1643 County Road 403
Marble Falls, TX 78654
This past weekend we had the pleasure of disconnecting in Marble Falls. Nestled about 10 minutes from downtown is The Retreat Ranch, a family owned intimate event and retreat center! Although this venue would be an excellent space for a group outing, owners Shannon and Nathan also allow individual parties to book their glamping accommodations. They have a variety of accommodations ranging from bell tents, to a yurt, up to camper trailers. We stayed in their Moon Dancer vintage trailer, which brought us back to our camping days in Alberta.
The Moon Dancer trailer at Retreat Ranch, Marble Falls TX
Although the thought of camping and even glamping is daunting to some, all of the units have electricity, heat and air conditioning, so you aren't left in the wild. The only time it really felt like camping was during the night when we needed to pee - the bathrooms/showers here are communal with 2 located in a standalone unit outside and 2 within the dining hall.
The dining hall has a stocked kitchen, 2 full bathrooms, a coffee corner and plenty of seating at The Retreat Ranch
Speaking of the dining hall, this space is wonderful. They have a full kitchen for guest use at the back, table space for up to 25 people, and a cute coffee/tea nook at the front. We spent one of our evenings here listening to records and drinking wine. The dining hall also has a great selection of toys that our daughter loved. Mr Potato Head was a hit.
Beyond unique accommodations, The Retreat Ranch has much more to offer. Horses, chickens, and goats roam the property - all super friendly. Although a bit elusive, we found the horses one afternoon and got to pet them. That same afternoon, we visited the chicken coop, which was quite eventful. Feed is available just outside the pen to treat the chickens, and makes for a fun activity for the kiddos. While in the coop, we recovered 5 eggs and enjoyed them the next morning for breakfast. Truly from farm to table!
Fresh organic eggs are available for guests to enjoy at The Retreat Ranch
We also loved spending time outside at The Retreat Ranch in their communal seating area by the main entrance. On one side is the fire pit and outdoor bar. perfect for relaxing at night making s'mores; Shannon was kind enough to provide us all the supplies. Adjacent to the main seating area is the hot tub and two dipping pools. This area is nicely landscaped with turf and would be such a great hangout on a hot summer day.
Enjoying the outdoor amenities at The Retreat Ranch
As mentioned, The Retreat Ranch is also an event center and hosts a wide variety of wellness retreats, focused on connection with yourself and others. The ranch features a large outdoor deck and meditation labyrinth to support these events.
Practicing our tree poses on the outdoor deck at The Retreat Ranch
Although most of our time was spent at the ranch, we found some fun things to do and eat around Marble Falls, too. If you haven't noticed or just started reading the blog, I'm a huge wine enthusiast. When planning for this trip, I looked up weekend events and stumbled across the Wine Run 5K event page. It just so happened that a winery in Marble Falls, Flat Creek Estate Winery, was hosting a race that weekend ...so I figured, why not.
24912 Singleton Bend E.
Marble Falls, TX 78654
Enjoying Flat Creek Estate Winery after the Wine 5K
The event was a little different than I anticipated. The race offered several start time options between 9 and 10 AM; I opted for the later start time of 10 o'clock. Although it was nice to have fewer people around (especially since the rows of vines are narrow), I found that we all spread out during the race, and most times I was alone. I'd prefer to be in a group during races to keep myself motivated. But none the less, it was a really cool experience to run through the vineyard. Unfortunately, it was super windy and cold that day, so after the race, not many people stuck around. We had a glass of wine outside and then wandered over to the main tasting room. The staff was kind enough to fit us in for a tasting and we ordered one of their wood fire pizzas for lunch.
The views from the tasting room are quite lovely and the patio would be great on a warm day. I was impressed with their menu, since many wineries only offer charcuterie, and the 2017 Syrah ended up being our favorite here. I also found it unique that they had a disc golf course on site too, if you're into that!
Visiting in the month of December, we also wanted to check out the seasonal events in Marble Falls for Christmas. After living in Canada for years, we were excited to see that the city maintains an ice skating rink at Lakeside Park. They require reservations for admission, each time slot is an hour. Unfortunately we arrived late for ours and were denied. We were quite disappointed, but understood. So arrive early if you want to check this out and book your time slot online in advance!
Enjoying The Walkway of Lights in Marble Falls, TX
Although we missed out on skating, the park is also home to their Christmas Walkway of Lights, hosted by The Marble Falls Chamber of Commerce. Admission is free and open nightly from 6-10PM from November 19 to January 1st this year. There are tons of cute spots for photos, featuring 2 million lights and over 350 lighted sculptures.
Other than the pizza at Flat Creek Estate Winery, we only ate 2 other places while in Marble Falls.
208 Ave H
Marble Falls, TX 78654
We really enjoyed Double Horn, which had a small, but tasty selection of craft beer. My favorite was the Bottle Caps Kolsch and my husband loved their Amber Headed Stepchild. We also ordered the wings and the crabby cado - which is a crab stuffed, deep fried avocado... so good. Everything was really tasty and they were kid friendly, which is always appreciated.
101 US-281
Marble Falls, TX 78654
We also ate at the Simply Pho House, which is an interesting Asian fusion restaurant. They have a huge assortment of rice, noodle, soup and traditional Asian dishes to choose from, it's almost overwhelming. We ordered the Pad Thai and Chow Mein - we ate it so fast, I failed to take any photos. But trust me when I say it's good - it was even recommended by Shannon and Nathan, The Retreat Ranch owners. The portions were gigantic too.
The henhouse and a bell tent at The Retreat Ranch
All in all, it was a very relaxing weekend in Marble Falls. The accommodations at The Retreat Ranch really encourage you to slow down and enjoy your surroundings - the people and the environment. The trailer didn't have a TV, or the best cell signal - but honestly, we didn't care. The Retreat Ranch intends to foster a space where you can "surrender all the noise of the outside world and just retreat into connection, growing & thriving", and that we did. I highly recommend visiting their beautiful property if you're looking for some time to slow down. The Jamail Family is the most accommodating and we thank them for sharing their world with us!