the horse. Her horses were in very good shape and easily approachable. Enjoyed feeding her minature horse, Minnie, a treat. Nice visit.

We boarded our 2 horses with Liz trusting she would care for them. These horses belong to our…read moregranddaughters. The first time we realized things might not be as they seemed was when one granddaughter moved so we picked up her horse. The horse had pinworms and had literally lost all of the hair on his tail. Liz informed us she had brain surgery and was recovering from Covid. So of course we understood that she got a little behind. Then our other granddaughter moved but wasn't able to take her horse for approximately 4 months. We paid Liz for everything she said the horse needed. We had Zeus picked up by a friend and we were shocked upon seeing him and his condition. He obviously hasn't been being fed. He looks like he came from a kill pen. He was a gorgeous healthy horse when he was brought to Liz's facility. Shame on her for taking our money and promising us he was being well cared for then letting our dear sweet Zeus starve. Don't trust this woman.

FINALLY Zach and I made it out onto Lake Belton! We tried last year and Frank's was doing some…read moremaintenance on the bobcats and then we just didn't get around to it. So we showed up today a casual 10 minutes late. I'm always stressed about being late and they were very cool with it which immediately relaxed me. I think the marina itself could use more signage as we didn't see where to go to check in and had to be directed by someone else on the dock. We find our way, one of the employees said she was going to check that our bobcat was working (really appreciate that, always want to know it works) and we checked in inside. Without prompting, they recommend some cool areas of the lake to check out. This was excellent and I loved it. Zach was driving, so I was thriving, and they had wine on sale for 20% off, so they twisted my arm and I ended up with some delicious, cheap, plastic, single-serving bottles of wine. They were very patient with my nerves as we got loaded onto the boat and I tried not to lose all of my items. I really misinterpreted the size of the boat and, as I always do, overpacked. We did not need towels, we did not really need ... anything .... except maybe the wine. They gave us a great overview of how to steer the bobcat, cuz it was a little different than what we are used to with big boy boats, and we were off! We had a great time, we made it back alive, we signed a paper saying we were alive and had returned their bobcat, and they surprised us by saying bobcat rentals no longer have to pay for gas. We did not argue and hippity hopped it out of there. They made it so easy, the price is reasonable, they seem to have pretty open availability, and you can rent by the 1/2 hour. I can see us having a date night where we grab some dinner at Deadfish and then take a bobcat out for an hour to watch the sunset from the lake. This is my life now? No complaints.

Friendly owner who gave me some advice on kayak routes and provided me with pamphlet print out of…read morethe Lake Belton map as well as price breakdown down, I loon forward to renting a kayak soon, and explore the lake.

This was a magical experience that we will remember forever. My children couldnt wait to wake up…read morein the morning to feed the animals and we had such a lovely encounter with the giraffes, Sloths, Kangaroos, otters and Cappabaryas. We cant even name our favorite as they were all incredible, once in a lifetime experiences. The staff is kind, informative and attentive. Not a dull moment!

Absolutely incredible weekend at Blue Hills Ranch. We were fortunate to stay in the stunning…read moreGiraffe Villa... a hefty price, but worth it if you can afford it. The Giraffe barn is attached to one side of the house, and their pasture is on the other side. It is the most fabulous "Barndominium" with incredible finishes and clearly thoughtfully designed. That experience alone was mind-blowing.... however we also had the Gold Packages and were able to experience everything the ranch had to offer! Zebras, Capybaras, Kangaroos, Otters, Deer, Homer the Dromedary!!! Everywhere you turned there were more animals and more experiences offered. My children and I were in absolute animal heaven and will be thrilled to return. I will say, our vacation was expensive and it did not disappoint. However, I do believe you can absolutely visit this ranch on a budget.... Probably one of the best experiences was their ranch safari and that is a nominal price and totally worth it! You can see the entire property and all of the animals on the safari trip. Additionally they have fantastic cabins that are themed, and if you have children under the age of 10, the pirate themed cabins are beyond your wildest imagination.... as far as I am aware all of the sleeping accommodations include kitchens so you can absolutely cook for your family instead of paying for the delicious ranch food. That said... Chef Alan is phenomenal and out of this world excellent chef. Each meal was made with love and artistry. The staff at Blue Hills Ranch all go above and beyond to create lasting memories for you. I absolutely recommend this experience as a NOT TO BE MISSED event! We are already planning a return in October/November depending on availability . Cannot wait. Looking forward to being among these amazing staff members (shout-out to Jen, Anne, Shelby, Emily, Chesney, Alan...) the guard dogs, and all of the incredible exotic animals. Thank you, Matt!

this is a beautiful spot! there is some signage on the plants on the trails. beautiful waterfall.read more

I'm so glad I got to check out this lovely park! Relatively easy to navigate trails and the…read morewaterfall was beautiful.

Our first time visiting, and this was such an amazing experience. The animals were friendly and all…read morethe children seemed to be having a great time. This is a drive through safari and there is an admission fee per person. The drive from Round Rock was a little over an hour, but definitely worth it if you have small children. You will have an option to purchase food for the animals, or just drive through and soak in all the wonderful scenery.

Fun experience for the whole family…read more A FEW NOTES/TIPS FOR VISITING: --An early arrival is likely best because the animals will be hungrier. We came at 10am and had plenty of interaction. It seems to reason that a late arrival might offer tired/full animals that may not approach as easily. --Before you enter the safari, set up your kids. You will likely have to loosen safety standards for a bit but you're driving 5MPH so I felt comfortable doing it. I held my 1-year-old on my lap in the front passenger seat. He wouldn't have been able to see much otherwise. We also had to unbuckle my 3-year-old's seat belt so she could shift up otherwise she had trouble feeding the animals. --You're not supposed to hand feed the animals. I don't recall them telling us that but there's a sign saying it. It's hard to avoid because some of the animals will literally stick their head in your car (zebras and donkey, I'm looking at you). They're gentle and I had no issue hand feeding them. It felt necessary to get them to back off a bit (my kids got scared though, lol). The little deer were also gentle and easy to hand feed. Anything with big horns -- we definitely just threw the food on the ground. Same for the emus -- do not hand feed those -- they will chomp your fingers hard. Ultimately, they must know people hand feed some of the animals. I'm surprised they don't do liability waivers. --Watch for animals in front of your car or even swarming the side. Throwing a handful of feed away from the car helps move them away. --Get enough food, depending on how many feeders you have. We got a $10 bucket (3 people feeding) and it was plenty (with some left over for the petting zoo). We were conservative with it though. I'd say get more than you think you need since you don't want to run out. It's also helpful to have extra feed to throw when you want the animals to get away from your car. You can always use whatever is left for the petting zoo. They gave us an extra bucket (small one) for our daughter to use in the backseat. I'd ask if you want extra ones. --The goats at the petting zoo are pretty aggressive. If you walk in with a bucket, they will literally swarm you. Maybe it was because we came early in the day and there weren't too many other people there. My toddler got scared, lol. I'd recommend staying outside the gates and feeding through there or having one person stay outside to hand the feed over from the bucket. Ultimately, a great way to spend a couple of hours and entertain the kids. It's a little pricey since you pay per person (including 3 and up) but it's all good. The beautiful peacocks roaming around definitely enhanced the experience. The gift shop was a bit scarce -- could have been stocked with more items. I also wish they gave us a brochure about the animals upon entry (I saw reviews about people grabbing those at the gift shop; we had no idea they existed). Clean bathrooms and ample parking.

Tremendous 101 acres. We are lucky. 8 minutes away. Well kept. We enjoy the dog park…read more Our church enjoys the pavilions. .

I can't say too much about this park as it was completely flooded out so we could not walk down…read moremost of the trails. Even the dog park became a lake. I will second the amount of mosquitoes here is quite high. Maybe I'll come back some other time when it's not so wet.