About Us
Scrumptious Breakfasts!
Enjoy a legendary breakfast known only at Wildernest Ranch - including the now requested Wildernest Southwestern Pull-Apart Bread - hand delivered in a crate each morning to your front porch! Hot entrees, seasonal fruits, scrumptious pastries, and mouthwatering tastes that you'll be talking about long after your time at the B&B has ended!
Cozy Cabins!
We currently have a modern, romantic cabin built for two, with stainless appliances, a king bed and luxury bedding, and 1 1/2 baths, as well as a bunkhouse, which will comfortably sleep 6 in an open concept style with living/dining/sleeping arrangement plus a kitchenette with microwave and convection oven, and a full bath!
Rustic Chic Venue!
The newest addition to Wildernest is our full service event venue - The Hitchin' Post! Whether it is a wedding you are planning, or a shower, party, or family reunion, we are the go-to venue for you! With a little over 2000 square feet of indoor space, we provide a caterer's kitchen, 3 bathrooms, crystal chandeliers, plus several acres of outdoor piney woods to house your dream event!
We are the Wilders
Tucked away in the Piney Woods of Northeast Texas...
you will find us - Mike & Staci! Along with our three grown children - Amy, Nathan, & Jordan, their spouses - Paul, Sarah & Elizabeth, plus our three amazing grands - Carter, Kendall, & George - we form our family business - Wildernest Bed & Breakfast!
We are proud to be a family-owned establishment, intent on giving each of our guests the best possible experience during their getaway to our little neck of the woods.
From the eldest to the youngest - from the dogs to the horses to the goats to the chickens - you'll find the residents of Wildernest to be the perfect backdrop to make your stay a memorable one.
Experience an authentic East Texas getaway at Wildernest Ranch Bed and Breakfast. Viewing (and petting of some) ranch animals, nature walks, birding, or hiking on our ranch trails are all included activities with no additional charge.
More than just a bed and breakfast, Wildernest Ranch is an enchanting setting for outdoor weddings, private parties, family reunions, or just a tranquil escape.
Come stay with us and you’ll understand why we call this magical place Wildernest.
Spend a night, a weekend, or longer at Wildernest Ranch Bed and Breakfast —a quietly hidden escape on our family land, a 43-acre "ranch" a little over a 100 miles from Dallas, Texas.
Unwind in the peaceful country amidst majestic trees in your choice of a charming two-story log cabin or a bunkhouse that comfortably sleeps six. We have everything you will need for your next getaway in Northeast Texas.
Enjoy the simple life in the calming surroundings of our place, where you'll be greeted by two of the sweetest, most loving lab mixes you'll ever meet, Thoreau & Bronte! After all, what is a ranch without a ranch dog? We have two!
If you're lucky, you may even catch a glimpse of a deer, crane, or a few rabbits.
Rekindle a romance with romantic getaway, pack a sack lunch for a long hike along our many trails, or have a private picnic at the pavilion. Take a midnight stroll along the road, gaze at the stars, do nothing… do it all!
Whatever your needs - we are here to help your stay be a memorable one!
- Mike & Staci
The Backstory
It all began...
about fifteen years ago at a patio table overlooking the Guadalupe River, at a little restaurant called Annie's Table, in Gruene, Texas. In those days of our marriage, we would take a yearly trip to the Fredericksburg area every April. At this point, we couldn't begin to fathom that one day a plot of land in Northeast Texas would claim our heart in such a mighty way; instead, we thought Hill Country was where we were meant to be. Thank goodness He knows best...
Anyway, that sunny, but balmy day on the patio - sharing chips and salsa - I finally shared a long time dream of mine, and was still a bit shocked when my oh-so-patient husband (once again) took it in stride when I said, "I'd like to own and run a B&B."
He just nodded and we kind of began to plan, right there at the table, drawing on a napkin. Now - mind you - I was in the last days of my college education, with a whole teaching career still looming large on the horizon, and he was still actively traveling with his busy career several days a week. Both boys were in college at this point, and we had two young grandchildren that we were super involved with.
It's not like we needed to look for things to do!
Time moved on, and so did our family. Interestingly enough, my first teaching position was further east than we had expected. We moved to accommodate that position, renting the most darling little blue farmhouse while we searched for the perfect place to buy. Our time in that place was near perfect, filled with long, lazy weekends of driving back roads looking at properties, starlit evenings on the back deck, and the dawning realization that East Texas - and not Hill Country - was our true North.
The kids continued to grow up and away, graduating, beginning careers, falling in love, and eventually marrying. When we found this piece of land, with only the cabin on stilts and the shell of what we now call The Bunkhouse, I laughed. Mike beamed. He had found his land.
I thought he had lost his mind.
The place had stood empty for two years. Grass was knee high. Bugs lay dead all throughout the two buildings. There was no running water. The well had run dry. Our AT&T cell phones had no service. Who even knew if we'd have internet?
Even then there was a greater plan in place...
So many times in this life, trust is required to get anywhere. That was definitely so in our case. I needed to trust my husband, and he was trusting God. Together, with our children and (now) three amazing grands, Wildernest Bed and Breakfast is entering its fourth year of business and has just opened its adjacent multi-purpose venue, The Hitchin' Post!
It is most definitely a family business, one that we are so very proud to share with our talented kids, their spouses, and their children. Each of them bring something to the table that we lack, and that is the beauty of a family business...it's a combined effort, a combined love, a combined reward.
Our hope is that when our guests leave, they feel they have been a treasured honorary member of the Wildernest family, whether it was for a day, a week, for a wedding weekend, or for a special celebration! We are here to help make a moment in time matter.
Because - just like that moment at the patio table in Gruene, TX, so many years ago - moments do matter!
Paying it forward...
In addition to The Hitchin' Post - and also under the umbrella of Wildernest B&B - our family is thrilled to announce the official May 19th launch of Kendall's Kloset! Named after our one and only (thus far) grand doll, this launch features all things feminine - tea parties, dress up, shopping, girl time, manicures, and more!
A mother-daughter tea on May 19th will launch the new birthday party package business - a one stop shop for busy moms who still want the whole princess experience for their little ones!
For moms who still prefer to DIY, an onsite party goods boutique, as well as our online shop, will house everything you need to provide that perfect tea party right in the comfort and magic of your own backyard!
Wildernest is honored to partner with Attitudes & Attire in Dallas - as one of a two part way to pay our blessings forward. When the woman of the home is blessed, she - in turn - is in a healthy place to bless those in her care. Not only do we desire to help those we don't know, but we also want to provide for those in our own community.
You are invited to donate gently used suits, shoes, bags, and other work appropriate clothing, to our "closet" quarterly. These items will be used to equip the ladies of our community as they step out for interviews, begin new careers, and take charge of their lives and the lives of those they love.
THE FIRST DONATION DATE:
JUNE 9th 2018
