• Barnhart Ranch & Nature Retreat

  • Be Our Guest for One Night or Many — Welcome!

  • Spread Your Wings

Family owned and operated, Barnhart Q5 Ranch is a TPWD Land Steward Award–winning 706-acre working ranch. Situated within the Tamaulipan scrub brush ecosystem of South Texas, our land is rich in shady old oak trees, lots of thorny brush, wondrous cacti, and fields of wildflowers and grasses. Indian Creek winds through the Southern pastures here, and though now seasonal, the creek is on Texas maps dating back to the early 1700s. You will find us on the map at 8212 FM 883, Berclair, Texas 78107.

Our ranch management philosophy is to conserve our natural habitat for the benefit of wildlife and livestock. We keep a herd of Brangus cattle and a small herd of Mediterranean miniature donkeys. Cattle are one way we fund the ranch, guest housing is another, birding and photography yet another, and those donkeys, well, they’re what you might call the really fun part of our operations. More on them later.

We cater to birds. Twice annually their populations ebb and flow during the spring and fall migrations, while birders and photographers flock to the ranch, too. Our resident birds make room for them somehow, and the brush lines become a living environment of color and activity. Seed and nectar feeders are filled constantly, and drip watering is intense!