Ranch Retreat
Hill Country ranch awash in water features and bison lists for $14.25M
A Hill Country ranch overflowing with sources of water just listed for $14.25 million.
Photo courtesy of West & Swope Ranches
Most of the 352-acre Buffalo Ridge Ranch is unoccupied by people.
Water — an increasingly scarce resource in Texas — is plentiful at Buffalo Ridge Ranch, a 352-acre property almost 60 miles northwest of Austin and eight miles southeast of Llano. The property also has a managed herd of bison.
Water features include:
- A seven-acre private lake reaching depths of nearly 40 feet
- About 12,800 combined feet of frontage along three creeks, two natural springs, and two other bodies of water
- An infinity-edge pool
- A regular water well and solar-powered water well
“Water is what immediately sets Buffalo Ridge Ranch apart,” Hunter Shannon, listing agent with West & Swope Ranches, said in a press release. “The combination of a lake this size, multiple creeks, natural springs, and this quality of improvements is something you rarely find on 350 acres in the Hill Country.”
Shannon shares the listing with West & Swope Ranches’ Louie Swope.
Overlooking the lake is a custom-built, 4,500-square-foot home completed in 2018. Improvements made at the ranch since then include a three-bedroom barndominium for guests, a climate-controlled workshop, paved interior roads, and a skeet-shooting range.

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom main home occupies one of the highest points of the ranch, which sits atop the Riley Mountains in Llano County.
A key element of the main house is a mantel in the living area that was crafted from timber reclaimed from an Iowa farmhouse dating back to 1802.
Half of the roughly 2,000-square-foot barndominium contains cozy living quarters: a king suite, guest bedroom, and bunk room. The rest of the structure serves as a storage barn for ranch equipment, vehicles, boats, and recreational gear.
The ranch boasts its share of creatures besides bison, including whitetail deer, axis deer, and red deer. The property’s water resources offer opportunities for fishing and waterfowl hunting.

Mature oak and elm trees blanket much of the ranch, creating a park-like setting and providing a wildlife habitat.
“Buyers continue to place a premium on ranches with substantial water resources and quality improvements,” said Swope, broker-owner of West & Swope Ranches.
“Buffalo Ridge Ranch offers both, along with privacy and convenient access to Austin,” he said. “It’s a combination that is increasingly difficult to replicate.”

Outdoor upgrades are designed to give shoppers a reason to stick around.Rendering by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture
Retail businesses are also a target alongside their dining-focused neighbors.Rendering by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture