Looking for a family friendly vacation spot in Texas? Deer Lake Cabins is your answer! Come see why we have visited Deer Lake Cabins seven times in the last six years and why we love it so much!
When it comes to family vacations, Deer Lake Cabins is one of our favorite places on the planet! We’ve got six years of experience (with seven vacations) at this private resort under our belt, so I’m sharing some of our favorite parts of it with you today!
My family is no stranger to family reunions! On one side of my family (my mom’s, the Jett/Benfield family), we have been having reunion for 29 years! On the other side (my dad’s, the Hawthorne family), we just had our sixth family reunion and we are looking forward to many, many more!
Since the first year, the Hawthornes have met up at Deer Lake Cabins in Scroggins, TX for a weekend of fishing, floating, and general fun! My cousin found Deer Lake Cabins by happenstance in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram. It is nestled in an offshoot of Lake Cypress Spring on it’s own private road. Once you get there, it is basically like stepping out of reality into a green, lush, retreat. This is the place to go if you want to disconnect from reality and slow down for a few days!
PS: this is not a sponsored post! We just seriously love this place! Although, Deer Lake, if you’re reading this and would like to work together, send me an email!
Deer Lake Cabins
Accommodations
The first couple of years, we booked one big house (The Rambling Rose) to all stay in. However, we decided (real quick like) that we needed two houses so we could spread out a bit and have some more room. So now we rent two separate houses right by the swim beach that are perfect for our family to spend time together but still have our own spaces.
They have several houses on the lake and a few houses on the ranch side of the resort as well, if you’re not bringing along a bunch of water-lovers! And, while I always forget to take a photo of it because we eat them too quickly, when you check into your home there is always a box of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies waiting for you!
Activities
The number one thing the kids love to do is fish, and trust me when I say the fishing is GOOD! Each home around the lake has a dock for it and we spend hours out there fishing while we are there. It is a lot of fun for the kids because we can drop a line in and catch a bream every single time. Those fish love hot dogs and worms, and they will jump on a line so quickly! It makes it super rewarding for the kids and fun for the parents.
This year was particularly fun, because all of the kids are finally old enough (and brave enough) to bait their hook, reel in the fish, take the hook out, and throw it back, all. on. their. own. LIFE CHANGING. That is a parenting level unlocked!
And not only are the kids out there getting a line wet, but the dads are all about it too. There is an unspoken competition every year between my cousin’s husband, Brian, and my husband, Chris, to see who can catch the biggest bass. This year the (non-existent) trophy went to Chris!
Deer Lake Cabins also provides kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, and paddle boats to use as well (free of charge!). The kayak is always the first thing Jett wants to go do, so before we even get our truck unloaded, he is off to the races in that thing out in the middle of the lake in the scorching sun!
The kids are also all getting better and better at the paddle board every year. I’m not sure how they all managed to get on this one at the same time, but it definitely required lots of skill and core strength!
We mostly stick to the lake-centric activities, but they also have horseback riding, UTVs you can rent and ride throughout the property, hay rides, boat tours, even an escape room! You can see all the activities they offer here on their website.
Food
Each cabin is equipped with a full service kitchen and most come with a fire pit and an outdoor grill, so we do a lot of our own meal prep while we are there. We eat family style, where each family is responsible for a meal and feeds the whole group! We like to eat. Ha!
However, on Saturday night, we call in the pros and have dinner catered to one of our homes by the Deer Lake staff. They cook everything, package it up, and deliver it right to your door! This year we had brisket, potato salad, baked beans, and two different types of cobbler. They even bring tea, cups, and ice. It is worth every penny (and runs around $15/plate, which is pretty affordable!)
The other option they offer is a Cowboy Cookout. If you happen to be there on the second Saturday of the month (you don’t even have to be a guest to attend this) you can reserve a spot at a Cowboy Cookout and have dinner and a show! These are a lot of fun!
Blue
I would be 100% remiss in writing a blog post about Deer Lake Cabins without including a bit about Blue! Blue is the ranch dog, and at this point, she knows who we are and comes to stay in our cabin while we are there! She usually adopts herself into one family or another for a weekend, and we feel lucky she chooses us! She is the sweetest dog and is really good with kids and other dogs as well. We always look forward to seeing her there every year!
Long story short, we LOVE Deer Lake Cabins and look forward to going there as a family every summer! It is a great place to create memories with your kiddos, get completely away for a few days, and get back to nature a bit! Let me know – have you ever been? Is Deer Lake a place you’d be interested in visiting? Share your favorite family friendly vacation spot in the comments below!
