King Ranch Visitor Center

"Ranch Hand Breakfast is an annual weekend event for the ranch and city in a festival mode. The breakfast is chuck wagon fare as billed and served out doors at the ranch. It is a very well attended event when it is not raining. We had more than a 90 minute que to achieve event free parking. It was worth the wait. Breakfast was served 7 ro 11 am. Plan for an early arrival. They do stop serving at 11 am. The calf roping occurs earlier in the morning. We missed it. The car show and street fair in downtown Kingsville was good. The excessive volume of the event stage was likely an OSHA violation. The noise of the car speakers at the adjacent car show exacerbated the need for hearing protection and regulation to safe levels at this event. There is ranch rodeo on Sunday of the Ranch Saturday Breakfast. We hope to do that next year. We may arrive by RV on Friday of the event weekend next year for the entire festival."

"This is the largest ranch in the US so we wanted to visit it. Ranch tours are offered so we booked online $20/adult, discounts for seniors, military, children. The tour starts at the visitor center where you can watch a video, then get on a small bus. Our tour guide, Janelle was awesome, told us interesting stories about Capt. King and family and the quarter horses, longhorns and San Gertrudis cattle which we drove by. We saw many wild animals, deer, roadrunners, havelina, caracara, turkeys. The only stop was a visit to the weaver’s cottage that had a cattle brand exhibit, loom, spinning wheel, all the other buildings: bunkhouse, barn, mansion we drove by making it a bit difficult to get photos. What makes this tour worth it is the tour guide. Don’t expect a working ranch tour but the history is interesting. Lasted 2hrs."

"We were on one of the naturalist tours at the ranch on a June morning, the naturalists were great! They pointed out a number of birds, alligators, rabbits, and a coyote. Since it was a hot day, even in the mornings, the animals were already seeking shady spots, so other times of the year may provide a greater number of animal sightings. As someone mentioned in another review, if you're on a tour bus and not sitting on the left side or front seats, you won't see most of the pointed out birds or the alligators (the ponds and stream is on the left.) You won't see the Roadrunners in front of the bus at all. You probably will see the St. Gertrudis cattle and a few birds, though, and the incredible views across all the acreage of the ranch. You aren't allowed to visit the King home but will be able to see a few peacocks, perhaps as you drive by. You can go to the gift shop, of course, and pick up a nice tee. If you can go to the Cowboy BBQ - the food is fantastic, sooo good (tenderist brisket and tasty potato salad). It was catered by AAA Barbeque (I heard they'll be opening up their own restaurant, so check them out!) ."

"Great tour guide but worst tour ever. Difficult to take pictures from inside a crowded bus. We were not allowed outside the bus because of the possibility of being bitten by a rattlesnake. The view of the main house was anti-climactic. The bus drove by what looked like the back of the house, which meant that people on the opposite side of the bus couldn’t even take a quick picture of it. No stops to see inside a barn or bunkhouse. Primarily just stops to look at cattle of different breeds and a few horses in fields. Definitely not worth the money. And don’t get me started about the visitor center. No photography allowed. The one person at the front stopped my wife and told her no photos. It’s the only interaction we had with the staff there. Interesting museum but to charge an entrance fee and not allow personal photos is ridiculous."

"I absolutely loved the ranch! I would come back again and do the other tours also. I wish I had been able to see a real cowboy, but I was told it's was Saturday. Guess cowboys get the weekend off. Who knew. Lol. Beautiful cattle and horses, and graasy fields and buildings. The tour guide was full of interesting stories."