Aller’s Boulder River Ranch , McLeod, Montana
Wonderful 
Wow, these are great recommendations. This is a thread I would like to have saved in archives for future reference.
I would so love to convince my husband to go on a dude ranch vacation this summer. I just think it will be a hard sell if there isn’t anything other to do than trail ride.
Does anyone know of a ranch that has kayaking, hiking and mountain biking nearby as well?? Will they teach you to rope/cut cows too?
Any info or suggestions that would meet these needs would be great.
Thanks.
LookinSouth
anything outside of Jackson Hole is within a short drive of Grand Teton Nat’l Park which has rocking awesome hiking. The ranch I recommended is actually has quite a few good hiking trails right from the ranch but really, if you are in the area, go to Grand Teton. It is only slightly further to Yellowstone but there are so many more people there that I prefer Grand Teton. Don’t remember the rules for biking on those trails but bet the website tells you.
Also- anything outside Jackson Hole also has easy access to flyfishing (and lots of outfitters) and white water rafting. I am sure you could find kayaking outfitters as well. Almost all the guests at the ranch I worked at spent at least 1 non-riding day. Most ranches will arrange the trips you want to do with local outfitters (and you will do much better if you tell them when you make the reservation or well before you get there that you want to do these things so they can book it early).
I suspect it is the same with many ranches, I just know that stuff is available around Jackson Hole.
Went to Papoose Creek Ranch Montana
For my 50th birthday my husband took me to Papoose Creek Ranch outside of Cameron Montana, outside of Bozeman on the Madison river. I can not say enough good things about this place. This is a cushy p5 star kind of place with all your needs being met. I rode everyday and it was just me and the wrangler riding, no one else. I had my choice of horses and rode a few before I found one I really liked and then rode him the rest of my stay. They would do whatever I wanted to do I choose to ride 3 to 4 hours a day and on the last day we went on a all day ride. He took me up to the mountains and rode above timberline. It was unforgetable in it’s beauty. My husband doesn’t ride nor does he fly fish ( this is a fly fishing area) but he still found pleanty to do. Hiking and exploring the area. Food was fabulous also. It was the best 50th birthday (if you have to really turn 50).
Laramie River ranch in Laramie, WY. Great horses, beautiful scenery. Small groups, not real fancy, but well maintained.
I wish I could recall the name of the outfit a friend/former boss of mine goes to work at most years from April-October…it is in Wyoming (I can’t recall where), but is more a hunting camp…I think? they probably do have ‘packages’ for the home base ranch itself for those who don’t want to actually pack up into the high country for hunting…
They DO do something at the home-base ranch, as I recall him telling me about some man that owned some company rented the whole place at least once before and took all his employees & families (I don’t recall how much $$$$ he said but it was ridiculously expensive!, but what a wonderful thing to have a boss to do that, ya know?!)…
Friend usually comes by with pictures when he gets back home each fall…oh my! Purely Heaven on Earth! I would love to go there. Horses look good from the pics he’s shared, and they’re all business/know their jobs. If you/the group would be interested in doing some hunting, I’ll try to get in touch with him to find out the name of the place. Not sure if he’ll be going back and working anymore or not—said he’s getting too old for it! I suspect he’s got at least another summer in him though 
I’d love to go and work there myself, but “life” has me tied down/can’t just up & leave for 6-7 months!
I haven’t been to one yet, but this one is high on my list of places to try:
Primarily because in addition to all of the ‘usual’ dude ranch options, they can get you into the Range Creek area- a ranch recently donated to the state because it is chock full of Indian ruins and artifacts. Entry to the public is allowed, but by permit only- and these folks have a permit to take tours in there.
My best friend and her husband went to a dude ranch in Col. and had a GREAT time. She has been riding horses for years - her husband is a beginner, but is able to canter a packer fairly well. She said that her horse experience was both good and bad. She said that no one was allowed to pick the horses’ feet but the grooms, and that was not done on a regular basis. She also said that because they knew she was experienced, they gave her a 2 year old baby to take out, who only had a handful of rides on him.
I’ll ask her today what the name of it was…
Another place in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem
Some friends and I used Kevin & Deb Little a few years ago (partially because they included beer in the price :D)
http://www.dryridge.com/pricing.htm
We had miserable weather conditions on our back country trip–record rainfalls and then 8" of snow on our way back out, but it was never-the-less lots of fun and they took excellent care of us.
The Teton/Yellowstone area is one of the absolute prettiest anywhere. I did my field work in the area from Ennis, MT through Yellowstone and out as far east as Dubois, WY. You can’t go wrong anywhere in that area for gorgeous scenery, typically wonderful weather, great trout fishing and great wildlife viewing.
As a kid, I stayed at the 320 Ranch in Montana. I recently looked it up and it is now a high end Dude Ranch, but looks great.
Lazy K Bar Guest Ranch in Tuscon Arizona.
was an AWESOME trip!
[QUOTE=bambam;2880733]
Jackson Hole is in WY
The link for the place I worked is http://www.jacksonholetrailcreekranch.com/
I have heard nothing but good things about Bitterroot (actually tried to get a job there before I ended up at Trail Creek but they were done hiring by the time I called).[/QUOTE]
Oops! Sorry, complete brain lapse. I KNOW Jackson Hole is in WY, how embarassing…
I really need to proofread my posts a little better.
At any rate, I want to, no NEED to go. Maybe this summer?
Thanks and best wishes from Kansas
Lost Creek Ranch just outside of Jackson Hole Wy, was very family oriented. Will feed you lots of good country food, and price of the stay includes a white water raft trip on a local low level river and a guided tour of Yellowstone Park. Can ride 2x a day.
Dunton Hot Springs if you just want to spoil yourself rotten, soak in hot springs, eat incredible food prepared by an excellent chef, meet very interesting people, and get in a nice ride every now and then. Is located south of Telluride by about hour or 2. Not a dude ranch.
Both of the above have websites.
near Tucson
http://www.gcranch.com/gcrhome.php
Grapevine Canyon Ranch. I got to take some reining lessons and the horses are great. They have advanced rides, opportunities for cattle work during some weeks and great people. I went 2 or 3 times 6 or 7 years ago and loved it.
Tumbling River Ranch
My family has been going to Tumbling River Ranch in Grant, CO (about 1.5 hrs south of Denver) for almost 15 years, and my experience there is what made me get into riding as a child. The food is superb, the staff is incredibly knowledgeable and friendly, gorgeous scenery, etc… It’s definitely more of an “upscale” place, but no TV or internet which is great for dragging my dad away. They also have an AMAZING kids program! That was what my parents loved so much. They could actually spend some time together and not worry about us. The Gordon family owns it, and their daughter Megan and her husband Scott run it now.
