When Rough Creek Lodge opened in 1998, the rustic yet chic resort raised the standard for luxury destinations in North Texas. Over the last 15 years, Rough Creek has aged like a fine French Bordeaux.
Chef Gerard Thompson is still in the kitchen, turning out exceptional American dishes such as grilled Texas quail, house-made pheasant ravioli, and a pork T-bone soaked in bourbon and molasses, much of it made from locally sourced ingredients. The cozy dining room sits beside the main room of the lodge, where floor-to-ceiling windows allow you to gaze at Mallard Lake and the scrubby Texas landscape beyond. There are 57 guest rooms and suites, each with a private balcony, and four cabins. The rooms have TVs, but keep yours turned off. Instead, start your morning by sipping coffee while sitting in a large rocking chair just outside your back door.
Your choices for the rest of the day are endless. The spa offers a wide variety of treatments, including the Tour of Texas, a 50-minute hot stone massage combined with a Texas Tea Wrap and Texas Two Step foot massage. If you’re up for an adventure, head to the 1,000-yard shooting range or test your hand-eye coordination at the 10-station sporting clay course. Hunters can hire a professional guide and roam the 11,000-acre property (and nearby ranches) for deer, quail, pheasant, buffalo, and wild boar. Prefer to climb things? They’ve added a 40-foot climbing wall. Once you’ve reached the top, you can ride the 675-foot zip line back to the ground.
Other options for staying busy include canoeing, guided fishing tours, disc golf, hiking, biking, and organized cattle drives. Kids are welcome at Rough Creek. They now offer a Kid’s Ranch, and the young ones are encouraged to leave their parents and spend the day hanging together playing table tennis or video games. Parents can dine in the splendor of the grand dining room guilt-free, knowing their children are being entertained (and fed). Rough Creek has added two guest houses perfect for family excursions. The Silver Pheasant, a three-bedroom, three-bath house with four bunk beds in a sleeping loft, has a full kitchen, screened-in porch, and a fire pit. The other one, the Mallard Lake Ranch House, is part of the reconfigured equestrian center. You can tuck the kids into bed and board your horse next door at the corral.
Distance From Dallas: 92.5 Miles // 1 Hour 40 Minutes
