Round up the family for a trip deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country

There are many resorts that claim to be family friendly with a top golf course, but the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas scores high points when it comes to a place where mom, dad and the kids can kick back big time.

Lost Pines is but 20 miles from Austin, but here in Texas Hill Country, you are in another world set along the Colorado River running through the 405-acre property and the adjacent 1,100 acre nature park.

For the golfers in the family, Wolfdancer is one great course delivering three different experiences: parkland river valley, rolling prairie, and wooded high ridge. Ranked sixth best in Texas by Golfweek, it’s a course you won’t want to play just once, but will try your dangdest find time to sneak out and tee up again during your vacation.

Lost Pines has close to 500 rooms located in sprawling, two-story ranch-style buildings. The mood is classy casual, the recreational possibilities a combo of man-made fun like the Crooked River water park, tennis, the Spa Djago, and marshmallow roasting around the fire pit to outdoor drama with nature trails, horseback riding, kayaking and of course, golf,

Especially geared to the younger set, there is a video arcade, local folklore storytelling and the Wild Hare Youth Spa where treatments include an Ooey Gooey Manicure, Ice Cream Pedicure and Radiant Teen Facial. Camp Hyatt and Adventure Hyatt give parents some alone time while there are quiet places to go to read or just chill like the Hummingbird Garden and Butterfly Meadow.

And who ever heard of a resort with its own animal menagerie? Lost Pines has two resident Longhorns aptly named “Rib-Eye” and “T-Bone” that are saddle broken of all things, along with two miniature donkeys, four very large Percherons who have been known to make cameo appearances in the ballroom, 35 trail horses, a couple alpacas, a big old Newfoundland called “Hoss” and some smaller species of wildlife.

A Family Pass at $100 gives a family the opportunity to play golf after 4 p.m. and includes club rentals and a package of 15 golf balls. That is, if you can tear your gang away from tubing on the lazy river or soaking weary doggies in the big pool. Yippee ki-yay!

By the way, you can book all your Texas tee times at GolfTexas.com.