Road Trippin’ to the Ranch

Waldemar Guest Ranch is located near Hunt, Texas, southwest of Austin in the Texas Hill Country.

The ranch is 120 miles from Austin, 90 miles from San Antonio, and 300 miles from Dallas, so plan your drive accordingly. Attendees are encouraged to carpool, so talk to your friends or post on our Facebook Page to join a group adventure!

1025 FM 1340
Hunt, TX 78024

View driving directions »

From Austin –
About a 2.5 Hour Drive

• Take Highway 290 W. Johnson City / Fredericks- burg.
• Highway 290 West junctions Highway 281 / 290.
• At the junction, turn right on Highway 281 / 290 to Johnson City.
• Follow Highway 290 to the left to Fredericksburg.
• Turn left on Highway 16 to Kerrville.
• Take exit 508 to Kerrville.
• Turn right at Highway 27 W to Ingram.
• Turn left on Highway 39 to Hunt.
• Turn right on FM 1340.
• Drive 4.5 miles to the Waldemar Gate (on your right).

Did ya get Lost there, cowboy?

Call (830) 238-4821 to get found.

For those driving out to the ranch, your GPS might tell you you’re there when you actually aren’t. Don’t worry, keep going! Drive a few more miles past horses and longhorns and look for the Design Ranch sign in front of the Camp Waldemar gate.

Flyin’ and Shuttle Service

If you are flying, we suggest arriving at the San Antonio airport, as it is closest to the ranch and has the most flight arrivals per day. The Austin Airport is the next closest airport and is smaller with fewer daily arrivals. Please note: it’ll take approximately 2 hours to get from the San Antonio airport to the Ranch and back, 3 hours from the Austin airport. Plan your arrival and departure times accordingly!

We recommend taking a shuttle service to and from the airport—it’ll be the easiest and most cost-effective way to do it. Attendees are responsible for booking and paying for their own spaces on these shuttles. Book your shuttle as soon as you reserve your flights for best service. Individual rides are available, but sharing a ride is strongly encouraged and will substantially reduce your cost. e folks at Hill Country Limo will happily group attendees with similar arrival times for greatest savings. Tell them you are going to Camp Waldemar for Design Ranch. Below is their contact information and a basic idea of cost to get to the Ranch:

Shuttle Service

Hill Country Limo
830.896.1429
*Price includes tip for your baggage-handling driver.
*Because these are discounted rates there will be no cancellation accepted day of, must give 24 hours notice.

TO/FROM SAN ANTONIO & AUSTIN AIRPORTS

$210* total for 1-3 people, one-way
Cost is $20 per person to be split among the group. Round trip is $420*. (48HR notice prior to arrival for cancellation)

Where to Hang Yer Hat

OUR VENUE – CAMP WALDEMAR

Somewhere between Austin and Ciudad Acuña, Mexico lies Waldemar Guest Ranch, Design Ranch’s host. Boasting 693 acres, you could say it’s as big as hell and half of Texas.

Established in 1926, this spread just outside of Hunt, Texas, is home to the oldest continuously operated girls’ camp in the nation and surely one of the most beautiful. Deep in the rugged Texas Hill Country, Waldemar overlooks the banks of the Guadalupe River. The sprawling grounds, winding river, and wooded trails afford guests the opportunity to lounge in the grass, play horseshoes, go swimming, canoe, play tennis, or take to the trails on foot or by horse. Waldemar offers a wide range of accommodations, from single, private rooms to cabins which can sleep up to eight. The elegant stone cabins provide comfortable accommodations in twin beds for 1-8 people. The handmade furniture and front porches of each cabin herald the very spirit of the wild frontier. Each cabin has A/C and heat, one full bathroom and is decorated in a southwestern motif with Saltillo tile, rustic furniture and large porches.

And did we mention the food? Waldemar boasts an oversized dining hall that features family-style meals prepared by a gourmet staff, so you never leave hungry.

BUNKIN’ UP

We can’t stress enough that this isn’t your ordinary design “conference.” Part of the charm of Design Ranch is rubbing elbows with fellow attendees and workshop leaders. Rooms are like grown-up versions of summer camp bunk houses, so earn your Comradery Badge and bunk up with a fellow Rancher (or two, or four), whether it’s a friend or someone you don’t know (yet). It spreads the spirit of Design Ranch and builds your business card stack. If you’re comin’ in a group, great! If you’re a single, the kind folks at the ranch will help you find just the right posse to bunk with. Of course, there are a small number of single rooms available for those who really wanna go Desperadostyle.

That being said, if you were to think of this as any ol’ regular conference, think of Design Ranch as the “conference” and Camp Waldemar as your “hotel.” You will need to contact Waldemar with all room reservations and venue needs, while us over here at Design Ranch will handle your workshops and entertainment for the week.

RESERVATIONS

Once registered, you will receive an email with a confirmation number and ranch contact information. At that point, we recommend you make your room reservation as quickly as possible, as rooms go lickety split. Only registered attendees with their confirmation number will be allowed to reserve a room at the Ranch. Register early to get your pick of rooms!

Showin’ up Good n’ Prepared

WHAT TO BRING

• Long Pants (we prefer boot and jeans and a big-ass belt buckle)
• Hat (we like the cowboy kind)
• Sweater or Jacket (for nights out under the stars)
• Swimsuit (for dips in the river)
• Sneakers or Hiking Boots (for striking out into the wilderness) Flip-flops (for lounging)
• Dancin’ Shoes (naturally, we like cowboy boots for two-steppin’)
• Sunblock & bug spray
• Shampoo & Conditioner (Waldemar provides bar soap)
• Sunglasses (not the rockstar kind)
• Watch (a timepiece that ain’t your phone)
• Smock or apron (or something you don’t mind getting dirty)
• Cash and a blank check (for tipping the barkeep/the silent Auction)
• Sketchpad and pencil (for when you get inspired)
• Musical Instruments (if ’n ya wanna play around the 🔥 pit)
• Don’t forget your camera (there will be plenty of photo ops)
• Umbrella and / or rain poncho (just in case)
• Adult beverages, sodas, your own snacks

Gettin’ Supplies & Good Timin’

STOCK UP

There are plenty of interesting places to stop along the way to the ranch. We suggest picking up any last-minute supplies in Kerrville. It’s the largest town in the area, about 20 minutes from the ranch. We also think you should see the Hunt store, just because it’s so gosh darn cute (1638 Texas 39, Hunt, Texas 78024). Swing on in and check out the stuffed animals, rock in a rocking chair, and pick up a Dr. Pepper and some Fritos to hold you over on the last leg of the trip.

ACTIVITIES

When you’re done with your workshops, you can count on some laid-back, Texas-sized, fun: hay rides, horseback riding, massages, horseshoe tossin’, kickball, lounging in the grass, marshmallow roastin’, and swimming, paddle boating, or canoeing in the beautiful Guadalupe. After all, we’ve got to do something with all that rolling ranch land. Design Ranch is known for bringin’ out some of the finest entertainment that Texas has to offer, so each night we invite you to grab a cold one and dance to a live band playing under the big Texas sky. Or cozy up next to the campfire and tell a tall tale or two with friends, new and old.

As always, we’ll have a few evening-time surprises up our sleeve when you get there. But we can’t give it all away now, can we?