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Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

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Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch Hours & Admission Prices

Interact with and learn about the ranch’s exotic, native, and endangered animals during your self-guided African Safari, Texas Style. Watch the lemurs play at the Walk-A-Bout. End your walk on the wild side with a hearty meal at the Safari Camp Grill and some dessert at the Safari Sweet Spot before snagging a souvenir at the Safari Trading Post.

A host of remarkable adventures awaits you at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. With its convenient location just north of San Antonio and a few moments from New Braunfels, the ranch is easy to reach. Plan your visit by checking out the hours and admission prices for Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch below.

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch Hours Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch is open daily at 9 a.m.

The Ranch is open every day except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. 

Some exceptions may apply.  Please be sure to visit the website for the most current schedule of operating days and hours.

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch Admission Prices Adults (12+ years): $31.99 Children (3-11 years): $21.99

Purchase your tickets online or upon arrival! Please be sure to visit the  website for ticketing options and guided tour information.  

Hours and admission prices are subject to change. Please check wildliferanchtexas.com/admissions for up-to-date information on rates and schedules before making plans.

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Guided Tour

Ride with us and learn from a safari ranger.

Experience the ultimate Safari Adventure Tour at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch! Led by our knowledgeable and dedicated animal specialists, this guided trek offers a hands-on experience with incredible animals. Our Safari Adventure Trek Tours provide enhanced experiences, where guides share fun facts, management insights, and rich heritage, offering a fresh perspective on our African Safari, Texas Style. With a focus on species conservation, our Safari Adventure Trek allows you to learn more from our guides while riding in our custom-built Safari Rover or Safari Shuttle. Get ready for an unforgettable exploration!

Safari Shuttle

Experience the ultimate adventure at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch! Join our Safari Animal Rangers on a 75-minute guided trek, encountering fascinating animals. It's a journey of unforgettable fun and discovery!

Safari Shuttle Pricing: $149.99 per party

General Admission is not included and required for entry into the park. Maximum 8 guests per tour.

Safari Rover

Got a group of 9 or more adventurers? Hop aboard a Safari Rover and get up close to 40 different species! Learn from an informative and entertaining Ranch Tour Guide and get ready for plenty of oohs and ahhs. 

Safari Rover Booking:

Contact our Tour Coordinator

A DD AN EXCURSION TO YOUR GUIDED  SAFARI!

Make your safari even better by adding one or more of these excursions!

You'll be able to select them while booking your safari.

Aviary Experience

The only thing better than seeing our birds is feeding them! Come inside with food on popsicle sticks that dozens of budgies look forward to enjoying. NOTE: Guests must be 3 years or older to enter the exhibit.

Excursion Pricing: $5.00 for general admission ticket holders

Prehistoric Experience

Walk amongst dozens of dinosaurs that move, breathe, and can't wait for you to maybe get a little too close. This excursion is sure to be memorable and filled with plenty of oohs, ahs, and a yikes or two. 

Excursion Pricing:

$5.00 for general admission ticket holders 3+ years old

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How to Witness the World’s Toughest Canoe Race in San Marcos, Texas

The Texas Water Safari, which starts in San Marcos, offers the challenge of padding 260 miles in under four days and four hours. San Marcos Convention and Visitor Bureau

In a state that brags about everything "bigger and better," it is only fitting that Texas hosts the self-proclaimed World’s Toughest Canoe Race. Officially called the Texas Water Safari, the annual 260-mile canoe race begins in Central Texas in the town of San Marcos. Each second Saturday of June participants launch their canoes into the headwaters of the San Marcos River in Spring Lake and travel down the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers hoping to finish in the Gulf Coast shrimping village of Seadrift a few days later.

Paddlers have 100 hours to navigate whitewater rapids, dams, varying water levels and multiple crossings. Racers must be physically and mentally strong to withstand the days of nonstop motion, physical fatigue, pitch-black nights and scorching hot days. Boats are only powered by human muscle. Riders must carry all food and equipment with them, receiving only water and ice along the way. Team size ranges from solo paddlers to a maximum of six. With team names like Blonde Chicks with Paddle Sticks, Saddle Up and Paddle *and* Whiskey Trip, teams must paddle nonstop both day and night to stay competitive. Winners do not win prize money, merely bragging rights to the world’s toughest canoe race. Simply finishing the race itself is considered a huge accomplishment, as nearly 40 percent of entrants drop out along the way.

Rio Vista Park is a popular spot for spectators, who can see the paddlers navigate whitewater and portage around the dam. San Marcos Convention and Visitor Bureau

This year the regatta of 150 boats will take off on Saturday, June 10, at 9 a.m. The Texas Water Safari kicks off at The Meadows Center , which can be a very exciting place to watch the start of the race. As the race snakes through San Marcos, several public access points, such as Veramendi Plaza , City Park and Rio Vista Park are full of spectators watching the canoes as they race by. The 14-acre Rio Vista Park with its overhanging trees, aquamarine water and bleached shoreline rocks is a picturesque place to watch the race. With the 10-foot drop at the Rio Vista Dam that shoots canoes through rough rapids, it is also the most exciting location in town to watch the race. Bring your swimsuit and cool off from the summer sun by sunbathing along the riverbanks or swimming in the water holes around the park once the boats have paddled through. Each access point is within walking distance of downtown, so once the racers leave town you have the rest of the afternoon to explore the vibrant downtown .

The historic downtown square is at the heart of the 62,000-person town. Locally owned shops, restaurants and bars line the square, giving visitors more than enough shopping, drinking and eating opportunities to fill the day.

Stop by one of San Marcos' Downtown eateries and watering holes for good food and cold beverages.

If you're looking for a local watering hole, you won't have to go far! Zelicks in Downtown San Marcos is great for hanging out with friends and soaking up the San Marcos vibe. For the best burger in town, stop by the Taproom Pub . This American-style pub has more than 100 beers, 42 of them on tap, and burgers that every Texas State college student swears by. Industry is another staple with classic comfort meals and fresh offerings. Sit back, relax, and raise a glass to those paddling their way to the coast.

If you are thinking less beer and burger and more quaint and cozy, the European-inspired Blue Dahlia Cafe a few doors down is your best bet. The bistro serves healthy meals with an emphasis on bread, sandwiches, soups and cheese.

Feeling inspired for a little outdoor adventure after watching the start of the big race? If so, load up with the season’s latest outdoor apparel and gear at Hays County Outfitters . To add a few vintage clothing pieces to your wardrobe, make sure you stop by Vagabond Vintage or Monkies Vintage. If you’re looking for a bit of local history while you’re in town, learn about our 36th president at the LBJ Museum of San Marcos . The museum focuses on the years President Johnson spent as a student at the local university and his role in the development of landmark education and civil rights legislation.

Stick around into the night and hit up almost any bar in town for live music. Cheatham Street Warehouse is a honky tonk featuring live country, blues, folk and soul bands. Other options include T he Porch or Jack’s Road House . As the music plays, think about the racers navigating their boats through the night, and you can raise a glass to them in comfort.

Written by Jennifer Simonson for RootsRated Media in partnership with San Marcos CVB.

Texas Water Safari

From the TWS website: "Legend has it that in 1962, Frank Brown and Bill "Big Willie" George decided to take their V-bottom boat, without a motor, from San Marcos to Corpus Christi. They accomplished their mission in…

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Explore the Wildlife Ranch Drive-through Safari

Discover a world of exotic animals on a thrilling drive-through safari adventure in the heart of Texas!

Admission: $28.99 (adults) and $19.99 (kids); Guided Safari Shuttle: $149.99; Safari Adventure Tour: $229.99

More than 500 Miles from you

State Gem: Exceptional experiences within your state that are bucket list-worthy Learn more

Description

At the Wildlife Ranch, guests can enjoy an incredible drive-through safari where they will encounter a variety of fascinating animals from around the world. Choose from three exciting ways to explore the safari: drive through in your own car, join a Guided Safari Trek on a shuttle, or experience the exclusive Safari Adventure Tour with a Giraffe Encounter. Learn about the animals' habitats, conservation efforts, and unique characteristics while taking part in guided tours led by experienced Safari Animal Rangers. No matter which option you choose, an unforgettable adventure awaits you at the Wildlife Ranch.

What's included

Perfect for.

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• Arrive at the Wildlife Ranch
• Purchase admission or optional guided tour tickets
• Enjoy your drive-through Safari
• Explore the Walk-A-Bout area with giraffes

Location & Hours

26515 Natural Bridge Caverns Rd, San Antonio, TX 78266

Working Hours

Packing List

• Comfortable clothing
• Water bottle

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Texas Water Safari

• 211 San Marcos Springs Drive, SAN MARCOS
• Dates : June 8, 2024
• Location : San Marcos River Park
• Time : June 8

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All Material © 2024 Office of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the written permission of the publisher. Office of the Governor, Economic Development & Tourism 1100 San Jacinto, Austin, Texas 78701, (512) 463-2000

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Texas Water Safari  (aka, “The World’s Toughest Canoe Race”)

Legend has it that in 1962, Frank Brown and Bill "Big Willie" George decided to take their V-bottom boat, without a motor, from San Marcos to Corpus Christi. They accomplished their mission in about thirty days and decided that other people should have the opportunity to experience the same journey. So, in 1963 they set up the first Texas Water Safari.

Today the Safari is a long, tough, non-stop marathon canoe-racing adventure, traversing 260 miles of challenging rivers and bay. Many participants enter the race with no intention of winning, but with the goal of joining the elite group of finishers and earning the coveted Texas Water Safari finisher's patch.

Entrants must have all provisions, equipment, and items of repair in their possession at the start of the race. Nothing may be purchased by, or delivered to, a team during the race except water and/or ice. Each team must have a team captain (18 years old, or older) whose responsibility it is to follow the team by vehicle (car, truck, or bicycle) to keep track of their location and condition and to give them water and/or ice. During the Safari, teams may not receive any assistance of any kind, except verbal. Teams must be prepared to travel day and night, nonstop, to be competitive but teams who occasionally stop for sleep have been able to reach mandatory checkpoint cutoff times and cross the finish line by the 100 hour deadline.

Are you tough? Are you looking for a race that tests your limits? This is the race that could change your life and your ideas about who you are and what you are capable of achieving!

The Texas Water Safari is held every June. See the TWS Race Calendar for this year’s dates and deadlines for registration.

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• Special Hotel rates for Texas River Marathon & Texas Water Safari 2024
• Gate Code for Gonzales Dam Portage
• Order TWS Magnetic door signs for competitors, team captains, and spectators.

Safari Sponsors

Sat, Jun 08

Meadows Center

2024 Texas Water Safari

World's Toughest Canoe Race

Time & Location

Jun 08, 2024, 9:00 AM – Jun 12, 2024, 2:00 PM

Meadows Center, 201 San Marcos Springs Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA

About the event

TWS 2024, June 8-12

From the TWS website: “Legend has it that in 1962, Frank Brown and Bill “Big Willie” George decided to take their V-bottom boat, without a motor, from San Marcos to Corpus Christi. They accomplished their mission in about thirty days and decided that other people should have the opportunity to experience the same journey. So, in 1963 they set up the first Texas Water Safari.

Today the Safari is a long, tough, non-stop marathon canoe-racing adventure, traversing 260 miles of challenging rivers and bay. Many participants enter the race with no intention of winning, but with the goal of joining the elite group of finishers and earning the coveted Texas Water Safari finisher’s patch.” http://www.texaswatersafari.org/

Larry Rice, in July 2009 Canoe & Kayak Magazine: “They don’t call the Texas Water Safari The World’s Toughest Canoe Race’ for nothing. In addition to the length, the challenges include whitewater rapids, multiple portages, and the relentless, soul-sapping Texas heat. Competitors have four days and four hours to paddle from San Marcos, in the center of the state, to the shy little town of Seadrift on the Gulf Coast. There is no prize money for the winners; just Texas-size bragging rights for the finishers.”

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These businesses are offering Tax Day discounts and freebies

By Megan Cerullo

Edited By Alain Sherter

Updated on: April 15, 2024 / 1:57 PM EDT / CBS News

A range of businesses across the U.S. are offering  Tax Day deals and freebies, including tax-themed discounts on drinks and snacks. Here's a roundup of some of the best 2024 Tax Day deals.

Fast-casual restaurant chain BurgerFi is offering 15% off your purchase at select locations on Monday when you mention the discount at checkout. 

California Pizza Kitchen

On Monday only, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is offering $10 off a $40 order. Notably, you must sign up for CPK rewards to get the deal, the restaurant chain's way of trying to add more subscribers. 

The food delivery company is offering customers a "snack break" of $15 off a minimum $25 order on April 15.

The restaurant chain is giving offering 10 free chicken wings to customers who buy 10 wings, which people can wash down with beer or margaritas for $4 each. HootClub Rewards members can also get either a free dessert up to $6.99 in value.

Krispy Kreme

If you buy a box of original glazed or assorted dozen donuts, Krispy Kreme is  offering a second dozen for the price of the sales tax in your state. The cost of the free donuts will vary based on each state's sales tax.

Sonny's BBQ

The barbecue joint is offering its Sweet & Smokey or House Dry-Rubbed rib dinners for half off their usual price Monday. 

White Castle

White Castle if offering 15% off orders in stores and online (For online orders on April 15, use discount code WC15OFF.)

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News Streaming to discuss her reporting.

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