Long before it became known for dude ranches and rodeo champions like Toots Mansfield, Bandera was a wild frontier. In the 1700s, Apaches clashed with Spanish troops along Bandera Pass, a natural route between the Medina and Guadalupe river valleys. Locals joke that Bandera was destined to be declared the “Cowboy Capital of the World” because it was settled on the curve of the Medina River that, on a map, resembles the shape of a boot. By the 1870s, the Great Western Trail brought cattlemen and ranching to the area, leading to “guest ranches”—vacation destinations for city slickers seeking the cowboy experience. Dude ranches like Rancho Cortez, Dixie, and Mayan still attract visitors, as do western-themed restaurants and stores along Main Street, and gunfight reenactment shows every Saturday. There’s also canoeing and kayaking on the river and hiking at two nearby state natural areas; a third, the Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area, is expected to open later this year.
DISTANCE FROM
San Antonio
1 hour
Austin
2 hours
Houston
4 hours
Dallas
5 hours
El Paso
7 hours
Stay
The Vaquero Motel
Named after the Spanish word for cowboy, the Vaquero opened in 1946 within walking distance of Main Street. It underwent a facelift in 2021, but the 12 cabins retain their rustic charm with wooden beds, a patio, and a firepit. Most have a boot jack to help remove cowboy boots. Rooms start at $109/night.
eat
TJ’s at the Old Forge
Drovers used to stop at this former blacksmith forge to get horseshoes. Today, visitors come for the American comfort food, including pecan-crusted chicken and the popular starter Cowboy egg rolls.
Learn
Frontier Times Museum
“Where the past meets the peculiar” is the motto of this museum opened in 1933 by newspaperman J. Marvin Hunter. Along with a collection of curiosities, it has relics of Bandera County’s frontier past and a rodeo champions “Stalls of Fame.”
Shop & Stay
Texas Salt Co.
Andrew and Daniel Almand launched their smoked salt company in 2020 with Cowboy salt infused with garlic and rosemary. After moving to Bandera, the couple bought a complex off 11th Street that includes a factory, a retail store, the Salt Block for overnight stays, and Salty’s Texas Provisions, which sells Texas-made merchandise.
drink
Arkey blue’s Silver Dollar
Dating to the 1920s, this is the oldest continuously operating honky-tonk in Texas. Originally called the Fox Hole, it became the Silver Dollar dance hall in the ’40s. Arkey Juenke, known by his stage name Arkey Blue, bought the place in 1968, and you can still see him perform with his band, the Blue Cowboys, on some Saturday nights.
learn
Bandera Natural History and art Museum
This museum has life-size model dinosaurs “roaming” the grounds outside, and dioramas inside showcasing wildlife and exotic animals in their natural habitats. Don’t miss the hall of art from the Spanish viceregal period.
