Day Trips: 7A Ranch Resort, Wimberley
Iconic family summer vacation cottages get a new lease on life after devastating flood
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., May 5, 2017
The 7A Ranch Resort in Wimberley nearly disappeared. The 70-year-old family summer camp was suffering, and then came the 2015 Memorial Day flood that destroyed some of its most popular cabins.
Three generations of Raymond and Madge Czichos' family had worked at the vacation camp on the Blanco River. In 2016, the property was sold to Scott Way, whose family has deep roots in the community.
"We lost 11 cabins in the flood," says Amanda Calaway, who started working at the resort as a teenager. "All of that incredible energy is still here," says Calaway, now the resort's general manager.
Renovations put a stylish new vibe on the traditional family vacation spot. The Fifties- and Sixties-era cinder-block kitchenettes are updated. Sleek new cabins have the same priceless views of the normally lazy river as the cabins they replaced. A thick stand of oak trees shades the barbecue grills and fire pits. It is a short walk down the green lawn to the half-mile of river access. Or you can get wet in the swimming pool that replaced the pool that might have been the first swimming pool in Hays County.
History wraps the cottages and lodges in a comforting blanket of traditional relaxation on the river. Even strolling the Sixties-era Pioneer Town is a treat. The Western-movie set village has the only bottle house in the U.S. built of soda bottles instead of liquor bottles.
7A Ranch Resort is on a beautiful stretch of the Blanco River about two minutes from downtown Wimberley. It's kid and pet friendly, and "still a great place to make family vacation memories," Calaway says.
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