A SELECTION OF THE BEST DUDE RANCHES ON THE AMERICAN FRONTIER 🐴🎣🏔️🤠
Rustic does not necessarily mean roughing it. A selection of ranches in the American West expertly combine an authentic cowboy experience with all the trappings you'd expect at a luxury resort (and more). You can expect to spend part of your day in the saddle or wading in the river, expertly guided by ranch staff, only to return home to a full-fledged tasting dinner featuring local game and produce. You can get all of the seclusion and romance you want on a couples' trip, but you won't have to worry for a second about being bored!
Check out this guide for what to expect on a luxury dude ranch vacation, and some of the best options in the US.
🐴 Saddle up to play cowboy on the open range! Let a wrangler guide you through the scenery on horseback; some ranches offer cattle drives, overnights, or fly-fishing combos.
🎣 Master the art of being a master outdoorsman. Wade into the river to try your hand at fly-fishing or head to the range to test your trap and skeet skills.
🏕️ Soak in the scenery with a next-level glamping experience. You can feel one with nature and your spouse without actually roughing it; ranches offer elaborate glamping cabins often complete with champagne and outdoor soaking tubs.
🎿 Don't write off the winter activities. Some ranches offer the opportunity to explore the mountains after they've been blanketed in snow. Get out and hit the slopes or try Nordic skiing or snowshoeing.
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🏆 Forbes 5-star
🛎️ Relais & Chateaux
Rock Creek keeps the luxury cowboy vibe going from sun-up to long past sundown. Start your day with expertly-guided mountain activities, transition to dinner with nightly gourmet tasting menus and pairings, then cap it off getting loose at the on-site saloon, complete with its own bowling alley and much more.
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🏆 Forbes 4-star
The resort offers just about any activity you could dream up from cattle drives and rodeo-style activities like "cow croquet" to hot air balloon rides and river rafting to skiing and dogsledding. Enjoy it all from a variety of luxury lodging including cabins, glamping tents, and tree houses.
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🛎️ Relais & Chateaux
Get the real rancher experience with a cattle drive in the French Basin, but take advantage of rustic luxury experiences like wine-focused Vintner's weekends, daily gourmet menus, cabins with private Jacuzzis, a rooftop cocktail lounge, and a full-service spa.
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🏆 Forbes 5-star
Lots of places say they are farm-to-table, but Brush Creek will show you exactly what they mean with The Farm on property. Tour the private greenhouse, creamery, distillery, and 30,000-bottle cellar to see exactly where the gourmet goodies you enjoy after a long day exploring the 30,000 acre ranch or its private ski resort originate.
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🛎️ Relais & Chateaux
This ghost town turned resort is situated in the same dramatically rugged, aspen-lined mountain range as Telluride. Aptly named, the resort features natural hot springs for a soothing soak after a day of activities - opt for the Well House cabin for your own private spring.
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MORE TO SEE
While you could easily plan to stay on ranch property your entire trip, these properties are near some of the most incredible natural sights the United States has to offer - you'd be remiss to not consider adding one of these places onto your stay.
America's oldest and most famous National Park where you can explore iconic geological features like Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic. The park is also known as the "Serengeti of North America" thanks to its robust wildlife.
The Black Canyon's name derives from the fact that it's so deep and so narrow that some sections of the Canyon only receive 33 m of sunlight per day. The Gunnison River and Painted Wall are well worth the 2h trip from Telluride (near Montrose).
Both a National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mesa Verde is an impressive archeological site home to hundreds of cliff dwellings built by the Ancestral Puebloan people above the Montezuma Valley ~2h from Telluride (near Durango).
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KEEP EXPLORING
Related Destination Guides from PTO Travel Pro
Want to read about how we planned a trip combining Teton, Yellowstone, and the Ranch at Rock Creek? Check out this itinerary!
Let me help you spend your PTO like a pro! I know what it’s like to have a busy career and love travel - and how hard it can be to balance both. My destination guides can help you plan better trips with less headache so you can make the most of your time out of the office!
I build out guides here on Thatch, but also check out ptotravelpro.com where I go into even more detail about what to do, where to stay, and how to string it all together in jam-packed destination guides!
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