Up in the Trees: Luxury treehouses offer unique experience in the Hill Country

UTOPIA, Texas – The Hill Country of Texas is known for its beautiful wild flowers, streams, live oak trees and now, a whole new way to vacation. 

KSAT’s News at 9 got the opportunity to go up into the treehouses of Treehouse Utopia, where people can spend the night in the trees in over the-top treehouses with running water, electricity and all the amenities.

Treehouse Utopia is a hidden piece of paradise where four treehouses sit on top of centuries-old cypress trees along the Sabinal River.

Owners Laurel Waters and Pete Nelson of the Animal Planet show "Treehouse Masters" opened Treehouse Utopia to the public in fall 2018.

“When you think of a treehouse, you think of something simple made out of plywood,” said Laurel Waters. “These are absolutely incredible.” 

There are four different treehouses available to rent: 
•    Chapelle
•    Carousel 
•    Biblioteque 
•    Chateau 

All of the treehouse models are different, with the Chateau model being the biggest, with two stories and the only with a king-sized bed. 

One of the goals behind the project was to bring awareness to nature in the Hill Country without impacting it. Waters said this was accomplished by only using recycled wood to make the treehouses. 

“We wanted to build something but be part of the nature that was actually here and not affect it,” she said.

Waters hopes Treehouse Utopia will give its guests not only the ability to disconnect from their stress but also the ability to reconnect with nature. 


About the Authors

Sarah Acosta is a weekend Good Morning San Antonio anchor and a general assignments reporter at KSAT12. She joined the news team in April 2018 as a morning reporter for GMSA and is a native South Texan.

Azian Bermea is a photojournalist at KSAT.

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