An Exciting ATV Tour On Ox Ranch
Wow, what a fun and exciting ATV tour we enjoyed during our weekend stay at Ox Ranch in Uvalde. Riding fast Yahama 300s we climbed and descended some steep rocky trails, stopped to explore a cave, saw lots of wildlife, rode through creeks, and lot more fun things. After a hearty breakfast at 
Ox Ranch our guide for the weekend, Larry, said “let’s go ATVing!” And all four of us simultaneously said “yeah!!!”
Larry rounded up some helmets, gave us a brief lesson on driving ATVs, and said “hop aboard.” I figured that my youngest grandson (8 years old) would go with me or Larry and the oldest grandson would ride with my wife. Not the case – he let both of them drive their own ATV after watching them drive for a few minutes. Off we went in a cloud of dust for a 5 hour and at least 30 mile tour of a portion of the 18,000 acres on Ox Ranch.
The tour started on one of the paved roads but after half a mile Larry zoomed off the main road, blazed a trail through the brush, trees, and cactus, and took us across a creek and up the steep bank of one of the lake’s dam.
From there we traveled on several dirt roads with varying degrees of smoothness – from well graded to loose large rocks and gravel. We rode up and down some very steep hills, rode through the diverse terrain on and off the trail, and crisscrossed some creeks.
Just driving the ATVs was a blast but what made this tour truly special was:
- the diversity and beauty of the terrain – rolling Texas Hill Country and on some of the hills we had a 360 degree view for what seemed like hundreds of miles
- Ox Ranch is home to over 1800 animals and more than 50 species and everywhere we looked we saw a wide variety of animals and the ATV was a fantastic way to get up close and personal with the wildlife
- Larry would stop quite frequently to point out something about the Ranch or the terrain and tell us about some the animals we were observing and in several cases he would coach them up close and feed or pet them – amazing how tame some animals were and how skittish and timid others were – for example, the camels would come right up to us and eat bananas out of our hands
- during the tour we stopped at the “Big Blind” for a cold beer and soda, climbed into a cave, fed and petted the giraffe, and visited the tank barn where you can view or drive and shoot a World War II Sherman Tank or other weaponry
We have taken several different ATV tours and this one was clearly the best we have ever experienced. We arrived back at the Ranch excited and dusty and ready for a cold beer, some soda, and snacks. Thanks Larry for making it so much fun. Return to our article on a Weekend Getaway to Ox Ranch.
Author: Mike Sharp
I have a passion for travel and outdoor activities, and now I'm enjoying retired life. I will continue my traveling, golfing, boating, and enjoying life all across the great state of Texas.
