Welcome

We offer a lodge bookout package in which you will be the only party at the ranch. During the hunting season there is a 10 person-minimum and 12-person maximum. During our social season, we can accommodate 22 people.

We coordinate with the event host to determine the best room fit for each attending guest previous to your party’s arrival. We have two types of guest rooms, king suites, and double queen suites (with two queen beds). Of the 12 guest rooms on the property, there are 5 double queen suites and 7 king suites.

Yes, we do provide this service as a courtesy to our guests with a convenience fee added of 3.5%. You can pay via the ‘Make a Payment’ link on our website and we can also take a credit card onsite.

Only if you advise us in advance! Each guest, prior to arrival, simply needs to complete a digital guest form which allows for notification of any allergies or special dietary requests.

Guests typically tip between 10% and 15% of their invoice ranch total. We can add tips to your invoice, or you are welcome to use gratuity envelopes that are provided in each guest room.

Yes and No. If you are visiting with a hunting dog, we do have clean, spacious indoor kennels on the property. If you want to bring a dog on a hunt, we ask that you to discuss this with our staff. Please note that dogs are not permitted in guest quarters. 

The number of internal ranch or external vendor “add-ons” is limited to one per day. You can choose an add-on activity such as a mid-day clay target shoot or a shooting clinic with Adam Blair, or external vendor events such as saltwater fishing, a helicopter hog hunt, or an upland hunt. We require advance notice in order to organize any additional activities.

Yes. For split groups, we usually add additional staff, and we will discuss any extra costs with you in advance. For activities other than our core activities (duck, deer, hog) we only need notice – a couple of weeks is best – as outside vendors may already be booked.

We can add the cost of all external vendor activities to your bill except for local helicopter hunting contractors, which are not affiliated with the ranch.

No. We arrange these as a courtesy to our guests. Our only charge for outside vendor activities is when we provide items on your behalf for such things as transportation, ammunition, or bird cleaning. Please note that Spread Oaks Ranch makes every effort to maintain current external vendor pricing, but their pricing can change periodically. Do not hesitate to contact us with questions about external vendor pricing before you book.

Please see our pricing page. Often, however, we custom tailor our Spread Oaks Ranch adventures to our guests’ specific requests. Please contact Ged Durham at info@spreadoaksranch.com or at (346) 333-6321 so that he may provide you with the best options for your group. Note that external vendor pricing occasionally is subject to change.

From downtown Houston or from Houston Hobby (HOU), it takes about 90 minutes to arrive at the lodge.

From George Bush International Airport (IAH), it takes an hour and 45 minutes.

But, despite the proximity to the city, when you arrive, you’ll feel like you are light years from the stress of city life.

We can for the former, and we can help with arrangements for the latter. The roundtrip cost for our local limo service to pick up and deliver your group to and from Bay City airport, in 2023, is $840. If you are flying into one of the two Houston area airports, we have several car or limo services we can recommend coordinating your transfer.

No. We maintain comfortable caliche roads between the entrance and the main lodge.

We work with seasoned, professional event planners that specialize in creating memorable trips for all types of groups — families, executives, friends. Let us know your goals for the group, and we’ll suggest an itinerary that will exceed your expectations.

Our hunting guides can ensure that a guest can step into a blind straight from an ATV. Nearly all areas of the lodge, casitas, bunkhouse, game room and grounds are accessible by the wheelchair-bound or mobility-impaired, and our staff is at the ready to ensure all guests enjoy their Spread Oaks Ranch experience to the fullest of their abilities.

No. We have several spinning and bait casting rigs at the lodge, as well as two 6-weight fly rods. If you are saltwater fishing with our captains, they will provide gear for you.

Yes and No! If you have a trained retriever that breaks rarely, and can handle both multiple marks and blinds, then that dog is an asset to the hunt. If that does not describe your dog, then your dog will likely make the hunt less enjoyable for your blind mates. In either case, we have clean, spacious kennels on the property for your dog. 

We have provided details on hunting and fishing license requirements further down on this page.

In addition to premier lodging, field to table dining, and fine liquors, each hunting season package comes with two standard “core” ranch activities – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. A typical schedule consists of a hunt for ducks in the morning, and a deer and/or hog hunt from a blind in the afternoon.

We offer two activities day as part of our hunting season package. With advance notice – usually a minimum of 30-days – you may substitute a standard “core” activity with another. Or you can substitute a ranch core activity with an add-on third-party vendor activity such as an upland preserve hunt, our continental pheasant tower shoot, or saltwater fishing in Matagorda Bay. We require advance notice to organize any third-party activities.

Sometimes. With advance notice, we will do our best to guide you through what can reasonably be achieved. Often, there are scheduling challenges between activities and meals, for example. For split groups, we must bring in additional staff, and we add a $300 cost per day for each additional outdoor host to your invoice.

Absolutely. You can replace any standard activity with another from our menu of options, including external vendor events such as upland game, helicopter hunting, or saltwater fishing. Additional pricing applies for external vendor activities.

Spread Oaks Ranch has an inventory of 8 over-and-under 12-ga shotguns. We stock 12- and 20-ga 3-inch steel shot ammunition and provide our guests with one box (25 rounds) for each waterfowl hunt and a box for clay target shooting. If you are using a gauge other than a 12 or 20, or prefer other shot types, you will need to bring your own ammunition. We also provide ammunition and scoped bolt action rifles chambered in .243, .270, .300, and .308. We have a total of 5 rifles available for guests.

No. Waterfowling is a gear intensive sport, and we strongly advise that you bring what you will need for all types of hunts and weather. We do keep rubber boots in most adult sizes and have a limited supply of “backup” hip boots, rain jackets, and caps.

Yes. You can group your inexperienced hunters and we’ll take them to a blind that requires only a pair of rubber boots and no walking. We’ll put them with a guide who can help them get comfortable with the sport. Another guided, but more experienced group, can go to locations that require waders and a walk in the mud or through the timber.

We always advise guests when cranes are on our property and your group, or even just a few from your party, can certainly substitute a crane hunt for a duck or deer hunt. Snipe hunting is more challenging to manage because snipes occupy the same habitat as the ducks we roost on the property. If you are interested in a snipe hunt, we will scout areas that will not interfere with roosting waterfowl and advise if we can do the hunt.

The hunting season package allows each guest to harvest a doe at no cost until such time as our management “quota” is met. We do have a pricing schedule for bucks, and it is the same for river-bottom “low fence” and high fence deer. See our buck pricing list.

The answer is no, but with caveats. Our nominal guide fee is designed for safety and to ensure that the “right” deer are harvested. Staff will help you decide who, if any, in your group need a guide.

A nominal cleaning fee covers skinning, quartering, and icing your harvest. Guests must bring their own coolers. We can ship on your behalf, but it is expensive, and we encourage you to discuss pricing in advance.

Our hunting guides can ensure that a guest can step into a blind straight from an ATV. Nearly all areas of the lodge, casitas, bunkhouse, game room and grounds are accessible by the wheelchair-bound or mobility-impaired, and our staff is at the ready to ensure all guests enjoy their Spread Oaks Ranch experience to the fullest of their abilities.