35mi from La Pryor · 27 sites · Tents, RVs, Lodging · TXSituated 15 minutes from the Port of Entry from Mexico, and 20 minutes from the only Texas casino, the Turtle Ranch is a great waypoint between a series of gorgeous South Texas adventure spots, like the mountains of Garner State Park, the Rivers of Seminole Canyon or the splendid isolation of Big Bend National Park.
Originally this was a sheep ranch spanning 1000s of acres. Until the 1980s, migrant workers came to work the sheep, deliver the lambs, and sheer the mamas. In the 50s, the original owner built a small cabin near the main homestead for his oldest son and his new bride, hoping they would stay on to run the ranch, but as youth often do, they left in search of a different type of life.
We were fortunate to have opportunity to purchase the cabin and expand
to a 3 bedroom home using materials from the original 100+ years ranch house that we carefully dismantled. We moved in a small herd of Dorper sheep, in an attempt to restore some of the original feel of the ranch. Dorpers grow hair, not wool, so they shed and don't require shearing. We delivered our first lamb, Lyle, on February 10, 2021.
Frick, our mighty Mexican longhorn bull, manages the small cattle herd that gives the ranch a real Texas feel. He's quite people friendly and loves to poke his head over the fence to pose for photos.
The mighty tortoises that inspired the name of the ranch are Juke and Rocky, 30 year old brothers who weigh close to 200 lbs each and will likely outlive us. There are a number of other turtles, wild and domestic, on the property. Guests may feed the big torts and other animals for amazing photo opportunities.
