Texas is home to America’s Wild West culture, which includes cowboys, weapons, and horses. However, only one Texas town is regarded as the ‘Cowboy Capital of the World’. Prepare to discover Bandera, Texas, a small town with a lot of personality!
Why is Bandera called the Cowboy Capital?
Bandera’s moniker comes from its history as a staging point for the last cattle drives of the 1800s. The trail begins in Bandera and continues through Coleman and Fort Griffin, Oklahoma, and Kansas before ending in Nebraska.
Another factor contributing to Bandera’s reputation as the ‘Cowboy Capital of the World’ is the presence of numerous National Rodeo Champions. The term is featured on a bronze monument in town, which also honors some of the area’s rodeo stars.
Where is Bandera?
Bandera is situated in south-central Texas, in the Texas Hill Country. It’s roughly an hour northwest of San Antonio and three hours southwest of Austin. Two highways pass through Bandera: State Highway 16 S and Highway 689.
What is there to do in Bandera?
If you plan on visiting Bandera, you will need to make a few stops. First and foremost, the cowboy roping monument in town is well worth a visit. After that, you may visit the Bandera Natural History Museum, which houses full-body animal mounts, dinosaur reconstructions, and much more.
The Frontier Times Museum is another exciting spot to explore. The guy who opened the museum accepted every single donation. He believed that if an object was valuable to the donor, it should be meaningful to everyone else as well. It’s certainly an intriguing and unusual assortment of objects.
Cowboy Culture in Bandera
While you’re in Bandera, soak in some of the cowboy culture. The town is home to a plethora of dude and guest ranches, providing opportunities for the ideal cowboy holiday. You can wake up on the ranch, go horseback riding, camp in the Texas countryside, and discover what makes the town the ‘Cowboy Capital’.
You’ll want to go downtown for shootout reenactments, lasso lessons, and bull riding. The best thing about Bandera is that there is always something going on, even if it is as simple as dancing with strangers at the local saloon. Every visitor to the ‘Cowboy Capital of the World’ will have a great time.