We here in Colorado are the envy of people around the U.S. and the world for a variety of things. For one, we get to LIVE the mystique of “The West.” Dude ranches are a great place to do that, whether you’re visiting from out of state, or taking a Colorado staycation. Here’s a roundup of some of the best ones.
Unlike many young girls, I never went through the National Velvet stage. The first time I got on a horse, he was bit in the butt by a bee and we were off! In different directions!
And while I’ve yet to become what anyone would call an equestrian, that hasn’t dampened my unbridled passion for visiting dude ranches. And as it turns out, I’m not alone.
Last year was dubbed the “Year of the Yeehaw,” mirroring the national obsession with all things cowboy reflected in music (Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter), fashion (all those cowboy hats and bolo ties at the Oscars), TV (the never-ending Yellowstone saga) and, yes, even travel.
According to Skyscanner, interest in horseback riding and dude ranch vacations have gone that-a-way, skyrocketing in popularity and positioning dude ranches as the new rock stars of active vacations. In the past year, interest in trail riding rose by 94 percent and interest in U.S. guest ranches by 42 percent, reports Tripaneer.
If you look at recent travel trends, it all makes perfect horse sense. Now that rampant over-tourism has ravaged some of the world’s most bucolic locales, off-the-beaten-track travel has become the new MO.
And dude ranches, for many reasons, represent the ultimate in slow travel. Secluded in under-the-radar locales you can call your own home on the range, at least for a week or two, they combine don’t-fence-me-in scenery and purple mountains majesty with mile-high fresh air.
While many ranches have hundreds of horses on thousands of acres, plus certified ranchers, and wranglers, most offer far more than riding into the wild blue yonder.
Along with wrangler-led trail rides, rodeos, and cowboy classes ranging from lassoing steer to channeling your Annie Oakley, the 21st century dude ranch has a menu of A-to-Z outdoor activities — from archery, ATVing, and canoeing to climbing, mountain e-biking, and fly-fishing; kayaking, swimming, and tennis/pickleball to wine-tasting, white-water rafting, and zip-lining.
The swankest dude ranches even have state-of-the-art fitness centers and spas serving up a slew of mind-body classes — from sunrise meditation to sound bathing under the stars.
Did we mention dude ranches are also good for your health — better, in fact, than working out at the gym? According to the American Psychological Association, spending time in nature acts as a balm for our busy brains and is linked to both cognitive benefits and improvements in moods, mental health and emotional well-being.
Dude ranches let you commune with nature minus the grunt and grind of pitching a tent or surviving on campfire grub.
You can combine high adventure in the Great Outdoors with classy digs (hot showers included!), chef-prepared cuisine and fine wines; unwinding in hot tubs, pools and fitness centers; and out-the-back-door access to a plethora of recreational activities, complete with seasoned guides to show you the ropes and ensure you don’t get lost in the wilds doing them.
Visit a ranch with a spa, and you leave your sore muscles behind, or (at some ranches) even take them to a different dimension.
In addition, dude ranches are family-friendly, offering plenty of activities for kids, teens, and adults. Some ranches, where noted, also have supervised children’s programs so parents can actually chill.
Finally, dude ranches are all-inclusive vacations that eliminate the hassle of pay-as-you-go. One price covers meals, lodging, activities, and use of facilities, with private classes, off-site activities, spa treatments and alcoholic beverages typically extra.
Even if the only horse you’ve ever ridden was on a carousel, the following four dude ranches can take you to a place you’ve never been before (or even to a place no one has ever been before). As someone whose riding prowess remains a far cry from “Hi Ho Silver! Away!” you can trust me on this.
Four of Colorado’s Best Summertime Dude Ranches
1.Vista Verde Guest Ranch, Clark, Colorado
Located about 25 miles north of Steamboat Springs in 540 pine-scented acres in the Elk River Valley, Vista Verde pairs 4-star amenities with rustic splendor, from lodging in handcrafted log cabins with handmade lodgepole pine furnishings, crackling fireplaces, hot tubs and porches overlooking sweeping mountain views to gourmet cuisine, an award-winning wine list, soothing in-room massages, plus dedicated programs for kids and teens.
If you can tear yourself away, bond with one of the ranch’s 100 horses (your personality is matched with the perfect “horse-onality” to get you off on the right hoof) for wrangler-lead rides through groves of shimmering aspen. Or enjoy guided hikes along trails to wildflower meadows and craggy peaks.
Other activities include mountain biking, fly-fishing in dancing streams or looking-glass lakes, photography sessions, yoga with mountain views, and paddleboarding on high alpine lakes. Or hang out in a hammock by the pond and take in the “green vistas.”
Vista Verde’s award-winning gourmet cuisine redefines typical “cowboy cuisine” – think hearty with a little bit of fancy thrown in. Meals revolve around organic vegetables, hormone and antibiotic-free beef, pork, and chicken, and sustainably caught fish, with dinner ranging from casual BBQ cookouts under the stars to 3-course candlelit dinners with wine pairings. The ranch’s 150-plus wine list has received Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. The ranch also has cooking classes—learn the art of making naturally leavened artisan bread.
When the sun sets in the West, enjoy evening campfires, live music or line dancing before heading back to your room for a soothing hot tub soak. With no phones or internet access in guest rooms (although the main lodge has internet and a computer) you may finally get the digital detox you deserve.
2. The Ranch at Emerald Valley and The Spa at The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado
The Ranch at Emerald Valley is a sister property of the century-old Broadmoor, Colorado’s grand dame golf, tennis, and spa resort, with a setting like a grand hotel in the Alps. Stay at this ranch and you can enjoy its rustic elegance and extensive menu of elevated outdoor adventures, plus all the amenities of a world-class resort, including championship golf, tennis, fine dining, and the Forbes 5-star spa.
Set on 100,000 pine-studded acres in Pike National Forest at 8,200 feet just a short drive up the mountain from the Broadmoor, The Ranch at Emerald Valley has beautifully appointed cabins with Rocky Mountain touches like fireplaces, leather furnishings, and modern amenities. (Due to limited parking in the national forest, guests are shuttled from the resort to the ranch and get unlimited transportation between the ranch and resort during their stay as well as complimentary valet parking in the Broadmoor garage.)
Come sunrise, gather around the firepit for cowboy coffee followed by a hearty buffet ranch breakfast. Then head out on wrangled-led horseback rides, guided hiking, or mountain biking. Or participate in a cattle drive at the historic (1888) Elk Glade Ranch, set in a 3,200-acre roadless valley. Saddle up to help wranglers move cattle to their summer pastures in East Beaver Valley on the south slope of 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. Other ranch activities include jeep tours, river rafting, kayaking, hot air ballooning, falconry, archery, fly fishing off property with a private guide, and day trips to Manitou Springs and the Pikes Peak Cog Railway.
Fuel up on an epicurean lunch back at the ranch, then work it off with a hike up to Cloud Camp, Broadmoor’s historic mountaintop hideaway. Perched at 9,000 feet, the 8,500-square-foot lodge has hand-hewn beams, stone fireplaces, and an expansive wraparound deck where you can look out on mountains, forests, and the Broadmoor 3,000 feet below.
After a long day in the wilds, hail the shuttle for a lift down to The Spa at The Broadmoor. Relax with treatments like bamboo massages, oxygen infusion, ice therapy, and jade stone facials; chill out in the Himalayan salt saunas, eucalyptus steam rooms, aromatherapy rooms, fireplace lounges or the coed Mountain View Room. If you have energy to spare, the fully equipped fitness center has a heated indoor pool and 100 weekly classes, from cardio and core to yoga and Pilates.
Return to the ranch for hors d’oeuvres on the porch or an aperitif in the Olde Swan Tavern overlooking the ponds and mountains before settling in for a 3-course dinner in the ranch’s grand lodge, prepared by on-site Broadmoor chefs who elevate the fare far beyond the altitude.
After dinner, join guests around the evening campfire for s’mores. Or head down to the Broadmoor for a magical night hike at Seven Falls, dubbed ”The Grandest Mile of Scenery in Colorado.” A 224-step staircase leads up through a 1,250-foot box canyon past a series of seven cascading waterfalls illuminated in shimmering rainbow hues. If you’re not up for the climb, you can take the in-mountain elevator 14 stories up to Eagles’ Nest Lookout.
3. Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa, Tabernash, Colorado
Set on 6,500-plus acres of Rocky Mountain highs just 75 miles from Denver with the peaks of the Continental Divide less than 10 miles to the east, this-award winning ranch has a lot going for it besides one of spa-dom’s most adorable spas. The ranch has countless outdoor activities, award-winning food and wine, and deluxe lodging in elegant lodge rooms, private cabins, and guest houses with stone fireplaces, earthy dude ranch and bohemian furnishings.
The ranch’s hand-hewn-log spa nestles in a quiet corner of the meadow overlooking a lush valley. Crackling hearths, homemade tea, a geothermally heated salt-water pool, hot tub, and panoramic Colorado mountain views set the stage for ultra-pampering massages and skin treatments with all-natural products. Get a farm-to-facial that utilizes potent botanicals to brighten and even skin tone, a head-to-toe hydrating honey wrap or a hot river stone massage, or indulge in The Ultimate Zen, which includes a sugar scrub, shea butter wrap, and full body and scalp massage.
After being duly pampered, head outside to play hard the Devil’s Ranch way: Say ohm during paddleboard yoga on Upper Ridge Pond; enjoy wrangler-led riding and guided hiking through wildflower meadows and pine forests to Devil’s Thumb Pass for panoramas from the Continental Divide; soar over treetops at 40 miles per hour on the zipline (or zipline at sunset for a bird’s eye view of the alpenglow); enjoy mountain bike trails that wind through open meadows with vistas of surrounding peaks (the Ranch is part of 600 miles of mountain biking trails named the “Mountain Biking Capital of the USA”). You can also fly fish four miles of the ranch’s private waters or discover the stress-busting powers (honest!) of hatchet throwing.
Devil’s Ranch is also a dedicated foodie haven—some people come here just to savor cuisine that’s sourced right from the ranch pastures, rivers, gardens, hives, and cellar.
For a day of great eating at the ranch, wake up to a java jolt and fresh-baked pastries at Hallowed Grounds Coffee Shop. Then spend the morning touring Kendra’s Garden, where you can rendezvous with the bees and native flowers and harvest a few veggies for the chef. At happy hour, everyone heads to Heck’s Tavern for craft beer. The eco-friendly watering hole is a monument to the mountains, with giant posts and beams built from 800-year-old Douglas fir, a floor-to-ceiling fireplace made from a nearby rockslide, and a geothermally heated floor made from reclaimed spruce.
Renowned for its “pasture-to-fork” Western cuisine, Devil’s Thumb is among a handful of places in the U.S. offering 100% wagyu beef from its 230-head herd. Chefs at The Ranch House Restaurant and Saloon, a 1930s homestead, prepare it six ways for dinner: As steak tartar, tenderloin, ribeye, steak, flat irons, and tri-tip. The menu also features lamb shank, elk pot pie, pan seared halibut, and artichoke filled pasta, and for dessert (you’ve earned it!) poached pear crumble, blood orange Brulé, and chocolate banana cake. Meals are paired with fine wines from the ranch wine cellar that routinely win Wine Spectator’s Best of Award Excellence.
You can also arrange to have a private dinner in the ranch’s John L’s Wine Cellar & Uncorking Room, built from 150-year-old cherry trees harvested from family land in the Adirondacks. Or head to the ranch Saloon for a casual dinner of French onion soup paired with wagyu burgers or short ribs, elk meat pies, or toasted ravioli.
No matter where you dine, end the day with s’mores served fireside by the stone hearth, the ranch’s classic recipe for sweet dreams.
4. Arapaho Valley Ranch, Granby, Colorado
This historic, family-owned ranch set amid forested peaks and glinting lakes on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park with a river (The South Fork of the Colorado) running through it, is a real steal, although the sky-high setting at 8,333 feet is literally priceless.
Originally a homestead (an early rancher put in an air strip so his piloting instructor and buddy Charles Lindbergh could fly in over the Continental Divide for visits), the ranch evolved over the years into the popular kid-and-pet-friendly fishing and outdoor haven it is today.
The ranch is anchored by a historic lodge with a stone fireplace, living room, bar, billiards room, trading post, outside decks, and patios with firepits, plus the storied Red Dog Saloon, Colorado’s smallest watering hole with four stools.
There’s year-round lodging in nine historic, modern, and tiny home cabins sleeping 4 to 18, with grills, fire pits, and kitchens; and warm weather lodging in glamping tents, tipis, and yurts that sleep eight, and furnished with beds, couches, and camp kitchen boxes. Book a glamping test for two nights or more between May 23-June 14 and get 20% off your entire visit. In addition, the ranch has 22 tent sites, most overlooking the Colorado River, and 12 RV sites, some with hookups.
The ranch has no on-site restaurants, but there’s plenty of wining/dining ops and grocery stores for making your own fixins’ in quaint downtown Granby about 14 miles from the ranch, and in Winter Park, a year-round recreational haven located 36 miles away. The ranch welcomes children—and even your furry friends.
Get up early to watch the ranch’s new family of duck waddles from their wildlife-proof overnight accommodations to the ranch’s on-site pond. Arapaho is also raising chickens and offering free eggs to guests.
Then take a hike! The ranch trail pushes through hushed forests to a “kissing swing” overlooking the headwaters of the Colorado River Valley (watch for moose, elk, coyote, fox, and yellow-bellied marmots) while the Monarch Lake Loop winds past waterfalls and mirror lakes to the ghostly remains of Monarch, an 1880s boom-to-bust mining camp that roared on Saturday nights before withering away to slag heaps and broken bottles. Today, the town RIPs under Lake Granby, Colorado’s largest man-made lake.
For more summer fun, head to Winter Park Resort, with guided hiking, mountain e-biking, climbing, fishing, gondola rides, a ropes course, golf, alpine slide, ATV tours, white-water rafting. Or drive 25 miles to witness the scenic grandeur of Rocky Mountain National Park.
For all these reasons and more, this ranch in the middle of nowhere will be going prime time in an upcoming episode of PBS Hometowns, so stay tuned! Don’t miss the ranch’s Western Weekend June 20-21 and its Bluegrass Festival July 18-19.
-Story by Carole Jacobs
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