Need to “get away,” but only have a few hours for a vacation? A quick drive to Granbury Texas and you’ll feel like you’re hundreds of miles away from it all. Need more convincing? Here’s 10 Reasons to Go to Granbury and what makes it so grand.

Thank you to Visit Granbury for partnering with mamachallenge by providing complimentary experiences to many of its great landmarks. 

Vacation? What’s that? 

With little time to sandwich in a big getaway with the fam or even the hubs, I’ve come to master the art of a 24-hour vacation. 

Even with just a few hours at your disposal, you can really get refocused when you walk away from the norm and take a deep breath of fresh air – in somewhere new, different, and unexplored (i.e. somewhere that didn’t have Starbucks or lots of traffic.)

With little to spare in traveling time, we jumped in the car just about an hour away to the grand little town of Granbury, Texas. 

A small-town girl myself, I know that Texas is full of jewels like Granbury…you just have to let your imagination let you roam. And be ok to create a little schedule since you might fall in love with your first stop and not have any time left to explore some of the other fun destinations. Consider this kind of trip, your “Whitman’s Chocolate Sampler,” an opportunity to get a taste of everything in order to come back again (and again) to indulge in your favorites as little or as much as you want. 

While I have more than 10 reasons you should plan a visit to Granbury, I’m actually rather selfish, and don’t want to share them all. I feel like it’s my own little piece of paradise and I don’t want everyone taking a piece of it. While I realize Granbury isn’t technically, mine, she did have my heart in just 24 hours. 

1. Eagle Mountain Farmhouse Cheese

 

Your discovery of Granbury actually should start outside of town in Lipan, about 20 minutes from town.  Founded by the one and only Dave Eagle, Eagle Mountain Farmhouse Cheese is the only the finest hand-made cheeses from the fresh natural Grade A raw milk of the Brown Swiss dairy cows pastured exclusively at Sandy Creek Farm in North Texas. Here you’ll find Gouda style cheeses, Alpine style cheeses, Trappist style cheeses, tomme style cheeses and others that you can purchase to nibble on the way home (I’d suggest two at least – one for now in the car and one to eat when you realize the first wedge is already gone.) 

Award-winning cheese making happens here, but you’ll need to call ahead to get in on classes well in advance (and these are real deal classes, not just an hour or so to touch it and say you made it. This is the kind real cheesemakers do!) And just in case someone moves your cheese, you can get your hands on more at local North Texas farmer’s markets like in Coppell, Texas and some of the finest restaurants in Texas like Ellerbe’s Fine Foods in Fort Worth. 

2. Revolver Brewing

One of the reasons Dallasites are flocking fast (say that 10 times fast) to Granbury is in pursuit of Blood and Honey. That is the nectar of the Revolver gods, the brewery that is found right outside of Granbury.

Each Saturday the gates are opened and you’re invited for just a few hours to take a tour of the brewery, catch some live tunes, let hot sauce drip down your face as you shove in a taco, hang out and of course, redeem your $10 worth of cerveza.  Imagine a family reunion where everyone likes each other, brings good grub and condones drinking. Worth the drive just for the day, but with so much to do, why would you stop just here.

Don’t miss: Come early to make sure you make the brew tour at 1:30 pm.   Arrive before 2pm and you get four 8oz tastings.  Arrive after 2pm and you get two 8oz tastings. You can still come out and get your brews, but you won’t get to see how it becomes the hard-to-find brew that is tops on everyone’s list.

3. Historic Downtown Square

This is a good place to start your day (and end it) in Granbury. 

If you love history, you’ll love just strolling the square to see the store fronts and landmarks.

Love to shop? They have you covered with several shops that display everything from clothes, rare coins and from what we found, even old gun from colonel that had fought in the in a battle (I didn’t catch that part).

Don’t miss: If you’re lucky, get in on the the second Saturday of the month for Girls Night Out. Many shops on the square keep the oil burning with extended hours to allow you to sip, savor and shop a little longer.

FOOD FUN ON THE SQUARE

Love to drink wine and eat great grub? Granbury doesn’t disappoint. Walking the square, you’ll find homestyle cooking, tea room fare at the name, Italian food at D’Vine Winery, and you can even be transported to Germany only steps from each other.

4. Ketzlers Schnitzel Haus and Biergaten

Hitting up Ketzler’s and the biergarten was a must on our trip to for all the best of the wurst (with traditional bratwurst, smoked bratwurst, wiess wurst and nurnberger with saurkraut and German mustard) and one two three cold Paulaner Oktoberfests under the shade of the trees next to the water fountain. (However, overheard a woman making some delightful noise as she devoured her reuben so it’s a good chance it’s because it was that good too.)

Since the one that makes it also serves it to you, it’s the kind of place that you pull up a bench and stay awhile (at least until the last bier wears off.) 

5. Eighteen Ninety Marketplace Grill and Lounge

Just a few doors down: go back in time to 1812, a culinary mecca for spices, oils and some epic gluten-free brownie mix. This is where I went crazy. For foodies, this is your playground with flavors found you can’t get anywhere else.

After throwing down my credit card, I discovered the shop was just for starters…there is also pretty hot steak joint that serves as the fancy dining in town. However, blue jeans make the cut as you order the Texas Trilogy. While we had other dinner plans that night, don’t think I’m not calling in advance to make sure I’m on the top of the list for this place so I can sop up some PEI mussels. 

Don’t miss: On the square inside Christina’s is a beautiful custom built wooden bar. Take it its awesomeness while ordering the sangria selection of the day or at least make it a pit stop as you round that side of the square. And if you have time, you should definitely stay for tea time. 

6. Gluten Free in Granbury

With only 24 hours we couldn’t taste everything (especially since we didn’t have time to wait in the line), but we wish we could have. During a bathroom break I did stumble into the old stomping grounds of Billy the Kid and found some pretty epic gluten-free sweets at the Nutshell (for the win!). And don’t miss Farina’s Winery for a family Italian experience complete with gluten-free pizza! 

7. Barking Rocks Winery

Always one to hit up the local wine trail wherever I go (Napa, Fredricksburg, Temucula, Grapevine), a drive a dirt road to Barking Rocks was one of my favorite parts of Granbury. After second thinking a few times that we had mistakenly hit up the wrong winding road, we reached the beautiful country oasis.

Insider the barn you’ll find a few tables, a knowledgeable staff, live music (when you’re lucky) and what you need to just forget to check into Facebook (but yes, I did.) Founded by Tiberia and Kristina Bolinger, this winery was started after he finally had enough of corporate America and ready to embrace his Italian heritage of wine making. The barn also serves as the place where the magic happens and then washed away before scooting the tables back to the center of the cement floor.

If you can catch it, check out the winery the first Friday of the month. Bring your best potluck and your friends for live music at the winery. Consider yourself lucky if Tobias stops by to join in the fun which often happens.

Oh, the Fizz n’ Rose. With Mourvedre, Roussanne and Chardonnay grapes, which is the ideal patio sipping wine for hot Texas summers with just a little tinge of sweetness and effervescence.   Grab a few bottles (only $17) to take home, but not too many – you’ll want an excuse to return for more.

Don’t miss: You’ll also find a few other wineries if you want to do a little more wine touring including Pemberton Cellars, BluffDale Vineyards, and D’vine Wine of Granbury (also a great hangout for the locals).  If you really love wine, plan now to visit in April for the annual Granbury Wine Walk.

8. Granbury Ghosts & Legends Tour

No visit to Granbury should be without tickets to the 7 pm or 9:15 pm Ghost Tour. Owned and conducted by mother-daughter team Coletta Henderson and Brandy Her., this tour is a trip down memory lane with tons of history and of course, of much local lore. Kicking off at the Nutt Hotel, you’ll walk through the “darker” parts of Granbury to explore and engage in legends come to life including Audrey and John Wilkes Booth (yep, that one that shot Abe.) 

Totally family friendly, we didn’t talk too many scary stories, however, while walking around the square, which was dark by now, some of the lights began flicker during one of the accounts of a ghost that still haunts the area, but apparently that’s not the only thing that has happened on these tours. It’s a great way to end the evening in Granbury. 

9. Inn on Lake Granbury

Ready to hit the hay? You’ll find total relaxation at the Inn on Lake Granbury bed and breakfast resort owned and operated by the most hospitable local couple. 

At check in we learned that this was a destination for couples to really enjoy doing nothing and let the culinary talents of “wife’s name” take over during happy hour and breakfast (included in the stay.) The property includes a beautiful pool, picturesque lake view with tons of Pottery Barn-like perfect seating, and lots of activities if you want to just stay put at the Inn (worth a trip to do nothing at all.)

While we didn’t get the opportunity to really revel in the delightful nothingness that many others retreat here for, our time in the Pool House ensured we would return as many of the other couples had recorded in the guest book when they needed to get away or celebrate another momentous occasion.

10. And here are a few I missed but will be going back to visit:

City Beach Park

This is one that I’m making a point to visit this summer – the beach…in GRANBURY! There’s not a lot of beaches to get to in this neck of the woods, so this was a super surprise, especially if you’re just looking for a few hours in the sun next to the water. The beach park includes a spray park, SUP/volleyball/bicycle concessionaire, kayak rentals in the summer, and thatched roof picnic pavilions available on a first-come, first-served basis. And since it’s close to downtown, you can still add a little time downtown to the start or end of your trip!

Art Galleries and Museums

Combined there are more than 20 museums and art galleries in Granbury. So if you’re into history, art, or just appreciate exploring new things, you can make a whole trip just visiting each of these! While the Veterans Museum was closed while I was there, I was able to snap this shot of the plane near the park, also another stop to enjoy in Granbury. 

Now you know a few reasons Granbury is so grand. Hopefully you’ll make a stop (or a stay) in the future.

It’s one of those places that makes me proud to call Texas home.